author

 
Menu
Search
 
November 22, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Mizuho Aoki
Mizuho Aoki is a staff writer covering local news, including the current Tokyo gubernatorial race, education and aviation-related stories. She graduated from Hitotsubashi Universty with a degree in social science.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 18, 2015
Ruling bloc on verge of enacting security laws
The battle over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's publicly divisive security bills enters its final phase as the Upper House shrugs off the opposition's latest tricks and prepares to vote.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 17, 2015
Opposition parties' delaying tactics throw Diet into chaos
In an Upper House meeting rife with heckling and wrestling, two disputed security bills are bulldozed through committee, paving the way for enactment by the ruling bloc.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 17, 2015
Foes stand their ground as ruling bloc presses hard for vote on contentious security bills
The ruling bloc tried to clear a key hurdle to enact its contentious security legislation at the Upper House on Wednesday night, but the move was met with vehement protests from opposition lawmakers and thousands of angry demonstrators who gathered in a rally around the Diet building.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 16, 2015
Japan's defense reform tarnished by low public support, unconvincing sales pitch
The ruling bloc's effort to pass a pair of controversial security bills has failed in an important respect: to win public support.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 8, 2015
Bill easing regulations on temp workers passes key committee
The ruling bloc bulldozed a contentious bill to revise the worker dispatch law through an Upper House committee Tuesday, clearing a critical hurdle for its enactment that will enable companies to use temporary workers for as long as they wish.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 8, 2015
Abe remains LDP president after Noda fails to build enough support to run
Now that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has cemented his leadership of the LDP, he is expected to focus on the economy ahead of next year's Upper House election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 8, 2015
Revamp of Japan's temp sector may create lifelong job seekers
With the bill to overhaul regulations on the use of temporary workers poised to clear the Diet this week, thousands of temps dispatched from staffing agencies worry they may lose their jobs in three years after the change takes effect.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 7, 2015
Female empowerment law first step, but male-oriented work culture must change: experts
The recent passage of a government-sponsored bill to promote women in the workplace is widely seen as a small step forward in a country that lags far behind other developed nations when it comes to gender equality.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 4, 2015
Opposition leaders pledge last-ditch efforts to block security bills
The leaders of six opposition parties Friday agreed to form a united front in trying to prevent the ruling camp bulldozing two contentious security bills into law.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 3, 2015
My Number law revised, IDs to be linked to bank accounts from 2018
The Diet passed a bill Thursday to expand the use of a personal identification number to improve tax collection despite concerns over potential identity theft.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2015
Ishin, DPJ agree to work together to challenge ruling coalition
Leaders of Ishin no To and the Democratic Party of Japan agree to bolster cooperation in the Diet and future elections with the aim of taking the fight to the ruling camp.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 28, 2015
Diet passes bill aimed at boosting women in the workplace
The Diet passed a bill Friday aiming to promote the role of women in the workplace, along with greater female participation in the economy at a time when the country's population is expected to shrink further.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 27, 2015
Hashimoto, Matsui leaving Ishin no To as split in party worsens
The pair, who founded the party, said they were leaving to concentrate on local politics in Osaka ? a move certain to weaken the second largest opposition force.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 21, 2015
Effort afoot to freeze animal reproductive cells at Yokohama zoo
From humboldt penguins to black jaguars, sperm and eggs from dozens of zoo animals are being frozen and stored at the Zoorasia Yokohama Zoological Gardens until they can be used for artificial insemination.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 19, 2015
Nakatani defends Joint Staff security bills document
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani admitted Wednesday that the ministry's Joint Staff Office created an internal document in late May about expanding overseas operations of the Self-Defense Forces, based on the assumption that security legislation currently under debate in the Upper House would be enacted....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2015
Abe says National Stadium responsibility falls on him, promises 'all-out effort' to complete project
Amid opposition calls for the education and sports minister to resign, Abe says it's his job to make the event ”move people of the world.”
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 6, 2015
Opposition slams LDP in pushing anti-discrimination bill
The lawmakers said successive Liberal Democratic Party-led governments had failed for decades to establish a law against racial discrimination, allowing hate speech to flourish.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 3, 2015
Abe adviser retracts remarks about security bills' constitutionality, vows not to resign
A key adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe retracts his remarks downplaying the need for the national security bills in the Upper House to be consistent with the Constitution.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 27, 2015
Upper House begins debate on controversial security bills
Debate over the security bills to overhaul Japan's postwar defense policies kicks off in the Upper House.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2015
Upper House electoral districts set for historic postwar shake-up to end election 'unconstitutionality'
The bill, jointly submitted by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and four opposition parties, rectifies sharp gaps in the weight of votes among a number of constituencies.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
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.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’
SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER