Eric Johnston - The Japan Times

JAPAN

Aug 25, 2015

Osaka drawing more foreign visitors; may see record 5 million this year

Thanks to a favorable exchange rate, relaxed visa restrictions, more discount airlines flying into Kansai airport and an increase in the number of duty-free shops downtown, the number of foreign visitors to Osaka this year is expected to top 5 million for perhaps the first time.

JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE

Aug 23, 2015

Top-heavy, nuke-clinging Kepco faces liberated electricity market

News that 7-Eleven stores in the Kansai region will trade Kansai Electric Power Co.'s electricity in favor of cheaper electricity from Tokyo Electric Power Co. has locals wondering if Kepco's six-decade monopoly over Kansai's electricity supply might be ending.

JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE

Aug 23, 2015

As Hashimoto's reign nears end, a divisive legacy remains

Assuming he does not once again change his mind and seek re-election, the curtain on Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's local political career falls on Nov. 22, when voters elect a new mayor and governor.

JAPAN / Politics

Aug 20, 2015

Shiga residents slam lawmaker who resigned from LDP amid money scandal

Lower House member Takaya Muto, who quit the Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday over allegations of a financial scandal, has come under fire among his constituents in Shiga Prefecture for betraying their trust, and faces an uncertain future as an independent politician.

JAPAN / View from Osaka

Aug 15, 2015

Antinuclear activists need injection of fresh ideas

One of the basic jobs of any journalist is to cover public demonstrations. Not only do they make for great stories, they also provide the reporter with a chance to play amateur social anthropologist by observing how the individuals and groups involved interact with each other, and the public, before,...

JAPAN

Aug 12, 2015

In major victory for nuclear industry, first reactor goes online under post-Fukushima regime

Four years and five months to the day after the crisis began at the Fukushima No. 1 power station, Japan formally returned to nuclear power Tuesday with the restart of Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Sendai No. 1 reactor in Kagoshima Prefecture.

JAPAN

Aug 10, 2015

Reactor in Kagoshima poised for restart despite public opposition

Kyushu Electric Power will restart the No. 1 reactor at its Sendai nuclear plant on Tuesday, marking the country's first long-term return to nuclear power since the Fukushima crisis.

JAPAN / History / 70 YEARS AFTER THE WAR'S END

Aug 10, 2015

A legacy of WWII, Korean residents test nation's ability to accommodate non-Japanese

World War II had, and continues to have, a profound impact on the Korean community in Japan.

JAPAN

Aug 9, 2015

Nagasaki bombing remembered, but doubts emerge over anti-war, anti-nuke policy

Nagasaki marks the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing with calls to abolish nuclear weapons and a direct criticism of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's security bills.

JAPAN / History

Aug 8, 2015

Truth hurts: censorship in the media

"Truth, it has been said, is the first casualty of war." — Philip Snowden, July 1916

JAPAN

Aug 5, 2015

U.S. stands by Henoko plan despite move by Tokyo to suspend construction

The United States will continue to back plans to relocate the U.S. Marine base at Futenma to Henoko, both in Okinawa, despite the surprise decision by Tokyo to suspend construction for a month due to opposition in the prefecture over the project, a U.S. official in Washington said Tuesday.

BUSINESS

Aug 1, 2015

No final deal in TPP trade talks

Efforts to conclude the framework for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement ended in failure Saturday, with negotiators unable to bridge differences over issues ranging from pharmaceutical patents to expanded imports of agricultural, and particularly dairy, products.

JAPAN / Politics

Jul 30, 2015

Kyoto bids to host Cultural Affairs Agency

The city of Kyoto is stepping up efforts to become the new home of the Cultural Affairs Agency, which works to protect Japan's officially designated cultural treasures.

JAPAN / Politics

Jul 26, 2015

Osaka merger, rejected by referendum, is not dead yet

Hang on. Haven't we seen this movie before?

JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE

Jul 26, 2015

Hashimoto's proposed Kansai-centric party no easy sell in region, where rivalries limit appeal

No stranger to making headlines and raising eyebrows in politics, the fiery Toru Hashimoto did it again on July 4.

JAPAN

Jul 24, 2015

To avoid raising eyebrows, entities swapping Kinki for Kansai

In an effort to increase recognition abroad as well as prevent smirks, giggles, or shocked stares from English speakers, more businesses and private organizations are dropping the regional name "Kinki" from their titles and replacing it with "Kansai."

JAPAN / Politics

Jul 23, 2015

Onaga to address U.N. human rights body on Futenma dispute

Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga is finalizing plans to take his objections over the planned Futenma replacement base to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in September, prefectural officials said Thursday.

JAPAN / View from Osaka

Jul 19, 2015

The cafes play jazz deep in the heart of Kyoto

Last month, it was announced the number of visitors to Kyoto in 2014 (including day trippers) topped 55 million people, a 7.8 percent increase over 2013. The total number of foreign visitors who spent at least one night was 1.83 million, a whopping 62 percent increase over 2013.

JAPAN / Politics

Jul 16, 2015

Panel finds 'flaws' in Henoko landfill approval

As the Lower House passed controversial security bills Thursday designed to deepen Japan's military ties with the United States, Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga moved a step closer to halting work on a controversial new U.S. air base after an advisory panel found serious flaws in the approval process.

JAPAN

Jul 15, 2015

Ikata reactor in Ehime wins safety approval as nuclear plants inch closer to restart

Shikoku Electric Power Co.'s Ikata No. 3 reactor has become the fifth reactor to obtain regulatory approval for a restart since the 2011 Fukushima crisis began.

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