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 Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2017
Osaka governor blocks opening of scandal-tainted school until after review
Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui says he will not approve the opening of an elementary school at the center of a national political scandal involving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, Akie.
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2017
RCEP envoys make progress on trade deal in Kobe but complexity threatens timeline
Negotiators from 16 nations accounting for half the world's population inched closer to drafting a multilateral trade treaty after five days of negotiations that went late into Friday evening.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 2, 2017
Grilled over Osaka land deal, Abe balks at demand for probe into LDP
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rejects demands for an investigation into his Liberal Democratic Party over the school land deal in Osaka some are now calling the “Akheed scandal.”
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2017
Osaka Prefecture relaxed school-approval system rules after Moritomo Gakuen request
Osaka's governor said Tuesday the prefecture relaxed regulations regarding the approval system for opening schools after a nationalist private kindergarten operator made a request, but denied it influenced the decision.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2017
16-nation RCEP talks resume in wake of TPP's demise
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership begins five days of negotiations on hammering out a 16-nation trade pact to fill the shoes of the aborted TPP.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Feb 26, 2017
Nippon Ishin no Kai bill targets gambling woes in bid to move casino policies forward
The opposition party Nippon Ishin no Kai is proposing new legislation to deal with problem gamblers, hoping to speed up the debate after a bill legalizing casinos in Japan was rammed through the Diet in December.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Feb 26, 2017
Kyoto working to get its interpreter/guides up to global speed
With over 3 million visitors from abroad visiting the ancient capital of Kyoto in fiscal 2015, getting around with an official interpreter would have meant relying on government-qualified guides.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2017
Akie Abe's message deleted from nationalist school's website as PM's wife gives up honorary title
Akie Abe gives up her honorary title at a nationalist school making real estate and hate speech waves in Osaka that is also linked to defense chief Tomomi Inada.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2017
With the TPP dead, Asia-Pacific eyes turn to Kobe meet for regional trade framework
With the demise of the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, attention in the Asia-Pacific region has turned to Kobe, where representatives from 16 countries gather Monday for the next round of negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Feb 18, 2017
Abe walks a fine line between Trump and Asia
In defending his attempts to bond with U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Diet members last week that however critical other countries, and much of America, might be of Trump, he, and by extension Japan, has no other choice but to forge close relations with the president.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 16, 2017
NPA's sex trafficking data for 2016 just tip of the iceberg: NGOs
The National Policy Agency reports that forced prostitution and human trafficking victimized 46 people across Japan in 2016, but one group says the figures are just the start.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2017
Toshiba's woes weigh heavily on government's ambition to sell Japan's nuclear technology
Toshiba's announcement it will write down nearly u00a5712.5 billion in losses involving its U.S. nuclear unit is seen as a setback for the government's strategy of selling the nation's nuclear technology.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2017
Apa under fire again, this time for anti-Semitic remarks
The Apa Group finds itself once again facing international criticism, this time for anti-Semitic comments made in a magazine distributed to hotels it owns and runs in Canada.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 10, 2017
Business leaders critical of Abe's overtures to Trump
Senior business leaders, former diplomats and government advisers, and national security experts Friday warned that while Japan's relationship with the United States is the foundation for regional security, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's attempts to forge a close relationship with U.S. President Donald...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 9, 2017
Kansai leaders say Trump must be taken seriously, but not always literally
Japan's leaders need to take U.S. President Donald Trump seriously, but not always literally, and must exercise great caution in interpreting what he says. But Japan must also stress to him the importance, and benefits, of the U.S.-Japan security and economic relationship.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2017
Osaka pushes Yumeshima for casino and resort, 2025 World Expo
Osaka's political and business leaders are moving forward with plans to develop Yumeshima, a man-made island in Osaka Bay, into what they hope will be the site of an integrated resort with casino gambling by 2024 and the World Exposition in 2025.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 4, 2017
Trump card: Japan casts a wary eye on future with new U.S. president
"Japan has a snake in her bosom. That snake is namely flatterers. What led Japan to defeat is neither army nor government, but the snake in Japan's bosom, the flatterers."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2017
Japan cautiously watching how Trump agitates the trade waters
As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration struggles to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump, local government leaders around the country, many of whom are members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, are expressing caution and concern about what Trump has said and plans to do. They are also reminding...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 30, 2017
Japan breathes new life into regional, non-U.S. trade pact
With U.S. President Donald Trump's formal decision to withdraw from the long controversial American-led Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, attention in the Asia-Pacific region is turning toward making renewed efforts to complete a separate multilateral trade agreement that excludes the U.S. —...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2017
On casinos, Osaka moves forward as Yokohama steps back
As a Liberal Democratic Party team tasked with recommending policies for casino resorts met this week, leaders in Osaka and Yokohama displayed opposite reactions to the prospect of hosting such facilities.

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