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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 / Science & Health
Feb 20, 2017
Is Fido stressed out? New heart sensor can help find out
A group of researchers at Osaka Prefecture University has developed a method to detect real-time stress in dogs by using a special canine heartbeat sensor.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2017
New education ministry guidelines to urge schools to teach that Senkakus, Takeshima belong to Japan
The education ministry is set lay out new curriculum guidelines that bind schools to teach young students the disputed Senkaku and Takeshima islets are “integral parts of Japanese territory.”
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 13, 2017
Suit opens in Tokyo court over cervical cancer vaccine side effects
Twenty-eight girls and women suffering what they say are side effects from cervical cancer vaccines that were recommended by the government demanded compensation from the state and drugmakers Monday as their trial opened at the Tokyo District Court.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2017
'Amakudari' scheme at ministry systemized by '13, education chief reveals
The education ministry had established a systematic practice for seeking new jobs for retiring bureaucrats via a retired official by around 2013, the education minister disclosed Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 6, 2017
State-backed scholarship program to open doors to university
The government will soon launch the first state-backed scholarships in an effort to make universities more accessible as more students face financial difficulties to pursue higher education.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / GAUGING TRUMP
Jan 25, 2017
Books on Trump prove tough sell in Japan — so far
Dozens of books bearing U.S. President Donald Trump’s face on their covers have been piling up at bookstores across the nation since his stunning victory in November.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2017
Ministry disciplines seven bureaucrats over 'amakudari' corruption scandal
The education ministry took disciplinary action Friday against seven senior bureaucrats over their involvement in illegally negotiating to secure their colleague a post-retirement university job.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 6, 2017
As welfare costs climb, gerontology groups propose higher age for definition of 'elderly'
Japanese between 65 and 74 should no longer be classified as elderly because they are physically and mentally much younger than their counterparts were decades ago, says a proposal backed by two academic societies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 4, 2017
Children in Japan struggle to break out of poverty cycle
The relative poverty rate — the percentage of children living under the poverty line — has increased from 10.9 percent in 1985 to 16.3 percent in 2012. The figure translates into roughly 1 in 6 children.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 27, 2016
Ministry to make it easier to shame companies with excessive overtime
The labor ministry will bolster regulations covering illegal overtime by making it easier to publicize the names of errant companies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 27, 2016
Modern Japanese men dogged by stoic salaryman stereotype
During the Showa Era (1926-1989), men were the mainstay of families, working for 40 or so years until retirement to better the lives of their wives and children. They were expected to be tough, stoic and competitive.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2016
Nonregular workers deserve equivalent bonuses and benefits, says work reform guideline draft
Nonregular workers should be given bonuses equivalent to those received by regular employees who do the same jobs, a draft guideline for workplace reform says.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 13, 2016
At conference on empowering women, Abe pledges action amid Japan's poor global rankings
At an annual international conference on women empowerment in Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Tuesday to create women-friendly working environments as part of his drive to promote their participation in the workforce to offset Japan's shrinking population.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2016
Japan's 15-year-olds perform well in PISA global academic survey
Japanese 15-year-olds continued to rank high among their international peers in science and mathematics, according to a global academic assessment released Tuesday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2016
Japanese students shine in English-language newspaper contest
A group of students from Soka Senior High School in Tokyo won the English Paper Champion Prize this week for their English-language newspaper featuring articles on world peace, human rights and nuclear disarmament.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2016
M.7.4 quake was triggered by vertical split in undersea rock: experts
The major earthquake that triggered tsunami in the Tohoku region was caused by a type of jolt that is likely to cause tidal waves.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 22, 2016
Overwork sanctioned by both firms and unions, with dim prospects for state intervention: expert
When the suicide of a female worker at ad giant Dentsu Inc. was recognized as karoshi, or death from overwork, many blamed a corporate culture that glorifies the "warrior" workers who sacrifice themselves for the good of the firm.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Nov 12, 2016
Family debate: same-sex parents?
With LGBT relationships starting to be recognized by authorities, questions are now being asked about whether such couples should have children.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2016
Japan seeing brisk sales in Trump masks, translated books
Donald Trump's triumph in Tuesday's U.S. presidential election has turned books and masks related to the real estate tycoon into the hottest-selling items in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2016
Shock and worry on Tokyo's streets following Trump's upset victory
Many people interviewed by The Japan Times on the streets of Tokyo on Wednesday were stunned after learning America had chosen Donald Trump as the next president, voicing concern over the future of the Japan-U.S. alliance.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
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