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July 17, 2024
 

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Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Sep 21, 2014
Politicians discuss plan B in nuclear power push: underground reactors
With Japan's nuclear power plants nearing the end of their 40-year life cycle, a group of politicians is entertaining the idea of replacing them with underground reactors.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Sep 20, 2014
Importance of China trade not lost on Kansai leaders
Judging by the frequent overheated rhetoric coming out of parts of the Japanese media, you'd think Japan and China were heading toward war.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2014
Japanese youths becoming less engaged with U.S., observers warn
The U.S.-Japan relationship remains extremely close due to shared interests and common strategic concerns. But issues ranging from trade negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership to a perception on the U.S. side that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is too focused on the past, have created immediate political...
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 10, 2014
New Cabinet ministers' pasts coming back to haunt Abe
One week after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled his Cabinet with an eye to the future, the past is coming back to haunt him: Revelations of controversial past statements and actions by his newly appointed ministers are drawing criticism abroad.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 8, 2014
How vulnerable is Japan to severe weather?
The deadly mudslides in Hiroshima and other parts of western Japan last month caused by torrential rains have raised concerns about how vulnerable Japan is to such natural disasters, especially given severe weather events due to climate change.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 4, 2014
Kansai wary of new regional revitalization office's effectiveness
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised that his new Cabinet, unveiled Wednesday, will place a high priority on the social and economic concerns of prefectural and other governments across the nation worried about depopulation and their widening economic gap with Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 1, 2014
With bigger issues in the balance, local election kicks off in Nago, Okinawa
A city assembly election expected to influence Okinawa's gubernatorial election in November and the central government's plans to build a replacement for the controversial Futenma base kicked off Sunday in Nago.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2014
Fukui holds nuke disaster drill under revised evacuation plan
Fukui Prefecture will conduct a nuclear disaster drill on Sunday that involves evacuating areas that lie within 30 km of a nuclear power plant.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 27, 2014
Police say rumors of foreign looters in Hiroshima unfounded
The Hiroshima Prefectural Police said Wednesday they had no information to substantiate online rumors that foreigners were burglarizing houses in areas of the city hit hardest by last week's deadly mudslides.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Aug 24, 2014
Nippon Ishin, Yui no To take second shot at dethroning LDP
With their recent “political remarriage,” Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) and Yui no To (Unity Party) enter the union more experienced, and perhaps more wiser, than the first time around
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Aug 24, 2014
Osaka merger drags on Hashimoto's return to Nagatacho
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto may be moving forward with plans to once again become a notable player in Nagatacho by tying up with Yui no To (Unity Party).
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2014
Fukui to review mudslide dangers in wake of Hiroshima disaster
After the deadly mudslides in Hiroshima, Fukui announces it will conduct a survey on the dangers that such disasters pose to the reactor-packed Tsuruga Peninsula.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Aug 20, 2014
Osaka mayor paints ambitious picture of prefecture in 2025 plan
If Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto has his way, by 2025, as it prepares to host that year's International Expo, Osaka will have become an international entertainment capital, home to a casino resort, the site of a major electronic car race and a bicycle race that rivals the Tour de France.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Aug 16, 2014
Kepco: the monstrous 500-pound gorilla of Kansai
Last month, Chimori Naito, a 91-year-old former vice president at Kansai Electric Power Co., admitted what was hardly a secret but which put the utility under intense media scrutiny.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2014
Power play: the debate over renewable energy
On Aug. 26, 2011, the same day that Prime Minister Naoto Kan resigned after widespread criticism of his handling of the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant that followed the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, the Diet passed legislation that created a new feed-in...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 27, 2014
Is 'Kobe Formula' spanner in works?
On March 18, 1975, in a show of defiance against Japan-U.S. military policy, the Kobe Municipal Assembly passed a resolution that became known as the "Kobe Formula."
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Jul 27, 2014
Self-defense less collective at local level
After the Shiga gubernatorial election earlier this month, in which Taizo Mikazuki, the hand-picked successor to former Gov. Yukiko Kada, defeated the ruling coalition's candidate, certain media agencies and pundits suggested that collective self-defense had no impact on the race.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 25, 2014
Governors tell Abe to get real on fixing economy — outside Tokyo
A long-sought response from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is finally listening to the problems faced by the other Japan — the one outside Tokyo — or a cynical attempt to rally the Liberal Democratic Party before key local elections next April?
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2014
In Osaka, plan to merge wards faces stiff winds
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and his Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) political group formally approved a plan Wednesday evening to consolidate the city's 24 wards into five semiautonomous zones with their own elected leaders and assemblies rather than appointed officials.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Jul 20, 2014
Osaka zone a litmus test of foreign worker policy
As prefectural officials begin talks with Tokyo on a deregulated economic area, local skepticism remains high over the content, necessity of the proposal.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
Japan finds a 'stealth' cure for zombie businesses: Let them fail
A worker at Sakai Seisakusyo prepares to transport metal rods at its factory in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, on July 8.
Trump makes his grand RNC entrance with a bandaged ear and a VP pick
Former U.S. President Donald Trump during the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Monday
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

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'
By Tomoko Otake

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