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 Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 22, 2013
Hashimoto in limbo after trouncing
The future of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Toru Hashimoto remained unclear Sunday evening following the party's poor performance in the Upper House election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 19, 2013
Ishin's woes go beyond Hashimoto's gaffes
While Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) battles for seats in Sunday's Upper House election, it has given up on two key local races where the expected winners oppose its fundamental goals, further eroding support in its Kansai base.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2013
Feelings about Japan depend on who's polled, and where
Public sentiment about the economy and the direction Japan is taking has improved somewhat since last year, according to a study by the Washington-based Pew Research Center.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 10, 2013
Politicians silent on curbing hate speech
Calls in the Diet for legislation to curb hate speech targeting foreign residents of Japan are being made even as the issue barely registers on the campaign trail for the July 21 Upper House poll.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / GAME OF NUMBERS
Jul 10, 2013
Pro-nuke LDP's candidate quiet on Ehime reactor restart bid
On the far western edge of Shikoku, Ehime's Sada Misaki Peninsula juts out into the Seto Inland Sea. It's a long sliver of land home to several species of hawk and several varieties of the prefecture's famous "mikan" oranges.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / GAME OF NUMBERS
Jul 8, 2013
Hashimoto: from third force to political farce?
Third in a series One year ago, Toru Hashimoto was the toast of the nation's media, with many predicting the outspoken Osaka mayor, who was then laying plans for a new national party, would become prime minister after the next Lower House election. Politicians ranging from Shinzo Abe and Ichiro Ozawa...
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2013
Hashimoto pushes Yao Osprey plan
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, co-leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), hopes to push forward his contentious plan to bring U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft, currently deployed to the Futenma base in Okinawa, to Yao airport in Osaka Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2013
First MOX shipment since 3/11 arrives in Fukui
Japan's first shipment of mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel since the Fukushima nuclear crisis broke out on March, 11, 2011, arrives at Takahama, Fukui Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2013
Hashimoto stays at helm despite fiasco, calls to exit
Calls for Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Toru Hashimoto to resign mounted Monday morning, after the party's candidates were soundly beaten in Sunday's Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2013
Hashimoto threat to quit helm roils party
Chaos continues to reign in Nippon Ishin no Kai and senior party members move into damage control mode following co-leader Toru Hashimoto's threat to resign.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2013
San Francisco hits sex-slave remarks; Hashimoto defiant
Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Toru Hashimoto remained defiant Wednesday in the face of a fresh round of domestic and international criticism over his comments that Japan's wartime "comfort women" system of sex slavery was necessary at the time.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2013
Kepco's MOX load to arrive June 27
The first batch of controversial MOX fuel to be sent to Japan since the Fukushima disaster is set to arrive in Fukui Prefecture on June 27.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2013
Okinawa pitches Futenma 'dispersal'
Okinawa contacted the office of the U.S. secretary of defense earlier this week with proposals to relocate the contingent at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to other parts of Japan outside the prefecture, saying there are 35 commercial airports and military facilities, from Kyushu to Hokkaido,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2013
San Francisco spurned Hashimoto amid sex slave outrage
A senior San Francisco official urged the city of Osaka to cancel Mayor Toru Hashimoto's visit after he angered residents by saying Japan's wartime 'comfort women' system was necessary.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2013
Nippon Ishin bills seek casinos, dual-duty nod for Upper House ranks
Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) is planning two bills: one that would legalize casinos and one that would let local government heads concurrently serve in the Upper House.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 7, 2013
Hashimoto to Abe: Fly Ospreys at Yao
Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Toru Hashimoto proposed to the central government Thursday that some MV-22 Osprey flight drills be conducted at Yao Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 4, 2013
Japan urged to play more visible role on continent
The mood of hope at the end of TICAD V is mingled with uncertainty about the steps in store for the conference and Japan-Africa relations as a whole, especially regarding political exchanges at the highest levels.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 4, 2013
A term for Abe's ilk? Well, nonliberal
Foreign media and overseas Japan experts largely use 19th- and 20th-century labels to describe Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and current Japanese politics led by his Liberal Democratic Party — "right-wing," "hawkish," "conservative" and "nationalist."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2013
Projected baby boom needs immediate action
With one-third of the world's children in 2050 predicted to be born in Africa, the international community must invest in their parents now, not down the road, UNICEF's executive director said in an interview with The Japan Times.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NURTURING PARTNERSHIPS
Jun 1, 2013
Somalia seeks return to global fold
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has told Japan's and Africa's leaders that his country faces four challenges as it struggles to become a constructive member of the global community again after decades of civil war and anarchy.

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