author

 
 
 Eric Johnston

Meta

Eric Johnston
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 24, 2017
Dozens of local governments across Japan voice concerns over conspiracy bill
As a contentious and now internationally controversial bill to criminalize conspiracies faces stiffening opposition in the Diet, dozens of local governments nationwide are voicing concerns, warning against possible human rights violations and the rise of a surveillance state.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
May 21, 2017
Redrawing of Nara's electoral map may force internal affairs chief into rematch with DP's Mabuchi
The Cabinet's decision last week to approve the redrawing of Japan's electoral map by eliminating one Lower House district from each of six prefectures (Aomori, Iwate, Mie, Nara, Kumamoto and Kagoshima) is the central government's response to a declining population that is increasingly concentrated in...
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
May 21, 2017
Kansai gropes for missile response as Korean war hype builds
With North Korea test-launching missiles on a regular basis toward Japan, towns, cities and prefectures are getting more serious about how best to respond if and when one approaches.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
May 20, 2017
For better relations, Tokyo should use Korean residents to open diplomatic channels with new South Korean government
Since the beginning of the year, Japan's official relations with the Korean Peninsula have gone from bad to worse. Not a day goes by without a report about North Korea's latest provocation. Journalists, politicians, and pundits deliberate — one might say "geek out" — over whether the missile just...
JAPAN
May 19, 2017
Ex-residents set to visit two of disputed isles off Hokkaido in June
Former residents of the four Japan-claimed islands that were seized by Russia at the end of World War II may soon fly to two of them on June 18, as plans are now being finalized, according to multiple reports quoting government sources on Friday. That would mark the first time they have been allowed...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 17, 2017
Kepco restarts Takahama No. 4 reactor amid anti-nuclear protest
Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Takahama No. 4 reactor was restarted Wednesday just over 14 months after it was forced to shut down, bringing to four the number of reactors currently operating in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 12, 2017
Moritomo Gakuen to lose nursery license, Osaka mayor says
Moritomo Gakuen will now lose its nursery school license because it can't secure enough qualified child care specialists to staff its Osaka city-based nursery school, Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura said Friday.
JAPAN
May 10, 2017
Japan's Korean community has high hopes for improved bilateral relations after Moon election
Leaders of Japan's Korean community welcomed the election of Moon Jae-in as South Korea's next president, saying the victory offers a chance to rebalance Japan's relationship with its Asian neighbor.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
May 9, 2017
Japan's little-known, but significant, role in World War I
In the midst of debates about whether the Self-Defense Forces should be dispatched to the far corners of the globe to assist a military alliance partner, an obscure episode involving the Imperial Japanese Navy a century ago in the Mediterranean Sea offers key lessons for today's politicians, bureaucrats...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Apr 29, 2017
Power politics: Japan's most popular political platforms
Looking back at some of the political platforms that have been heavily endorsed by voters over the past century in a bid to predict where the country might be headed under the 'third generation' of postwar Japanese.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 27, 2017
Mystery deepens over Moritomo land deal as recording with Finance Ministry emerges
The shadowy Moritomo Gakuen scandal takes a new twist after a recording of the land negotiations between its former chief and the Finance Ministry emerges.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 26, 2017
Abe-Putin summit in Russia to spotlight territorial dispute and North Korean threat
From North Korea to scallops, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin have a wide range of items on their agenda when they meet Thursday in Moscow.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2017
Japan gets real: what to do when the 10-minute missile warning comes
With fears growing that North Korea could hold a nuclear or missile test, officials nationwide respond to a government request to provide information on what to do in the event Japan is targeted.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Apr 23, 2017
Kansai leaders grope for ways to keep regional population stable amid projected slide
A projection showing that Japan's population could fall from 127.09 million in 2015 to 88.08 million by 2065 has pushed Kansai leaders harder for more policies and funding to increase the local birthrate, keep younger people from leaving and protect the growing ranks of the elderly.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Apr 23, 2017
In collaboration with Starbucks, Kobe brews a renewable energy source
Coffee drinkers in Kobe who are wondering what they can do to help the environment and support local renewable energy projects might consider heading to a Starbucks.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 17, 2017
Japan's private schools fill a niche but at a cost
The saga of scandal-plagued, Osaka-based Moritomo Gakuen, which advocated a nationalist education, has thrown the spotlight on private educational institutions in Japan and how they are operated.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Apr 15, 2017
The real Moritomo Gakuen story is clear as mud
"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." — Mark Twain
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2017
North Korean-run schools fall victim to Tokyo-Pyongyang tensions as funding dries up
As tensions between Tokyo and Pyongyang mount, prefectures begin cutting funding to North Korean-run schools in Japan under a new ministry directive.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2017
Aspiring Tsuruga's tourism drive hindered by nuclear image
Officials in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, attempting to promote their city as a tourist destination, received a rude shock recently when a survey showed its image was less one of natural beauty and fresh seafood and more one of being a center for nuclear power.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2017
Cabinet gives the greenlight to Osaka's 2025 World Expo bid proposal
Osaka's bid to host the 2025 World Exposition earned a stamp of approval from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government Tuesday.

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'