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 Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 15, 2016
LDP and Komeito to boycott massive anti-U.S. rally Sunday in Okinawa
Despite protesting the murder of a local woman and calling for revisions in the U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, local Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito officials will not take part in what may be the biggest Okinawan anti-base rally in nearly two decades.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2016
Ships with plutonium from Japan arrive in U.S.
Two ships loaded with Japanese plutonium and highly enriched uranium reach South Carolina for disposal and reprocessing.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 6, 2016
Okinawa anti-base faction's election win puts governor in the driver's seat
Voters gave Gov. Takeshi Onaga high marks in a prefectural assembly election widely viewed as a midterm report on his administration and policies related to U.S. military bases.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 6, 2016
Okinawa anti-base faction boosts its majority in prefectural assembly election
Okinawa's anti-base faction retained and slightly increased its majority in the prefectural assembly following Sunday's election, representing a victory for Gov. Takeshi Onaga and a setback for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 4, 2016
Okinawans get set to vote in local elections amid increased tensions over the U.S. military presence
Okinawans vote Sunday in a prefectural assembly election that may result in a legislative body that strongly supports revising the 1960 Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 1, 2016
Calls to revise SOFA in wake of Okinawa murder unlikely to bear fruit
As a result of the recent murder of a 20-year-old woman in Okinawa, allegedly at the hands of a U.S. base worker and former marine, calls are once again growing for a revision to the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 28, 2016
Obama Hiroshima visit draws mixed reviews
While U.S. President Barack Obama's Hiroshima speech was widely lauded in Japan and overseas, its substance left some observers disappointed on both sides of the Pacific.
JAPAN
May 26, 2016
On eve of Obama's visit, calls to revise SOFA grow in Hiroshima
On the eve of U.S. President Barack Obama's historic visit to Hiroshima, residents and hibakusha on Thursday expressed support for calls to revise the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement following the suspected rape and murder of a 20-year-old Japanese woman in Okinawa Prefecture by a former marine....
JAPAN / Politics
May 24, 2016
Citizens' summit ponders whether Obama should apologize over Okinawa slaying
Questions about whether U.S. President Barack Obama should apologize over the alleged brutal murder of an Okinawa woman by an American base worker were raised Tuesday on the final day of the Citizens' Ise Shima Summit in Mie Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / OBAMA VISITS HIROSHIMA
May 24, 2016
Declassified U.S. cables reveal lead-up to Hiroshima A-bomb decision
On Aug. 6, 1945, Maj. Gen. Leslie Groves sent a top secret cable to his superiors in Washington, D.C.
JAPAN
May 23, 2016
Japanese activist groups call on Abe to boost support for Syrian refugees
The decision by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to accept 150 Syrians over the next five years is both praised and criticized.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
May 22, 2016
Osaka Ishin in existential crisis as election looms
A year after Osaka city voters rejected Osaka Ishin no Kai's most fundamental policy proposal in a referendum, the party finds itself heading south.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
May 22, 2016
Kyoto's concerns mount over mystery 'minpaku' lodgings
Japan's huge tourism influx is greatly welcomed by politicians and select local service industries that are benefitting from the boom.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 20, 2016
Alleged Okinawa murder threatens to reignite Futenma base issue
Thursday's arrest of a 32-year-old U.S. man for the alleged murder of a young Okinawan woman has reignited anger locally and threatens repercussions at an international level.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 19, 2016
Police will be out in force for G-7 leaders summit
With the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Mie Prefecture and a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama to Hiroshima later next week, security is set to tighten as record numbers of police deploy to streets, train stations, ports and airports throughout the country.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
May 15, 2016
Mie's revenue hopes dampened by G-7 security barrage, Obama detour
Hopes in Mie Prefecture for tourism growth after the Group of Seven Ise-Shima summit from May 26 to 27 remain high. But with tourists worried about heavy security and U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Hiroshima stealing the spotlight, residents aren't so sure what the situation will be during the...
JAPAN / View from Osaka
May 14, 2016
Obama's Hiroshima visit sparks 'what if' questions
U.S. President Barack Obama's historic visit to Hiroshima later this month, the first ever by a sitting president, has rekindled the debate on both sides of the Pacific on what happened during the weeks leading up to the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing of the city in the closing days of World War II.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 6, 2016
Expert sees Japan's high level of digital rights offset by public disinclined to curb Big Brother
Japan's restrictions on freedom of expression are growing but its sleepy public might not wake up before it's too late, a U.N. special rapporteur warns.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 26, 2016
LDP lawmaker suggests using hate speech bill on protesters in Okinawa
A Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker has indicated that under a bill now being debated, large groups of people who shouted for U.S. military forces in Okinawa to get out of Japan might find themselves accused of hate speech.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Apr 24, 2016
Party name undermining Osaka Ishin candidate's chances in Kyoto by-election
What's in a name?

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