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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
Feb 4, 2016
Tokyo explains alert systems to be used if North Korea fires missile
The information systems would be used to warn local municipalities if Self-Defense Forces radar detects the planned missile launch.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2016
Tokyo orders SDF to shoot down North Korean missile if threat to Japan
Japan condemns Pyongyang's plan to launch a space rocket, calling it a thinly disguised test of a long-range ballistic missile.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2015
Abe, regional leaders use U.S. visit to showcase Japan
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly, but he is also busy using the visit to promote Japan as the place to do business.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2015
Noodle-maker revolutionizes ramen culture in the U.S.
At the huge, brightly lit factory in Teterboro, New Jersey, machines from Japan gently mix eggs and flour and turn them into sheets of yellow dough that are then cut into thin wavy ramen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 3, 2015
Behind the wheel: Honda thinks outside the box
When it comes to business, no one wants to settle for second best. Companies, almost by definition, are always trying to ensure that they are in front of their rivals in terms of market share, sales and brand recognition.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2014
Tohoku students showcase area's products at New York fair
Students from Tohoku University in Sendai on Saturday showcased artifacts and other products from the disaster-hit Tohoku region at the Japan Block Fair in New York's West Village to help companies in the recovering region drum up more business overseas.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 20, 2014
Debate on foreigner voting rights reignites ahead of 2020 Olympics
The debate over voting rights for non-Japanese residents is flaring up again, amid a drive to attract more foreign workers ahead of the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2014
Anniversary of WWII surrender met with varied reaction
As Japan marked the 69th anniversary of its surrender in World War II on Friday, people on the streets of Tokyo showed mixed reactions. Right-leaning visitors to Yasukuni Shrine found a new cause in their movement, while the day evoked memories of wartime suffering among older residents.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 14, 2014
Surrender had lasting impact on many Japanese after war's end
Many Japanese people remember Aug. 15 as the day World War II ended. Sixty-nine years ago today, in a speech broadcast on the radio, Emperor Hirohito announced that Japan had notified the Allied powers of its acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 6, 2014
Former top brass say cyberspace key in new defense rules
As Japan and the U.S. work toward a historic upgrade of bilateral defense cooperation guidelines for the first time in 17 years, the biggest tasks for the two allies may be dealing with China's growing military and economic might while also keeping an eye on events in North Korea and its unpredictable...
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 1, 2014
DPJ chief Kaieda digs in, rebuffs calls for presidential election
Democratic Party of Japan President Banri Kaieda on Thursday confirmed that he still intends to lead the teetering party and spurned mounting calls to hold a leadership election before his term ends in September 2015.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2014
Ishihara's new party embraces 'neoconservative' policies
Jisedai no To, established by conservative lawmakers including former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, unveil policies that include drafting a new Constitution and denying non-Japanese residents the right to vote.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 21, 2014
Selective consumption tax weighed
It's only been three months since the consumption tax was hiked to 8 percent, but the ruling coalition is already expediting talks on another increase scheduled to come into effect in October next year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2014
Female workers may finally get foothold
When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe showed up last Sunday for the 19th International Conference for Women in Business, Kaori Sasaki — who has been organizing the gathering to empower women since 1996 — finally felt that society was changing.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 15, 2014
Abe looking at permanent law allowing dispatch of SDF overseas
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration will consider creating a permanent law allowing dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces overseas, a comment that could lead to a further rift between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, New Komeito.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 13, 2014
Abe: Change rules for female workers
After sexist heckling debacle, prime minister seeks to repair LDP's image with renewed pledge to boost female participation in the workforce.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2014
Abe wins battle to broaden defense policy
The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe authorizes a reinterpretation of war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution, allowing Japan for the first time since World War II to come to the aid of an ally under attack.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 1, 2014
Critics: What defines the conditions for military force?
Japan is at a historic crossroads in amending its long-held pacifist defense posture, a move that it may never reverse, and critics charge that the Abe administration's criteria for exercising the right to collective self-defense will prove ineffective.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 30, 2014
Japan on verge of legalizing war as Komeito bends
Japan is set Tuesday to legalize waging war even when not under direct attack. It is a drastic departure from its postwar position that the war-renouncing Constitution prohibits exercising the right to collective self-defense.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 27, 2014
Collective defense deal near
The ruling coalition closes in on three new standards that would let the Japanese military use force in cases other than when Japan is under attack.

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