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April 03, 2025
 

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Alex K.T. Martin

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Alex K.T. Martin
Alex K.T. Martin is a Tokyo-based journalist and senior writer at The Japan Times, primarily focusing on feature stories. Previously he was a Tokyo correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2010
Kan shifts focus to Cabinet picks
A day after his re-election as president of the Democratic Party of Japan, Prime Minister Naoto Kan got busy Wednesday choosing new lineups for his Cabinet and the DPJ leadership.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2010
Kan, Ozawa draw flak for fiddling while Rome burns
As Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa battle toward their showdown Tuesday, observers are criticizing them for creating a political void in the ruling party at a time when Japan is struggling to rekindle the economy and address other pressing issues.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2010
LDP's Koike, Ishihara get top posts
The Liberal Democratic Party installed new executives Thursday, introducing a fresh lineup to help LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki prepare for the fall Diet session.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2010
Kan confident of Ozawa's cooperation after DPJ election
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday he and his rival hope to continue working together regardless of who wins the Democratic Party of Japan presidential election.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 4, 2010
Ozawa milks challenger role
The battle between Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa comes at a time when Japan is struggling with a slumping economy, strong yen and numerous other issues requiring prompt attention.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2010
Kan, Ozawa kick off DPJ poll race
Campaigning officially kicked off Wednesday for the Sept. 14 Democratic Party of Japan presidential election, with Prime Minister Naoto Kan trying to keep the helm and DPJ kingpin Ichiro Ozawa seeking to wrest it from him.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2010
Race is on: Ozawa to challenge Kan
Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa confirmed Tuesday he will run for DPJ president and thus prime minister, dashing party hopes that an internal power struggle can be avoided before the Sept. 14 election.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2010
Foreigners can vote for DPJ leader
As the Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election nears, an interesting fact has surfaced regarding internal regulations on who gets to vote for the ruling party's leader — and effectively the prime minister.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2010
Kan chats up Ozawa's DPJ rookie ranks
Prime Minister Naoto Kan made a bold gesture Monday by reaching out to junior Democratic Party of Japan ranks considered faithful to DPJ kingpin Ichiro Ozawa, who rumor has it may run against Kan for the party presidency next month and hence seek the prime ministership.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2010
Mihara's fight for women's health is personal
The turning point in Junko Mihara's life came two years ago when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer and had to have her uterus removed.
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2010
Kan expresses remorse for casualties of war
Commemorating 65 years since the end of World War II, Prime Minister Naoto Kan delivered a speech Sunday expressing deep remorse for the damage Japan inflicted on its neighbors and its own people during the war, vowing to work toward global peace.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2010
Gemba: DPJ open to cross-party talks
Koichiro Gemba, the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's Policy Research Committee chairman, expressed willingness to undergo tough negotiations with the opposition camp to pass critical bills, now that his party faces a divided Diet.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2010
Kan offers opposition budget input
Prime Minister Naoto Kan took a defensive stance Monday, offering to reflect the opinions of the opposition camp in drawing up the fiscal 2011 budget.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 3, 2010
Ubiquitous Tokyo subways moving the daily masses
With nearly 300 stations, Tokyo has one of the world's busiest and most sprawling subway networks at work today — not to mention globally notorious rush hours.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2010
DPJ, Kan in hot seat as Diet opens
The first extraordinary Diet session under the administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan convened Friday, with the opposition looking to pressure the ruling coalition following the recent loss of its Upper House majority.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2010
Forcing a poll LDP's main goal but it's open to dialogue: Tanigaki
The primary goal of the Liberal Democratic Party is to force the ruling Democratic Party of Japan to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election, although it is open to dialogue on issues where consensus is possible, LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2010
DPJ's Hosono shoots down talk of leadership change
Despite the Democratic Party of Japan's setback in the July 11 Upper House election, DPJ Deputy Secretary General Goshi Hosono defended the administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2010
Kokumin Shinto woos SDP
Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima confirmed Wednesday that Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party), the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's minor coalition partner, has approached the SDP in a bid to form a new parliamentary group.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2010
Gloomy DPJ focuses on renewal
The mood was grim Sunday at The New Otani Hotel, the Democratic Party of Japan's election base in Tokyo, as the reality set in that the ruling coalition had lost its majority in the Upper House.
JAPAN / PARTY LINE
Jun 25, 2010
Kan right to debate sales tax: Edano
Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Yukio Edano brushed off concerns that a sales tax hike could dampen consumer spending and defended DPJ President and Prime Minister Naoto Kan's decision to invite debate on the unpopular levy just weeks before election day.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
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