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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
May 26, 2016
G-7 vows to ease plight of middle class worldwide
G-7 leaders pledged Thursday to spur economic growth, fight corruption and clamp down on tax evasion by the rich.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 25, 2016
Global threats hinder Obama's nuclear disarmament goal
U.S. President Barack Obama's historic Hiroshima visit Friday signifies a step forward in his stated 2009 dream of a "world without nuclear weapons."
Japan Times
JAPAN / G7 ISE-SHIMA SUMMIT SPECIAL
May 25, 2016
Leaders expected to focus on economy, refugee crisis
When the Group of Seven leaders meet in Ise-Shima, Mie Prefecture, on Thursday for the two-day summit meeting, the global leaders will spend much of their time discussing wide-ranging issues from terrorism and the refugee crisis to China, which has been asserting its military power in the South China...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 23, 2016
Much to lose, little or nil to gain in 'Brexit,' says Japan Inc.
Should the United Kingdom leave or remain in the European Union? With the world's fifth-largest economy set to make a historic decision about its future next month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed support for the U.K. to stay in the political and economic club of 28 countries during his Europe tour...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 20, 2016
Japan to take in 150 Syrians as exchange students after criticism of harsh refugee policy
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announces Japan will accept 150 Syrians over five years as exchange students to help conflict-stricken Syria.
JAPAN / Politics
May 17, 2016
Tokyo and Seoul reaffirm commitment to ¥1 billion 'comfort women' fund
Japanese and South Korean officials say they are track toward setting up a ¥1 billion fund to assist former 'comfort women.'
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 11, 2016
Abe may call Lower House poll, using tailwind from Obama's Hiroshima visit
Some expect Abe to call a Lower House election to coincide with a summer Upper House poll in light of Obama's Hiroshima visit.
JAPAN / Politics
May 4, 2016
Tokyo has high hopes for Abe's unofficial meeting with Putin
Officials expect improved relations going into Friday's summit, where a long-standing territorial dispute will likely be discussed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 3, 2016
Abe's revisionist agenda subject of opposing rallies on Constitution Day
Marking the 69th anniversary of the postwar pacifist Constitution, supporters and opponents of constitutional revision held rallies in Tokyo on Tuesday to speak out on their respective causes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 2, 2016
Systemic avoidance of political issues by schools keeps youth vote in the dark
Although 2.4 million teens will have a chance to vote in one of Japan's most pivotal elections ever, most are indifferent because politics is widely ignored in class.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
May 1, 2016
Ex-bureaucrat on mission to trigger technological revolution
Almost a decade before the March 2011 quake and tsunami triggered the triple core meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, Ko Fujii knew the government could not effectively communicate the risks of nuclear technology.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2016
Japan becomes fourth nation to test-fly homegrown stealth jet
The Defense Ministry says the unarmed prototype, called X2, took off from Nagoya airport in Aichi Prefecture early on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 21, 2016
Japan, Panama agree to begin negotiations over exchange of tax information
Japan and Panama on Wednesday agreed to start negotiations on a tax information exchange agreement to enhance transparency in the financial system. The move comes at a time of scrutiny over offshore tax avoidance by the rich and powerful following a leak of records from a prominent law firm.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2016
Japan's government defends against multiple accusations of stifling press freedom
The government is on the back foot in the wake of mounting global criticism to the effect that the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is threatening press freedom in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 20, 2016
Clinton's election momentum makes continuity of Asia 'pivot' more likely
Experts say Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's victory in New York's primary Tuesday is good news for Japan. The former secretary of state is likely to inherit President Barack Obama's foreign policy outlook should she be elected as the first female president of the United States....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2016
Panama's president says vilification over tax haven issue is unfair
Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said Monday in Tokyo it is unjust of the global community to attack his nation over the so-called Panama Papers, as it is in the process of negotiating tax information exchange agreements with other countries, including Japan, to enhance the transparency of its...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2016
Big temblors no surprise to experts
Some seismologists said they were not surprised by the disaster, saying evidence suggested the writing was on the wall, although they didn't know exactly when it would happen.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 15, 2016
Kishida, Lavrov lay groundwork for Abe's Russia visit
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov discuss signing a peace treaty to end the war and having Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visit Russia.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 15, 2016
Bluebook report paints better ties with Seoul after 'comfort women' pact
The Foreign Ministry's 2016 Diplomatic Bluebook released Friday calls South Korea the nation's most important neighboring country that shares strategic interests, an upgrade in phrasing from last year clearly based on December's historic agreement on the "comfort women" issue.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 14, 2016
Park's election defeat carries costs for Tokyo
The landslide defeat may also derail progress on settling the 'comfort women' issue, experts said Thursday.

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