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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
Mar 14, 2014
Lithuania won't recognize Crimea referendum: envoy
As Sunday's referendum in Ukraine's Crimea approaches, the visiting Lithuanian foreign minister called Russia's de facto occupation of the territory an act of aggression against a sovereign nation and said the Baltic state will not recognize the election results.
Japan Times
JAPAN / THREE YEARS AFTER 3/11
Mar 10, 2014
Tohoku kids stressed, haunted by trauma
Almost every day around a dozen students seek out nurse Akemi Idogawa at their temporary junior high school in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, hoping she will help ease their trauma.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2014
'Deaf' composer Samuragochi says he's sorry for deceiving
A month after the shocking revelation by his ghostwriter, the supposedly "deaf" composer Mamoru Samuragochi apologized Friday for deceiving people with his lies.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2014
Kishida prods Tehran counterpart on Iran nuclear program
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Wednesday in Tokyo and urged him to continue making efforts to reach a final agreement with the Western powers on Tehran's controversial nuclear program.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2014
Student seeks Japan-Russia isle thaw
For Yuki Nishida, 23, the Soviet Union and Russia had long been the frightening foes who seized Kunashiri Island, where his grandmother lived, after Japan's World War II surrender.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2014
Samuragochi's ghostwriter speaks
The man who ghostwrote works credited to “deaf” composer Mamoru Samuragochi for the past 18 years stepped forward Thursday as his “partner in crime.”
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2014
Japan, Russia discuss territorial issue
The deputy foreign ministers of Japan and Russia met Friday in Tokyo to resume talks for settling the long-standing territorial dispute over the Russian-held islands off Hokkaido.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 27, 2014
War redress reversal in South Korea
Recent South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese firms to compensate Koreans who were forced to perform labor for them during the war have cast a shadow on already strained bilateral ties.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 24, 2014
As Western leaders decide to shun Sochi, Abe will go
Many Western leaders have decided to skip the Sochi Winter Olympics in February, but not Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2014
Temperatures hit season low on 'daikan' plunge
As Japan marked the coldest day on the calendar Monday, the mercury fell to its lowest point this winter in many places across the archipelago, the Meteorological Agency said.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2014
Shift to isle defense requires upgrade of all three branches
The Cold War ended about 20 years ago and Japan is finally trying to execute a drastic transformation of the Ground Self-Defense Force by shifting its focus from the north to the southwest — effectively relaxing its guard against Russia and bolstering it against China.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2014
Celebs to get shoved aside in Tokyo election
The Tokyo Metropolitan Electoral Management Committee said Friday it won't be using celebrities in its get-out-the-vote campaign for the Feb. 9 gubernatorial election, citing insufficient lead time due to the abrupt resignation of Naoki Inose last month.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 7, 2014
Japan, Turkey to pursue economic partnership agreement
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed Tuesday in Tokyo that the two countries will work toward starting negotiations for a bilateral economic partnership agreement, hopefully before the end of this year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 2, 2014
Abe's diplomatic overtures are likely to fall on deaf ears
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saw relatively smooth diplomatic sailing in 2013, but he flushed his year-long effort down the drain with his surprising visit to Yasukuni Shrine.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT ENGLISH
Jan 2, 2014
Schools fret about assistant teachers ahead of proposed 2020 reforms
With education reform expected to place a great deal of emphasis on English, officials worry about the uneven quality of foreign assistant language teachers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2013
Abe visits Yasukuni, angering Beijing and Seoul
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's unannounced visit to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine triggers immediate censure from China and South Korea.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 14, 2013
Japan, ASEAN tie up on flight rights
Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed Saturday to bolster cooperation on ensuring "the freedom of overflight and civil aviation safety," alluding to the risks posed by China's new air defense identification zone over the East China Sea.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2013
U.S. backs Japan against ADIZ: Biden
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received the assurance of visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday that Washington stands behind Japan as it responds to China's recent declaration of an air defense identification zone in the East China Sea that encompasses the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2013
Airlines urged to defy China's ADIZ
The government repeated Monday that it will continue to urge the nation's airlines not to comply with the rules laid down in China's recently, unilaterally declared air defense identification zone over the East China Sea that includes the disputed, Japan-held Senkaku islets.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2013
Kennedy raps China for raising tensions
New U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy criticizes China's move to set up an air defense zone in the East China Sea covering the Senkaku Islands.

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