Eric Johnston - The Japan Times

Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

Eric Johnston

Meta

Eric Johnston

BUSINESS

Feb 11, 2011

Kansai biz chiefs call for TPP entry, more investment

KYOTO — Kansai's corporate leaders concluded their annual seminar Thursday by calling on Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government to swiftly join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement, and for increased investment in infrastructure projects they say are necessary for the region to compete...

BUSINESS

Feb 10, 2011

Kansai seeks to up profile in Asia

KYOTO — Kansai's annual gathering of corporate leaders kicked off Wednesday in Kyoto with calls for young people to go abroad and for the region's identity to be strengthened within Asia.

JAPAN / ANALYSIS

Feb 8, 2011

Victors bask after political hat trick

OSAKA — At an October reception in central Nagoya for delegates to the U.N. COP10 meeting on biodiversity, Mayor Takashi Kawamura seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. As he was leaving, his face flushed red, he suddenly broke into English, singing the gospel classic "We Shall Overcome" but giving...

JAPAN

Feb 7, 2011

Kawamura, Omura win in elections

OSAKA — Riding a wave of populist support and local voter discontent with party politics, Nagoya voters returned former Mayor Takashi Kawamura to office Sunday night and elected his ally Hideaki Omura as governor of Aichi Prefecture.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Feb 2, 2011

Kyoto plan to boost visitors with aquarium irks locals

KYOTO — The ancient capital of Kyoto, already a major tourist destination, is moving forward with plans to further boost the number of domestic and international visitors.

JAPAN

Jan 20, 2011

Governor pitches cash for TOEFL-sharp Osaka schools

OSAKA — Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto plans to offer a total of ¥500 million to high schools whose students score highest on the Test of English as a Foreign Language to boost competition and raise the level of language proficiency.

JAPAN / AT JAPAN'S EXPENSE

Jan 5, 2011

Trade pacts one thing, immigrant labor another

Fourth in a series

JAPAN

Jan 4, 2011

Sea Shepherd hurt hunt, Japan urged audit: cables

OSAKA — Japan admitted to the United States that actions by the activist group Sea Shepherd had curtailed its annual whale hunt but opposed Washington's efforts to have it politically engage fellow whaling nation Iceland to reduce its catch, WikiLeaks cables revealed Monday.

JAPAN / EXPLAINER

Dec 14, 2010

Is prefectural alliance a step toward superstates?

OSAKA — After years of planning, a regional alliance of seven prefectures was created earlier this year and held its first meeting this month.

JAPAN / ANALYSIS

Nov 30, 2010

Nakaima victory helps Kan, U.S.

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. — The re-election of Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima on Sunday is a much-needed victory for Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government, which clearly wanted him to win, and the United States, who saw his opponent as a threat to the entire U.S. military presence in the prefecture.

JAPAN

Nov 29, 2010

Okinawa sticks with Nakaima

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — Okinawa voters decided to stay the course and hope for better economic times by re-electing incumbent Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, 71, to a second term Sunday night.

JAPAN

Nov 28, 2010

Nakaima, Iha make last pitches in Okinawa gubernatorial race

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. — The candidates for the Okinawa gubernatorial election spent their final day on the campaign trial Saturday, telling voters their ballots represent a referendum not only on the prefecture's future, but also the future of Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government and Japan's military...

JAPAN

Nov 23, 2010

Japan hand Chalmers Johnson dead at 79

OSAKA — American author and scholar Chalmers Johnson, whose views on postwar Japan angered American academics and Japan experts in the late 1980s but influenced a generation of students studying the country, died Saturday in California at age 79.

JAPAN

Nov 7, 2010

Chinese, Russian finance chiefs snub APEC meeting in Kyoto

KYOTO — Just days before the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum gather in Yokohama, Japan's worsening relations with two of the bloc's members threatened to overshadow the APEC finance ministers' summit in Kyoto on Friday and Saturday.

JAPAN

Nov 7, 2010

Protesters call for end to APEC meets

KYOTO — Japanese opposed to the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum meetings rallied in Kyoto on Saturday to call for ending them, saying they have done nothing more than increase the gap between the poor and the wealthy.

JAPAN / ANALYSIS

Oct 31, 2010

Deal called biggest since '97 Kyoto pact

NAGOYA — Nearly two decades after its creation, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity has finally realized one of its main goals.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Oct 28, 2010

Demand convention ratification, Harrison Ford urges U.S. voters

Hollywood superstar and conservationist Harrison Ford on Thursday called on the United States to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity, saying increasing biodiversity loss makes it imperative that Americans understand the importance of the treaty.

JAPAN

Oct 27, 2010

COP10 end near; unified political will for biodiversity deal eludes

NAGOYA — With long-standing differences still dividing COP10 and the tone of negotiations hardening as the conference entered its final days, delegates and NGOs now believe only strong political leadership at the top will yield results.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Oct 26, 2010

EU, Canada 'Dodos of the Week'

Japanese and international nongovernment organizations participating in the COP10 conference on biodiversity presented a dodo bird award to the delegates they say are leading the world to extinction by blocking progress on new agreements to protect biodiversity loss.

JAPAN

Oct 26, 2010

COP10 flirts with Copenhagen funk

NAGOYA — As the COP10 biodiversity conference headed into its second week Monday with no sign of accord on the key issues dividing delegates, participants feared the same failure that befell last year's climate change talks in Copenhagen.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports