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 Ayako Mie

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Ayako Mie
Ayako Mie covers Japanese politics and policies for the Japan Times. She started her career as a reporter at Tokyo Broadcasting System in 2001. In 2008, she went to journalism school at University of California, Berkeley as a Fulbright scholar. On returning to Japan in December 2010, she worked for the Washington Post as a special correspondent.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 2, 2013
Upper House gets first LDP president in six years
A six-day extraordinary Diet session kicked off Friday with the Upper House electing a president from the Liberal Democratic Party for the first time since 2007.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2013
Nation's troops long way from hitting the beaches: experts
Japan has taken an increasingly proactive role in defending its territory since the end of the Cold War allowed it to shift its defensive posture to address threats from North Korea and China as public memories of the war begin to fade.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 26, 2013
DPJ lawmakers OK Hosono's exit, move to suspend Kan
Disarray in the Democratic Party of Japan continued Friday as members approved the immediate resignation of Secretary-General Goshi Hosono, in an about-face to their president's earlier decision to keep him in the post until the end of August.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2013
DPJ in disarray, faults Kan for poll disaster
As bad as the drubbing was in Sunday's Upper House election, the Democratic Party of Japan faces an even bigger, not to say familiar, problem — disharmony and lack of governance.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 22, 2013
Abe not in hurry to amend Constitution
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Monday to stay focused on efforts to revive Japan's moribund economy and to not aggressively pursue his goal of amending the pacifist Constitution, even though his Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito bloc now controls the Diet.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 22, 2013
One-party rule back but Abe could blow it
The Liberal Democratic Party's sweeping Upper House election victory ends the divided Diet, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe still faces a battle in tackling vexing issues.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 20, 2013
Inaugural Internet campaigning not proving to be game-changer in poll
The Internet won't have a major impact on the House of Councilors poll because a Liberal Democratic Party win seems certain and candidates are opting to campaign in person.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 17, 2013
'The destroyer' Ozawa slams opposition for failure to cooperate
With only four days before the nation goes to the polls, veteran lawmaker Ichiro Ozawa slammed the opposition camp Wednesday for failing to cooperate in the fight against the ruling bloc in the Upper House election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 16, 2013
Kan sues Abe for 3/11 defamation
Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan sues Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for defamation, saying he has no grounds to accuse him of mismanaging the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / GAME OF NUMBERS
Jul 9, 2013
Tech-savvy candidates hope to reach young voters via online campaigns
For Kan Suzuki, a tech-savvy Upper House member, the Internet is a powerful campaign tool that he can use to help him win a third term at a time when his party is facing so much adversity.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / GAME OF NUMBERS
Jul 4, 2013
LDP spin team hammers voters with 'Abenomics' mantra
The Upper House election will be a test of the economic strategies being pursued by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition government — or so says his ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2013
Abe aside, war apology stands: Suga
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Thursday reaffirmed that the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe upholds the position set out by the 1995 apology issued by then-Prime Minister Tomiichii Murayama, which admits that Japan waged wars of aggression.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 3, 2013
Opposition directly attacks 'Abenomics'
Opposition parties took aim Wednesday at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policies, only to give the Liberal Democratic Party chief another chance to play up his administration's "achievements" over the last six months.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2013
Work-life balance? Not in politics
Tamayo Marukawa, 42, seems to have it all. A University of Tokyo graduate, she scored one of the most coveted jobs in Japan as an announcer at TV Asahi. A popular presence there for 14 years, she left for a seat in the Upper House six years ago as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MAKING THEIR CASE
Jun 30, 2013
JCP chief tabs party as bulwark against Abe plans
Only the Japanese Communist Party can act as a counterweight to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the Upper House election, especially against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic and constitutional revision plans, JCP Chairman Kazuo Shii declared Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / MAKING THEIR CASE
Jun 30, 2013
DPJ admits lack of trust, unity undermining poll prospects
Democratic Party of Japan President Banri Kaieda on Saturday admitted that the opposition camp's leading force hasn't regained enough credibility to lead the charge against the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for the Upper House election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / MAKING THEIR CASE
Jun 29, 2013
New Komeito chief vows to counter Abe if he tries to change Article 9
New Komeito President Natsuo Yamaguchi said Friday his party will continue to act as a counterweight to the Liberal Democratic Party if the senior coalition partner aggressively pursues revising the war-renouncing Article 9 or exercising the right of collective self-defense after the Upper House election....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 28, 2013
Komeito to campaign for nuke phaseout, denies disconnect with LDP
New Komeito, the junior coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, pledged Thursday to push for a nuclear phaseout at the earliest possible date and bolster the Constitution by adding more provisions, a sharp contrast to the LDP's desire to promote atomic power and rewrite the national...
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 27, 2013
Diet closes on nonbinding Abe censure
The Diet's 150-day regular session ends in turmoil as the opposition passes a non-binding censure motion against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — and scraps four government-sponsored bills.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 26, 2013
DPJ hopes platform derails 'Abenomics'
The Democratic Party of Japan, hoping to rebrand itself as the only viable alternative to the Liberal Democratic Party, unveiled a hastily resurrected platform for next month's Upper House election with vows to help the middle class, revive its reactor phaseout goal and oppose any push to amend the Constitution....

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