author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 17, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Eric Johnston

Meta

Eric Johnston
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Dec 22, 2013
Kyoto aims to be Muslim-friendly city
Kyoto, a city known worldwide as a major center for Buddhism and as the home of some of the country's most famous Shinto shrines, is stepping up efforts to better welcome one particular group of foreign visitors: Muslims.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 17, 2013
Ishin loses control of Osaka Prefectural Assembly
Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka), a local political group that is part of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), has lost its majority in the Osaka Prefectural Assembly after four members were expelled Monday for voting against the group's proposal to privatize a local railway.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Dec 14, 2013
State secrets bill shows Abe's tin ear for local politics
Former U.S. Speaker of the House Thomas "Tip" O'Neill, one of America's most influential politicians of the late 20th century, had some sage advice for those who thought about national or international politics. "All politics," O'Neill warned, "is local."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2013
Nakaima maintains government aid not tied to Futenma relocation
Relocating the Futenma military base was not on the agenda in talks on central government budget assistance for Okinawa, its governor and Tokyo's top official for the prefecture insisted Sunday.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2013
Pro-base candidates stay in Nago race
...
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 3, 2013
Abe shelves effort to gain passage of Turkey, UAE nuclear export deals
Due to the clash in the Upper House over the contentious state secrets bill, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government will not pursue approval in the current Diet session of two deals signed earlier this year to export nuclear reactor technology and know-how to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 1, 2013
China's new air zone at top of agenda for Biden's visit to Tokyo
When U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visits Japan on Monday, his most urgent task will be to assure Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the U.S. stands firmly against China's new air defense identification zone.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2013
Aussie LNG an energy lifeline — for now
With its nuclear power plants mostly idled since the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, Japan continues its quest to increase imports of liquefied natural gas, especially from Australia.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2013
Flip-flop: LDP Okinawa branch backs Nago base
...
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Nov 24, 2013
Bullet trains on a pro-nuclear curve
In the debate over the future of nuclear power, which provided about a third of Japan's electricity needs before the Fukushima disaster began in 2011, commentators for and against resuming its use have argued their case.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Nov 24, 2013
Secrets bill raises fears among nuclear foes
In late 2005, U.S. government officials, invited by Japan, observed a counterterrorism drill at the Mihama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture and came away worried about the security situation at the complex.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 20, 2013
Nago base rebuff heaps more pressure on Nakaima
With two months to go until its mayoral election, the Okinawa city of Nago said Tuesday it will formally request Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima not to approve an application to start dumping land into the sea off its Henoko coast for the planned replacement base for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Nov 16, 2013
Think caviar but brace for caveat
In one of the most memorable scenes of the late, and sorely missed, Juzo Itami's classic 1985 film "Tampopo" ("Dandelion"), Japanese businessmen enter a French restaurant. Confused by the exotic items on the menu, the elderly members of the party stick to what they know: sole meuniere, consomme soup...
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2013
Fukuoka issues warning on high PM2.5 levels
High levels of PM2.5 particulate matter were recorded Friday in parts of western Japan, prompting the city of Fukuoka to issue a warning amid growing concern that the pollution crisis in China will keep affecting Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2013
Tepco feeling heat over fuel removal
With Tepco getting ready to start removing more than 1,000 fuel rod assemblies from a cooling pool at Fukushima No. 1, global pressure is mounting to allow an international task force to monitor and assist the highly hazardous operation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 4, 2013
U.S. model not seen serving Japan's bid to keep its secrets
As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government pushes for a controversial new state secrets law, critics warn that the public's right to know will be greatly stifled because the bill, recently approved by the Cabinet, targets leakers of information the state deems critical to defense, diplomacy, terrorism...
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Oct 27, 2013
Hashimoto's relevancy beginning to fade
When the candidate backed by Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Toru Hashimoto was defeated in September by Sakai Mayor Osami Takeyama, a staunch Hashimoto foe, it marked what is widely seen as the beginning of the end of the whole Hashimoto-Nippon Ishin movement,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2013
The method behind the brashness
Osaka
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 21, 2013
Mercury still threat, Abe assurances or not
Earlier this month, delegates from over 130 nations gathered in Kumamoto to launch the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The U.N.-brokered treaty aims to limit mercury use and emissions. It comes at a time when the U.N. Environmental Program warns half of all global anthropogenic mercury emissions come...
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Oct 19, 2013
Will Olympic glory carry beyond Tokyo?
If Tokyo's reaction to winning the 2020 Olympics, especially among the cash-strapped TV stations and other media types who rely on bread and circuses-type events to pay the bills, made you feel like Alice in Wonderland or a character in a Samuel Beckett play, you're not alone.
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.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Festival overcomes a nuclear accident and COVID
Festival overcomes a nuclear accident and COVID

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER