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November 23, 2024
 

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Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
JAPAN
May 20, 2012
Kansai leaders vow 15% cut in summer electricity use
Kansai government leaders agreed Saturday to cut electricity use in the region by at least 15 percent between July and September under the assumption that the Oi No. 3 and No. 4 nuclear reactors in Fukui Prefecture won't be restarted in time to meet peak summer demand.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 17, 2012
Kansai power crunch just political rivalry?
The confrontation between the central government and Kansai area leaders over the restart of two nuclear reactors in Oi, Fukui Prefecture, has more to do with the growing power struggle between Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda than with safety or objective attempts to determine...
Japan Times
JAPAN / 40 YEARS AFTER REVERSION
May 17, 2012
Old deals sowed seeds of unresolved problems
Third in a series Forty years after the U.S. returned Okinawa to Japan after a 27-year occupation, the public agreement ensuring American bases would remain after reversion and the secret agreement allowing the U.S. to reintroduce nuclear weapons continue to create anger in Okinawa and problems for the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 16, 2012
Kansai braces for summer heat without reactors
News that the Kansai region will be asked to cut summer power consumption by at least 15 percent and that plans are afoot for outright restrictions on electricity use, including rolling blackouts, was greeted calmly by area political leaders and residents.
JAPAN
May 10, 2012
Kansai to face the heat reactor-free
Kansai firms and individuals are bracing for a long summer, as contradictory predictions from Tokyo, Kansai Electric Power Co. and renewable-energy advocates are stirring concern over how much electricity will be available, but not fueling a desire to restart two nuclear reactors that would ensure sufficient...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 3, 2012
Economy, prestige at stake in Kyoto-Nara maglev battle
By the middle of the century, if all goes according to plan, a maglev shinkansen will be in operation between Tokyo and Osaka, reducing a 100-minute trip to just over an hour.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2012
Hopes for Noda-Obama talks underwhelm
When Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda meets with Barack Obama on Monday, they will hold the first formal one-on-one talks between a Japanese leader and a U.S. president in Washington since February 2009.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2012
Officials find Oi split on reactor restarts
Officials from the central government announced they made progress on convincing residents that it is safe to restart two idled reactors at Oi's nuclear plant during a meeting Thursday evening.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2012
METI official talks up Oi reactor restart in Fukui
A visiting official from the industry ministry on Thursday apologized to the town of Oi, Fukui Prefecture, over the government's failure to create a new nuclear watchdog by April 1, but stressed that the town's idled atomic reactors have passed all the requisite safety tests to resume operations.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2012
Amid restart protests, Kansai leaders offer fuel storage
Opposition among Kansai leaders to restarting reactors 3 and 4 at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture remains strong.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2012
Doubt in Kansai grows over plant restarts, blackout predictions
Distrust of the central government's conclusion that the Oi No. 3 and No. 4 reactors are safe to restart and doubts over Kansai Electric Power Co.'s predictions of possible blackouts without them have grown in Kansai this week.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2012
Infighting unlikely but media impact was tops: expert
U.S. experts on North Korea said Friday's failed launch will probably not create leadership conflicts in Pyongyang, but that if the true purpose of the launch was to whip up a world media frenzy, it succeeded brilliantly.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2012
Kansai leaders boost pressure against restart
As the central government moves toward a final decision on restarting the Oi No. 3 and No. 4 reactors, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his Cabinet find themselves in a looming showdown with popular Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and the governors of Kyoto and Shiga prefectures, who want the reactors to...
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2012
Debate growing over 'local' reactor consent
Dissent between those inside Fukui Prefecture who want two reactors in the town of Oi restarted quickly and those in adjacent prefectures who want to wait for stronger safety measures or are opposed altogether, highlights the dilemma Tokyo faces in obtaining local consent.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2012
Ishihara-Hashimoto talks on new party hit snag
Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto met Wednesday morning in Osaka to explore a possible tieup in the next Lower House election, but differences between the two over key issues remained.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2012
Kyoto governor demands reactor safety guarantee
Opposition in the Kansai region to restarting reactors 3 and 4 at the nuclear plant in Oi, Fukui Prefecture, continued to build Thursday, with Kyoto Gov. Keiji Yamada telling the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency that he isn't convinced of their safety.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2012
Kansai politicians want new safety regime before Oi reactor restart
Politicians in the Kansai region are increasingly coming out against approving any early restart of two nuclear reactors in Fukui Prefecture unless the central government first issues new safety guidelines that would hopefully prevent another crisis like Fukushima No. 1.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Mar 27, 2012
Old guard see despot in Hashimoto
Toru Hashimoto's push to fundamentally reform Japan picked up steam Saturday with the opening of Ishin Seiji Juku (Restoration Political Institute), as criticism grows in Tokyo that the outspoken Osaka mayor is leading not only a national revolt against established parties but also a mass movement reminiscent...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 27, 2012
Tohoku in rebuilding bubble
As Tohoku struggles to rebuild from last year's quake and tsunami, money continues to pour into the region in the form of central government subsidies for cleanup, repair and reconstruction.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2012
Kepco faces demand to exit nuclear power
The city of Osaka should issue a demand at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s June shareholders' meeting that the utility get out of the nuclear power business and rely instead on renewable energy sources, a joint prefectural-municipal committee has recommended.
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.
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.
Man charged with murder allegedly made victim date other men for money
A car carrying suspect Ryotaro Masuda, who was indicted for allegedly beating his 25-year-old girlfriend to death, leaves the Shibuya Police Station in Tokyo on Thursday.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ex-yokozuna Kitanofuji dies at 82
Yokozuna Kitanofuji enters the ring during the May 1970 grand sumo tournament in Tokyo.
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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