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August 15, 2024
 

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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
Aug 1, 2012
China flexing more muscle in Pacific: report
This year's defense white paper underscores China's rapid military buildup and constant muscle-flexing in the Pacific Ocean as a shared concern of the international community.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2012
Political training schools catching on with disaffected
Kenyu Ito always thought there were better ways to contribute to Japan than becoming a politician. The medical doctor saw his primary care services for the people in Sanya, the day laborers' district in Taito Ward, Tokyo, as his way to help society from the bottom up.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 10, 2012
Osprey deployment heightens safety worry
The United States last month announced that the MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft will be deployed to U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa as scheduled in October.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2012
Refugee pines to go back to, help Myanmar
When Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi announced her trust in President Thein Sein last August, Tin Win Akbar decided it was time to return home after spending almost 16 years as an exile in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2012
Activist discusses impact of Obama's gay marriage support
The recent endorsement of gay marriage by U.S. President Barack Obama was a milestone for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and could gain more support among younger voters who already overwhelmingly back same-sex marriages, according to a prominent American gay rights activist.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2012
AirAsia enters LCC fray via ¥5 flights
The surprise discount campaign announced by AirAsia Japan Co. on Wednesday has been an instant success and drawn much media coverage.
JAPAN
May 26, 2012
Toxin in Kanto tap water laid to waste-disposal firm
A Gunma-based industrial waste disposal firm is suspected of dumping the toxic liquid that polluted part of the Kanto region's water system last week, the Saitama Prefectural Government said Friday.
JAPAN
May 20, 2012
Private rail lines want Diet ranks to pay up
Both the Lower and Upper houses have failed for the last 20 years to respond to requests from an association of private railways to pay for the free train passes member companies provide to lawmakers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 40 YEARS AFTER REVERSION
May 19, 2012
Okinawans push to preserve unique language
Last in a series Byron Fija, 42, has an identity crisis.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 19, 2012
Outsider of sorts champions his, Okinawa's cultural roots
When observing the history of Okinawa, one can't ignore the fact that since before World War II it has produced more emigrants than any other prefecture except Hiroshima.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 19, 2012
Comedians find creative outlet for simmering anger
For Okinawa comedian Masamitsu Kohatsu, Aug. 13 is synonymous with the 9/11 terrorist attack in the United States.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 12, 2012
Cancer survivors tell of workplace prejudice
Seven years ago, Naomi Sakurai was diagnosed with breast cancer and told she had only a 60 percent chance of surviving another five years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 8, 2012
Efforts to save Japanese crested ibis take flight
Japanese spirits were uplifted recently by the news that three "toki," or Japanese crested ibis, chicks were hatched in the wild for the first time in 36 years, the culmination of a ¥300 million project that was started in 1999 to breed the endangered wading birds outside captivity.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2012
Softbank shifts to paperless workplace, Apple tools
Internet giant Softbank Corp. will go paperless starting this month by banning employees from printing handouts or distributing paper press releases.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2012
Metro government, Tepco's top investor, demanding sweeping changes at the utility
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government flexed its muscles Friday as the top shareholder in besieged Tokyo Electric Power Co. by demanding that Tepco carry out extensive reforms, including slashing operating costs and making its management transparent.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2012
Creating true nuclear watchdog exacts toll in time, trust
The Diet looks like it's finally set to deliberate a long-stalled bill to create a new nuclear regulatory agency that will serve as a true atomic energy watchdog and, hopefully, rebuild the public trust lost by its predecessors.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2012
81 lawmakers visit Yasukuni ahead of festival
A total of 81 Diet members visited Yasukuni Shrine on Friday, one day before the controversial Tokyo institution starts its annual Reitaisai spring festival.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2012
Youth, politicos find common ground: beer
Just as in many other countries, Japan's young voters view politicians as untrustworthy, while lawmakers consider youths completely apathetic and out of touch with the real world — especially when it comes to politics.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2012
S. Africa's rebranding as tourist destination pays off
South Africa's tourism sector has grown robustly since it successfully rebranded itself as a top sightseeing destination, especially among business travelers, according to visiting tourism minister Marthinus Van Schalkwyk.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 20, 2012
Hokkaido's diverse cuisine recognized by Michelin
Hiroshi Nakamichi dreamed of becoming a great one-star restaurateur when he went to Lyon, France, with a Michelin guide in his hands, to work at Michelin-starred restaurants. More than 30 years later, his dream came more than true when his "bible" gave three stars to his Sapporo-based French restaurant...
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’
By Thu-Huong Ha

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