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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
Sep 25, 2017
Abe gambles on snap election as Koike surprises with new party
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirms he will call a snap election on Thursday and Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike launches a new political party to take him on.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 22, 2017
Extra Diet session on Sept. 28, Suga confirms
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe formally decided Friday to convene an extraordinary Diet session next Thursday, which Abe is expected to immediately close by dissolving the Lower House despite opposition allegations that it would constitute a violation of Article 53 of the Constitution.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 21, 2017
Opposition lawmakers slam timing of Abe's snap poll plans as abuse of power
Abe's plan to force a snap election by closing an extraordinary Diet session the same day it opens has opposition lawmakers crying foul.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 20, 2017
LDP struggles to reach consensus on Article 9 revision ahead of snap election
Senior lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party agreed on Wednesday that while the party may include constitutional revision as an official campaign pledge in the upcoming Lower House election, it will not specify details on how it plans to revise the war-renouncing Article 9, three party executives...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 17, 2017
Abe poised to dissolve Lower House for snap general election
Media reports say that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to dissolve the Lower House as early as Sept. 28 and call a snap election.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2017
North Korea responds to latest U.N. sanctions with second missile over Japan
Hit by fresh U.N. sanctions, North Korea responds by shooting a second ballistic missile over Hokkaido and into the Pacific Ocean.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2017
Coast guard leaders from 34 nations gather in Tokyo for inaugural summit
Tokyo hosts the first Coast Guard Global Summit, where leaders from 34 countries and Hong Kong gather to discuss maritime security and marine environmental protection.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 13, 2017
Trump expected to visit Japan in early November as part of Asian trip
It has not been decided whether U.S. President Donald Trump will come to Japan before or after the APEC meeting in Vietnam, which is scheduled for Nov. 10 and 11.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 11, 2017
North Korean nuclear crisis tests Japan's mettle, has experts debating how to respond
Another war on the Korean Peninsula — this time a nuclear one — is beginning to look more possible than ever before, stirring anxiety in Japan and prompting debate over how it should respond.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2017
Threat of North Korean EMP attack leaves Japan vulnerable
Forget the missiles — all North Korea would have to do to wreak havoc on Japan is trigger an electromagnetic pulse to cripple its electrical grids, transportation and banks.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / CABINET INTERVIEW 2017
Sep 6, 2017
Okinawa's economics minister does some soul-searching after backlash from recent comments
Tetsuma Esaki, the newly-appointed minister in charge of Okinawa economic promotion and territorial issues, is known as a cheerful, friendly politician.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 6, 2017
Maehara stumbles over selection of deputy as DP braces for snap election
Seiji Maehara, the new president of the Democratic Party, has suffered a setback in arguably his most important first task as head of the largest opposition force: Choosing his secretary-general — the second in command within the party leadership.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 3, 2017
North Korea conducts sixth nuclear test, says it has developed 'perfect' H-bomb
North Korea claims to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb capable of being loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile, presenting the U.S. and its allies with a new and more potent challenge.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2017
Central government to let ministry staff use pre-marriage names on externally used documents
The government takes another step toward loosening restrictions on the use of pre-marriage names by civil servants by allowing their use on ID cards and in external communications.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2017
In Tokyo, British Prime Minister stresses solidarity on defense, Brexit
Abe and May vow to jointly deal with the North Korean military threat and to maintain smooth trade relations as Britain prepares to exit the EU.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / CABINET INTERVIEW 2017
Aug 30, 2017
New guidelines governing documents to be put in place by year-end: Kajiyama
The government will draw up a set of guidelines by year-end on how administrative documents should be managed, including a clearer definition of papers that can be discarded within one year, a newly-appointed minister in charge of administrative reforms said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2017
North Korean leader says more to come as U.N. condemns missile launch over Japan
Pyongyang said the missile launched over Japan on Tuesday was an intermediate-range Hwasong-12 and meant to counter U.S.-South Korean war games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2017
North Korea fires missile over Japan in sharp escalation of tensions
In an “unprecedented, grave and serious” threat, nuclear-armed North Korea test-fires a ballistic missile over Hokkaido, the first unannounced launch of a missile to fly over Japan.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 26, 2017
North Korea launches three short-range missiles after nearly monthlong hiatus, U.S. says
After a nearly monthlong hiatus, North Korea launches three short-range ballistic missiles, one of which explodes almost immediately, amid war games held by the U.S. and South Korea.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 25, 2017
Abe, Moon brainstorm on North Korea, re-examine forced-labor issue
Prime Minister Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in hold a phone call to explore redress for Koreans who were forced into labor during the Japanese occupation and the war.

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