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December 04, 2024
 

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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
Jun 5, 2010
New Prime Minister Kan to 'rebuild trust'
Naoto Kan was voted in as prime minister by the Diet on Friday, shortly after the ruling Democratic Party of Japan elected him as its new president.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2010
Kan front-runner to replace Hatoyama
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Naoto Kan is expected to win the Democratic Party of Japan presidency, get voted in by the Diet as prime minister, then form a new Cabinet — all on Friday.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 3, 2010
DPJ poll worries to persist
Back when it was still in the opposition camp, the Democratic Party of Japan used to criticize the then ruling Liberal Democratic Party for its frequent shuffling of prime ministers, without an election.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2010
Hatoyama finds SDP joining his foes
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's administration found itself in an increasingly tight spot Monday after the Social Democratic Party bolted from the ruling bloc and then turned around and signaled it would side with a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet.
JAPAN
May 27, 2010
SDP walks a tightrope as it flirts with leaving coalition
When Mizuho Fukushima was re-elected president of the Social Democratic Party in December, she promised to pull the SDP out of the ruling coalition if the Futenma air base was relocated within Okinawa, as called for in a 2006 agreement with the United States.
JAPAN
May 20, 2010
JCP chief rates his U.S. visit a big success
Japanese Communist Party Chairman Kazuo Shii said Wednesday his recent visit to the United States was a success and he was able to convey the JCP's vision on nuclear weapons and Japan-U.S. relations.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 18, 2010
Yoshimoto Kogyo: Entertaining the nation
One would have to be a hermit, literally shut off from all media, to avoid exposure in Japan to the comedians and other entertainers managed by Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., the nation's oldest and arguably most powerful entertainment agency.
JAPAN
May 15, 2010
LDP policy platform targets economy, DPJ
The Liberal Democratic Party revealed a draft Friday of its platform for the summer Upper House election, promising economic recovery and growth while vowing to end the mistakes of the Democratic Party of Japan-led government.
JAPAN
May 13, 2010
Parties pin poll hopes on sports star power
The summer Upper House election is looking increasingly like an athletic competition as both ruling and opposition parties field sports stars to woo independent voters.
JAPAN
May 11, 2010
DPJ to field judo star Tani as candidate
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan announced Monday it will field women's judo superstar Ryoko Tani for the proportional representation segment of the summer Upper House election.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2010
Hatoyama's plan to move marines to Tokunoshima gets icy reception
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Wednesday revealed his plan to move as many as 1,000 of the 2,500 U.S. Marines based at the Futenma air station in Okinawa to Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture during a meeting with former Lower House member Torao Tokuda, a native of Tokunoshima, Tokuda's son...
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2010
Inquest: Ozawa merits indictment
The embattled Democratic Party of Japan-led government received another blow Tuesday when an inquest panel decided that DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa merits indictment over his funding management body's alleged false reporting of political donations from 2004 to 2007.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2010
Masuzoe launches new party
Former health minister Yoichi Masuzoe and five other Diet lawmakers formed a new political party Friday, following three other new minor parties that hope to give voters an alternative choice in the Upper House election his summer.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2010
Small parties looking for bigger say
With the approach of the summer Upper House election, several new parties are vying for voters disenchanted with the Democratic Party of Japan, which swept to power last year on the promise of change but became mired in money scandals and accusations of poor leadership.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2010
Hatoyama's grip weakens but DPJ short of alternatives
During a news conference in Tokyo earlier this month, veteran Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Kozo Watanabe touched on the possibility of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama stepping down if his team fails to solve the relocation conundrum involving U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma by the end of May....
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2010
Foreigner suffrage opponents rally
Conservative intellectuals and key executives from five political parties were among the thousands who gathered in Tokyo on Saturday to rally against granting foreign residents voting rights for local elections.
JAPAN / POSTAL REFORM ROLLBACK
Apr 15, 2010
Reversal on deposit limit a major gamble for DPJ
The Cabinet's recent decision to accept a plan to double the ceiling on postal savings accounts to ¥20 million, as proposed by postal reform minister Shizuka Kamei, marks a drastic policy shift for the Democratic Party of Japan, which in the past argued the maximum should be halved from the current...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2010
LDP defectors launch new political party
Former trade minister Takeo Hiranuma and four other ex-Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers launched a new party Saturday in a bid to create a viable alternative to the dominant players ahead of this summer's Upper House election.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2010
Wakabayashi exits Diet due to illicit votes
Former farm minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi resigned from the Diet Friday after coming under fire for manipulating a parliamentary vote earlier in the week.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2010
Child-allowance bill clears Diet
The bill to provide monthly allowances to families raising children cleared the Upper House on Friday, enabling the ruling Democratic Party of Japan to deliver on a key promise made in last year's election campaign.
Japan’s 2024 buzzword of the year urges a reevaluation of past norms
Sadao Abe, who played the role of a time-traveling Showa Era teacher transported to present day in a popular TV drama, receives the 2024 buzzword of the year award for the word "futehodo," the nickname of the series.
Princess Aiko, only child of emperor, turns 23
Princess Aiko on Nov. 22 ahead of her 23rd birthday on Sunday at the Imperial Palace
Ishiba questioned on political reform, social issues and the economy
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
Nearly 90% in Japan and China have negative views of other
Chinese people's sentiment toward Japan is believed to be impacted by their use of social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, as well as whether they have visited Japan.
Bear that attacked Akita supermarket employee captured
A brown bear in Hokkaido. In the city of Akita, a bear that attacked a supermarket employee over the weekend was captured in a box trap on Monday morning.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option
A serviceman with the Ukrainian Army's 24th mechanized brigade fires a machine gun during an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the country's Donetsk region on Friday.
Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?
Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service. 
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
A My Number card reader at a pediatric clinic in Tokyo. While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, most people will remain unaffected by the move in the short term as existing health insurance cards can still be used for another year.
The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.

Podcast

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

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake

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