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November 22, 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
Dec 15, 2014
Kaieda quits as DPJ chief after humiliating ejection from Diet
Humiliated by the loss of his seat in the Lower House election, Banri Kaieda resigns as president of the Democratic Party of Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014
Resurgent JCP has night to remember
While the leaders of most of the opposition parties were grim-faced Sunday night, the Japanese Communist Party was celebrating after it more than doubled its seats in the Lower House.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 2, 2014
Another low for Japan's gender gap, as only 15% of election candidates are female
So much for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's call to empower women.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 1, 2014
Party chiefs spar at press club debate
Leaders of the ruling and opposition parties squared off during a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Monday, a day before official campaigning got underway for the Dec. 14 Lower House election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 1, 2014
Campaigns under way but outcome no surprise
Two weeks after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election, campaigning has officially kicked off with more than 1,000 candidates vying for the 475 seats in the Diet's lower chamber.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2014
Reduced tax rate, security legislation top priorities for Komeito
The government must apply a reduced rate to certain daily necessities to soften the impact of the second stage of the consumption tax hike in April 2017, even if it means collecting less revenue and creating extra work for some people, Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 21, 2014
Abe dissolves Lower House for snap election
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolves the Lower House to pave the way for his Dec. 14 snap election, asking voters to cast judgment on his sputtering 'Abenomics' program.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 20, 2014
Komeito's 50 years of losing its religion
Back in 1964, when the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai founded Komeito, many people looked on warily: They believed it violated the Constitution's separation of religion and politics.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2014
Abe's snap election claims first victim as Your Party disbands
An opposition party once seen as a possible third force in Japanese politics has decided to disband ahead of next month's snap election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2014
Abe to dissolve Lower House on Friday for Dec. 14 election
After weeks of leaks and speculation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Tuesday he will dissolve the Lower House on Friday for a snap election next month, after his administration decided to delay a second consumption tax hike planned for next October.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Nov 16, 2014
Abe bill would steal from temps to engorge industrialists
Akemi Hirose, 39, recalls when her contract as a temporary worker at a medical organization in Kanagawa Prefecture was suddenly terminated three years and three months after she started.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 14, 2014
Abe's key bills set to be tossed if Diet dissolved
As the prospect of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolving the Lower House draws closer, the chances of his administration's key bills passing the current Diet session appear increasingly slim.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 30, 2014
Funding scandals prompt veiled LDP threat to call snap election
Feeling the heat, Prime Minister Abe tells the opposition to stop revealing his Cabinet's fundraising violations and threatens to call a snap election over the 'obstruction.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2014
DPJ's Edano admits financial misreporting, promises correction
The opposition parties may have smelled blood over the recent Cabinet minister funding scandals, but they now have a spending irregularity of their own to deal with.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / ANALYSIS
Oct 24, 2014
Give addicts priority over casinos, activist tells politicians
Gambling has always been a part of 50-year-old Noriko Tanaka's life.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 20, 2014
Two of Abe's female ministers resign over separate scandals
Cabinet ministers Yuko Obuchi and Midori Matsushima resign in connection with separate political scandals, dealing a major setback to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Oct 19, 2014
Abe's shift to regional woes fails to erase mistrust in LDP
Local experts and ex-bureaucrats pan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plans to rejuvenate stalled local economies, saying the idea is another half-baked initiative from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 17, 2014
Justice minister red-faced over alleged election law violation
Justice Minister Midori Matsushima appeared to be clinging to office on Friday after receiving a criminal complaint over her election conduct.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 17, 2014
Obuchi is grilled over political funds abuse
Trade minister Yuko Obuchi is grilled by the opposition over an allegation that her political and support groups abused campaign funds by treating constituents to theater outings.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 6, 2014
Abe tells Asahi Shimbun to help in 'recovering Japan's honor'
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe accused the Asahi Shimbun on Monday of tarnishing Japan's image abroad with its erroneous articles on the "comfort women" issue, urging the newspaper to make efforts to restore Japan's damaged reputation.
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.

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