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 Reiji Yoshida

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Reiji Yoshida
Reiji Yoshida is a staff writer and deputy manager of the Domestic News Division. Since joining The Japan Times in 1993, he has intensively covered domestic politics, diplomacy and defense issues as well as the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 5, 2017
Tokyo vote prompts crisis of confidence for Renho's Democratic Party
Sunday's Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election dealt a hard blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with his Liberal Democratic Party suffering a historic defeat and securing only 23 seats — the lowest-ever figure for the LDP.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 4, 2017
North Korean claim of successful ICBM test likely to raise alarm in Tokyo — and Anchorage
North says it “can strike any place in the world” after missile fired on u2018lofted' trajectory splashes down in Sea of Japan
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2017
Senior Finance Ministry official who defended government in Moritomo scandal given promotion
The government said Tuesday it will promote Nobuhisa Sagawa, a senior Finance Ministry official who defended the central government amid a scandal involving a shady land deal and school operator Moritomo Gakuen, to the head of the National Tax Agency.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 30, 2017
Inada apologizes for and retracts LDP election plug but refuses to resign
Defense chief Tomomi Inada ducks requests to explain the public “misunderstanding” she fears her clearly worded but unethical lobbying for the LDP may have caused.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2017
Ex-education minister Shimomura denies media report claiming undeclared Kake donations
Shimomura responds to a Shukan Bunshun report that he allegedly received u00a52 million in undisclosed payments from scandal-tainted school operator.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2017
After global air bag recall, Takata files for bankruptcy in Japan and U.S.
Air bag maker Takata Corp., facing an estimated u00a51.7 trillion in liabilities, looks to restructure under the sponsorship of a U.S.-based and Chinese-owned company.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 23, 2017
Probe Abe's ties with the media, Maekawa urges
The former education ministry official vouching for the documents behind the Kake Gakuen scandal urges closer scrutiny of Prime Minister Abe's media ties.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 22, 2017
Opposition parties compel Abe to reopen Diet for Kake probe, invoking Article 53
Invoked Article 53 obliges Abe convene an extraordinary Diet session to deliberate on the brewing scandal, but still leaves room for the Cabinet to delay.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 21, 2017
Article 9 revision justifying SDF under review by LDP
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party kicked off deliberations among rank-and-file lawmakers Wednesday over a revision proposed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2017
Another confirmed Kake document adds to pile suggesting Abe favoritism
Document confirmed by the education ministry appears to show that Abe favored Kake Gakuen for a special deregulation zone project before panel review and approval.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2017
U.S. Navy confirms deaths of all seven missing USS Fitzgerald crew
A search for seven missing U.S. sailors is called off after bodies were found aboard the badly damaged USS Fitzgerald following a collision with a Philippine-flagged container vessel.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 16, 2017
Officials deny remarks attributed to them in Kake papers
Two senior government officials deny making the smoking-gun remarks linked to them in the Kake Gakuen document leak, pitting the education ministry against Prime Minister Abe's Cabinet.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 15, 2017
Education ministry says Kake papers exist after follow-up probe, dealing a blow to Abe's Cabinet
Education minister Hirokazu Matsuno said Thursday that the ministry has found digital copies of 14 of 19 documents related to the Kake Gakuen scandal, including those suggesting the Cabinet Office pressured the ministry to approve a university project citing "the intent" of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 14, 2017
Ministry official says leakers in Kake Gakuen scandal could face punishment
A senior education ministry official has indicated that whistleblowers involved in the Kake Gakuen scandal could be punished for leaking internal information in violation of the National Public Service Law.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2017
Number of foreign students at public schools who lack Japanese language skills hits record high
Support system seen lacking as education ministry survey shows that 34,335 children needed remedial lessons as of May last year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 12, 2017
Masahide Ota, former Okinawa governor and noted historian, dies at age 92
Former Okinawa Gov. Masahide Ota, a noted historian and survivor of the Battle of Okinawa, succumbs to pneumonia.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 12, 2017
Kake Gakuen probe to be relaunched without third party oversight, Suga implies
The government will release the results of the reopened Kake Gakuen probe “as quickly as possible,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2017
After intense media pressure, education ministry moves to reopen Kake Gakuen probe
After weeks of denials and media pressure, the education minister announces that the investigation into alleged favoritism involving a friend of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be reopened.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2017
Diet enacts abdication law for Emperor Akihito
The Diet enacts a special law allowing Emperor Akihito to abdicate, shifting public attention to the date for the rare event.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 8, 2017
As investigative reports grow, Suga rebuffs demands to reopen Kake probe
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Thursday steadfastly refused to reopen the investigation into leaked education ministry documents that suggest a school operator run by a close friend of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe benefited from government favoritism.

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