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 Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Aug 27, 2021
Off to the races: LDP presidential election campaign begins
A number of challengers to Suga are beginning to emerge, with Fumio Kishida currently being the prime minister's strongest rival.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Aug 23, 2021
Loss by Suga ally in Yokohama election rattles the LDP
The prime minister's position has become even more precarious, with questions growing within the LDP over whether he should lead the party into an upcoming general election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 22, 2021
In major blow to Suga, opposition party-backed Takeharu Yamanaka wins Yokohama mayoral election
Takeharu Yamanaka's victory in the Yokohama mayoral also puts the brakes on the city's efforts to host a casino resort in the city's waterfront Yamashita Pier district.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2021
Robert 'Skipp' Orr, key figure in U.S.-Japan relations, dies age 68
Orr enjoyed a long and distinguished career in business, government and academia, with positions at the Asian Development Bank, Boeing Japan and others organizations.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 18, 2021
Former Prime Minister Abe bids for a new role: LDP kingmaker
With Suga's falling popularity opening up an opportunity, Abe and his allies are vying for greater control over the LDP at the expense of Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2021
Kyoto's reconstruction plan calls for big spending cuts
Kyoto faces a financial shortfall of nearly u00a5280 billion over the next five years, and now day care centers, transport subsidies and the bureaucracy are on the chopping block.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2021
Japan's casino resort candidates put finishing touches on bids
A maximum of three locations for so-called integrated resorts — which combine casinos with hotels and other facilities — will then be formally announced sometime after May.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 8, 2021
Casino takes top billing, but Yokohama mayoral election may offer hints to Suga's fate
The main issue is a casino project at Yamashita Pier. Six of the eight candidates, including staunch Suga ally Hachiro Okonogi, are against the plan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Aug 6, 2021
Kansai looks to lessons from Olympics for own international events
Political and business leaders are likely to focus on the good and bad points of Tokyo's experience as they look ahead to the World Masters Games Kansai and the 2025 World Expo.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Explainer
Aug 2, 2021
Pressure builds over raising Japan's age of consent
Controversial remarks by a Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker and cases of paternal rape have driven discussion on lifting the age of consent.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Explainer
Jul 27, 2021
Hiroshima hibakusha have won their 'black rain' lawsuit. This is how they got there.
The government has decided not to appeal a landmark ruling that extends benefits to A-bomb victims affected by fallout outside of a government-designated area.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Explainer
Jul 26, 2021
In times of disaster, Japan's hazard maps provide crucial information
July's deadly mudslide in Shizuoka has put renewed focus on hazard maps for areas at risk from floods, landslides and other natural catastrophes.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2021
COVID-19 cases rise in Sapporo just as Olympic events get underway
Hokkaido's capital is hosting soccer games and will host marathon events, but the mayor is now calling for stronger coronavirus measures as the number of cases jumps.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 20, 2021
Tokyo poll result cements Yuriko Koike's status as a political survivor
After Koike's Tomin First no Kai performed better than expected in the election, speculation has grown that she might once again migrate back to national politics.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2021
IOC president's Hiroshima visit fuels speculation about his true intent
A trip that's officially being made to send a message of peace has instead stirred controversy amid the pandemic and raised questions about Thomas Bach's real purpose.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2021
Yokohama election turns into test for government’s casino resort plan
With a longtime Suga ally entering the race and coming out in opposition to casinos, next month's mayoral vote has become a major challenge to the prime minister on his own turf.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2021
Osaka requests extension to quasi-emergency COVID-19 measures
In a letter to Suga, Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura noted that the weekly rolling average of new infections was increasing, especially for young people.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2021
Japan's metropolises urge government to prioritize vaccines for large cities
Facing the possibility of a coronavirus vaccine supply crunch, governors of major prefectures are lobbying the government to prioritize densely populated areas.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / View from Osaka
Jul 2, 2021
Amid overspending, Kyoto stares down threat of bankruptcy
Some might attribute the city's financial woes to COVID-19's impact on tourism, but the mayor puts the lion's share of the blame elsewhere.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 27, 2021
Population shift in Japan forces redrawing of electoral map, worrying powerful LDP figures
The plan to add representatives in urban areas at the expense of rural districts could hurt LDP heavyweights from Shinzo Abe to Toshihiro Nikai.

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