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December 22, 2024
 

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Jon Mitchell

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Jon Mitchell
Jon Mitchell writes about human rights issues on Okinawa. In 2015, he received the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan Freedom of the Press Award for Lifetime Achievement for his investigations into U.S. military contamination on Okinawa and other base-related problems.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2018
Leader of U.S. Marines on Okinawa failed to report officer's offenses, report reveals
The U.S. military justice system has faced criticism for allowing base commanders to decide whether to pursue charges against service members accused of serious crimes.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 21, 2017
U.S. military under fire for gun safety breaches on Okinawa
A series of incidents over the past few years have raised concerns the U.S. military on Okinawa is failing to securely manage its weapons in the prefecture.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 10, 2017
Okinawa 'prisoner of conscience' to address U.N. about perceived abuses
Hiroji Yamashiro recounts six harsh months of POW-like detention he survived after being singled out for simple acts of civil disobedience recently in Okinawa.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 6, 2017
'Press Freedom in Contemporary Japan': Persuasive and important but incomplete
May 3 marks the United Nations' World Press Freedom Day, an annual reminder of the necessity of unfettered media in the maintenance of healthy societies.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Feb 22, 2017
Pedophile sting ops roil U.S. forces on Okinawa
Controversial operations in which sailors pose online as underage girls lead to dozens of NCIS arrests.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Feb 1, 2017
Confusion reigns in U.S. Forces Japan's battle against drunken driving
Mixed messages and double standards regarding alcohol limits and penalties may be exacerbating the problem of DUI offenses committed off-base.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2017
U.S. report reveals cover-up of Osprey mishap in 2014
Details in a report recently obtained via the U.S. Freedom of Information Act suggest the U.S. Marine Corps misled the public about an incident involving an Osprey aircraft in 2014.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2016
Contamination: Documents reveal hundreds of unreported environmental accidents at three U.S. Marine Corps bases on Okinawa
Since 2002, at least 270 environmental accidents on U.S. Marine Corps bases on Okinawa have contaminated land and local waterways but, until now, few of these incidents have been made public. Internal reports highlight serious flaws in training and suggest the lessons of past accidents have not been...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2016
Informed-Public Project seeks environmental justice on Okinawa
A recently founded organization on Okinawa is attempting to hold to account the powers-that-be for the damage that military contamination is causing the island's environment.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Oct 22, 2016
Welcome home, Okinawa
Under the slogan "Let the whole world move to the Uchina beat," Okinawa will host the prefecture's largest international event, the sixth Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival from Thursday, Oct. 27, to Sunday, Oct. 30. (Uchina means Okinawa in the island's language, while Uchinanchu means an Okinawan person)....
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Oct 19, 2016
How the U.S. military spies on Okinawans and me
Documents reveal that the U.S. Marine Corps is amassing information on Okinawan anti-base protesters as well as journalists.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Aug 31, 2016
U.S. washes hands of rights violations at Okinawa helipad site
Washington and the Pentagon sidestep issues of injuries to protesters and censorship as police blanket the village of Takae.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2016
Roads blocked, press barred as tempers flare over landing pads in Okinawa
Public anger is rising on Okinawa at a proposed site for new U.S. military landing pads, with residents and reporters criticizing what they say are heavy-handed tactics by the Japanese authorities to push the project through.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Aug 10, 2016
Training of British troops on Okinawa bases may violate Japan-U.S. Security Treaty
The U.K. government reveals that two Royal Marines have been deployed to U.S. bases in the island prefecture.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 11, 2016
The peacemakers of Okinawa
Sixty years ago this week, the U.S. government released the controversial Price Report, triggering mass protests on Okinawa that gave birth to leaders who, while renowned in the prefecture, remain little known outside it
JAPAN
May 28, 2016
U.S. to review Okinawa training procedures after report reveals sessions downplayed military crimes, disparaged locals
The top U.S. Marine general in Japan said orientation sessions for new recruits will be reviewed after it was found they contained derogatory statements about Okinawans.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
May 25, 2016
U.S. Marines briefing links crimes to 'gaijin power'; for Okinawans, 'it pays to complain'
Internal U.S. Marine Corps documents reveal that lectures supposed to improve marines' understanding of Okinawa instead downplay military crimes and disparage local residents.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 27, 2016
Agent Orange and Okinawa: the story so far
Five years after The Japan Times first revealed the U.S. military's use of toxic defoliants on the island, new evidence continues to come to light.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2016
Contamination: The human cost of dioxin, PCBs and pollution at Kadena Air Base
Documents recently obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act highlight the American base's struggles to manage hazardous waste.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2016
Contamination: Kadena Air Base's dirty secret
For the first time, documents released under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act reveal extensive pollution on an active American base in Japan.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

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