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November 23, 2024
 

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Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
JAPAN
May 17, 2014
Why Kansai's corporate captains are trumpeting TPP
Several years ago, at the Kansai Economic Seminar, an annual snoozefest of pompous platitudes and pretentious, paternalistic pontificating by the old men who run Kansai's major corporations, one senior leader called for entering the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.
JAPAN
May 13, 2014
Inamine to lead anti-base group to Washington
Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine will lead a delegation of Okinawa residents and politicians to Washington on Thursday, as tensions rise between the mayor and the central government over the plan to build a U.S. military replacement base in the city's Henoko district.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
May 10, 2014
Going nuclear: How close has Japan come?
We examine the historical debate on the country's nuclear ambitions
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 9, 2014
Bid to stop Oi reactor restarts fails
The Osaka High Court rejected an appeal Friday by Kansai-area citizens who were seeking an injunction to prevent the restart of the Oi No. 3 and 4 reactors in Fukui Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 7, 2014
Kada bows out of Shiga race
Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada announces she will not seek a third term but will instead team up with a Lower House member to form a local, anti-nuclear political party.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2014
Populist Hashimoto a true 'yankii'?
In Japanese politics, someone labeled a 'yankii' is something of a populist who disdains cosmopolitanism and intellectual elitism. But does that apply to outspoken Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto?
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Apr 27, 2014
Atrophied Osaka changes mindset toward entrepreneurs
Japan's young entrepreneurs flock to Tokyo because Kansai is too conservative or paranoid to embrace new thinking, but Osaka is working to change all that.
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Apr 27, 2014
Off-the-radar Kansai offers advantages to startups
Ever since St. Francis Xavier arrived in Kagoshima in August 1549, official Japan has preferred foreigners of a certain type: prestigious leaders who are status-quo-oriented and have a large organization backing their ventures here.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 24, 2014
Summit kept to script that sidestepped many issues
High-level summits like Thursday's between U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are mostly scripted affairs, with a clearly defined agenda revolving around the most pressing, or politically important, issues.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 24, 2014
Abe Futenma plan hailed by Nakaima
Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima welcomed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's announcement Thursday that he would seek U.S. President Barack Obama's cooperation in closing U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa within five years.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Apr 19, 2014
America: the superpower ally that's far, far away
Japan is, at heart, politically as well as geographically, a country of small towns. One of these is home to the Japanese-American political relationship.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2014
Hyogo blocks release of nuke crisis study data
Hyogo officials are blocking the release of data from a simulation run last year predicting what would happen to surrounding prefectures in the event of a meltdown crisis at one of Fukui Prefecture's four atomic plants.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2014
Congress top obstacle to TPP deal
Failure by Japanese and U.S. negotiators to reach a Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is making headlines across Japan and raising concerns about the implications for U.S. President Barack Obama's trip here later this month.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Apr 8, 2014
Australian FTA limits Obama's TPP options
The Japan-Australia free trade deal that lowers or ends tariffs on Australian beef and dairy exports to Japan and on Japanese exports of machinery, consumer electronics, auto parts and food products to Australia, now puts pressure on the United States — and President Barack Obama in particular —...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 7, 2014
Kyoto re-elects Yamada to top post
Incumbent Kyoto Gov. Keiji Yamada, 60, easily won re-election Sunday night, defeating rival Nozomu Ozaki, 59, by over a quarter of a million votes in a lackluster race.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 31, 2014
War memorials as varied as public's views
The controversial Yasukuni Shrine, a source of perennial tension between Japan and its East Asian neighbors, and the Peace Parks of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are well-known in and out of Japan as the country's representative war memorials, drawing millions of visitors each year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 23, 2014
Hashimoto wins snap mayoral election amid record low 23.6% turnout
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto cruises to re-election in a highly criticized snap contest that drew a weak voter turnout rate of just 23.59 percent — the city's lowest ever.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Mar 23, 2014
When it comes to tourism, image is everything
The new Osaka Government Tourism Bureau is the latest effort by a Kansai entity to re-brand itself as Japan gears up for a bigger piece of the tourism pie.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2014
'Culture creation' often easier than it looks
For all the official rhetoric about the need for Kansai's prefectures to set themselves apart from each other, let alone from the rest of the country, the local bureaucracies too often have a herd mentality when it comes to planning and promoting tourism campaigns.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 20, 2014
Lack of interest in Osaka mayoral race threatens to damage Ishin brand
While Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto is all but certain to be returned to office in Sunday's election, a lack of interest among voters and the refusal by the major political parties to field candidates threatens to make the result meaningless.
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Saitama court bans demonstrations over anti-Kurd hate speech
Kurdish people in Japan in 2015. A court injunction has banned acts that defame the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association and are disrespectful, such as putting up banner flags or handing out fliers with hate speech like “Refugees should go back to their home countries.”
China reinstates visa-free travel for Japanese nationals
Beijing Daxing International Airport
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.

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