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August 15, 2024
 

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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
May 11, 2015
Ruling coalition reaches agreement on bills to expand SDF's role
The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito reach agreement on legislation that would expand the scope of the Self-Defense Forces' activities overseas and expand the areas in which they can operate.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 7, 2015
LDP seeks all-party talks on revising pacifist Constitution
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party called Thursday for all-party talks on revising the Constitution in areas they can agree upon, in an apparent bid to lower the bar for a first-ever revision of the U.S.-drafted charter.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 28, 2015
LDP aims to revise Constitution by 2017
A key member of the Liberal Democratic Party said Tuesday he wants the party to achieve its long-held goal of revising the Constitution within the next two years, arguing the 68-year-old charter should be updated to adapt to a changing domestic and international environment.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 14, 2015
Ruling parties resume battle over SDF mission expansion bills
The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito restart debate on security legislation aimed at giving the Self-Defense Forces a bigger role on overseas missions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 13, 2015
Abe camp's push for white-collar merit pay seen as no-overtime wages ploy
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration submitted a revised Labor Standards Law to the Diet earlier this month that would allow firms to exempt well-paid skilled workers from work-hour regulations — the so-called white-collar exemption system, which would effectively do away with overtime pay.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ABENOMICS — THE BOTTOM LINE
Apr 7, 2015
'Abenomics' fails to get households spending
Data suggest the BOJ's massive quantitative easing has pushed the yen's value down, benefiting big firms and boosting stock prices, but when it comes to household budgets, it is a different story.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 6, 2015
Takaichi denies Shukan Post story alleging loan scandal
Internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi flatly denied allegations Monday by a weekly magazine about her brother's involvement in a dubious loan scandal, accusing the publication of fabricating the story.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 24, 2015
In gaffe, Abe refers to SDF as 'military'
Despite Japan's official view that the Self-Defense Forces' legal nature makes it different from the militaries of other nations, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calls the SDF “our military.”
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 20, 2015
Coalition takes major step toward loosening SDF rules
The ruling coalition reaches a formal deal on security legislation, bringing the Abe administration one step closer to expanding the role Japan's military can constitutionally play overseas.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 17, 2015
Multiparty group to examine LGBT discrimination
A group of lawmakers on Tuesday launched a multiparty caucus to examine discrimination against sexual minorities in a move expected to further intensify debate ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
JAPAN / History
Mar 12, 2015
LDP panel explores ways to convey Japan's views on sex slave issue
Some members said a strategic plan is needed to lobby other countries on the issue of 'comfort women,' a euphemism for those forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 3/11 STILL BEING FELT
Mar 12, 2015
Produce worries easing but some fish, wild foods still a problem in wake of Fukushima meltdowns
The public panic over the threat of radioactive food has subsided in the four years since the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant experienced three reactor core meltdowns and spewed massive amounts of fallout, but worries persist.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2015
Abe presses forward on collective defense
The Abe administration proposed Friday amending the Self-Defense Forces Law to make it legal to exercise the right to collective self-defense, moving a step closer to the possibility that Japan will use military force even if it is not under direct attack.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2015
Shimomura admits support groups told to stay mum on fund allegations
Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura admitted Thursday that his secretary had urged support groups not to speak to reporters about allegations that he misused political funds.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 26, 2015
Education chief denies report he received illegal funds
Education minister Hakubun Shimomura denies allegations by a muck-raking magazine that he received illegal political donations, accusing it of failing to check the facts.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2015
Opposition assails Abe over Nishikawa resignation
Opposition parties refused Tuesday to convene a scheduled session of the Lower House Budget Committee and instead unleashed a salvo of taunts over the surprise resignation of farm minister Koya Nishikawa the day before.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 20, 2015
LDP, Komeito split on SDF's overseas role
The Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito remained far apart Friday over how far to expand the Self-Defense Forces' overseas activities in line with the Abe administration's controversial reinterpretation of the pacifist Constitution last summer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2015
Abe's JA reforms no salve for core problems, experts say
Takashi Tomita, who heads an agricultural cooperative in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, is considered a ray of hope for a farming sector on the brink of collapse.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 16, 2015
Abe affirms bid to revise Constitution
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has confirmed his administration aims to revise the Constitution, saying in the Diet that amending the pacifist charter is one of his party's most sought-after goals.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 16, 2015
Japanese deaths stir debate on hostage rescue capabilities
Following the gruesome executions of two Japanese by the Islamic State group, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seems more eager than ever for legal authority to deploy Self-Defense Forces elements overseas, saying it is the government's duty to rescue its citizens.
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.

Podcast

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

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’
By Thu-Huong Ha

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