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December 23, 2024
 

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Masami Ito

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Masami Ito
Masami is a staff writer for the Life and Culture Division at The Japan Times. She is in charge of the weekly Sunday Timeout, covering various issues related to Japan, from alcohol/drug addiction and juvenile crime to female sushi chefs and kendama. Over her 15-year career, she has written extensively on Japanese politics, foreign policy and social issues.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2011
Kan's foes readying no-confidence vote
The opposition camp stepped up efforts Tuesday to bring down Prime Minister Naoto Kan, preparing to submit a vote of no confidence against him as early as Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 31, 2011
Kan foes in DPJ set to join ouster ploy
The drive to oust Prime Minister Naoto Kan gathered steam Monday as speculation grew that key members of his party would join forces with the opposition to submit, possibly as early as this week, a vote of no confidence to the Diet.
JAPAN
May 27, 2011
Tepco now says reactor seawater injection wasn't halted
Tokyo Electric Power Co. in an apparent flip-flop Thursday claimed it did not temporarily stop the injection of seawater into the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant on March 12, a day after the deadly earthquake and tsunami.
JAPAN
May 25, 2011
Tepco admits two more meltdowns
Tokyo Electric Power Co. admitted Tuesday what many experts had long suspected: The cores of reactors 2 and 3 at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant likely melted down and dropped to the bottom of their pressure vessels, just as happened at unit 1.
JAPAN
May 25, 2011
Independent panel created to probe cause of crisis
The government established an independent panel Tuesday to probe the cause of the nuclear crisis with the aim of preventing future disasters and coming up with proposals for limiting the damage at the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
JAPAN
May 24, 2011
Kan denies he pulled plug on seawater
Prime Minister Naoto Kan categorically denied allegations Monday that he ordered Tokyo Electric Co. to temporarily stop injecting seawater into an overheating reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant a day after the March 11 devastating earthquake.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 21, 2011
Process for signing Hague treaty begins
The government officially decided Friday to prepare to ratify an international treaty that prevents cross-border parental child abductions.
JAPAN
May 20, 2011
Edano seeks to end regional monopolies of power utilities
Japan will look at other countries as it studies the idea of spinning off power distribution from the business of electricity generation, a move that would put an end to power companies' regional monopolies, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Thursday.
JAPAN
May 18, 2011
Reactor worker error comes to light
The emergency cooling system for reactor 1 at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant may have been shut down manually before the tsunami hit March 11, according to a Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman and documents released by the utility.
JAPAN
May 14, 2011
Tepco, state strike compensation deal
The government approved Friday an overall framework for using taxpayer money to help Tokyo Electric Power Co. pay an enormous sum in compensation to victims of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
JAPAN
May 13, 2011
Kan orders slaughter of all livestock in 20-km hot zone
Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Thursday told Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato to slaughter all farm animals within a 20-km radius of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
JAPAN
May 11, 2011
Tepco turns to government for cash
Embattled Tokyo Electric Co. President Masataka Shimizu officially asked the government Tuesday to help shoulder the burden of compensating people affected by the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
JAPAN
May 10, 2011
Subsidies to region will continue
The government does not intend to cut subsidies to prefectural and other local governments around the controversial Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture after it closes, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 4, 2011
Group helps kids get through grief
In the aftermath of the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region, victimized children face an increasing need for help in coping with the death of loved ones, according to an American expert.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2011
Tepco, and state, responsible: Kan
Prime Minister Naoto Kan acknowledged the government bears some responsibility for the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant crisis.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2011
Ukraine envoy: '86 accident vastly different
Ukraine Ambassador to Japan Mykola Kulinich said Tuesday that what happened in Chernobyl was very different from Japan's current battle at the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and expressed his country's support for Tokyo to overcome the incident.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 26, 2011
Refugee NPO to celebrate music, hope for Tohoku
There are approximately 15.2 million refugees around the world who have had to flee their home countries in fear of persecution for political, religious or racial reasons. In Japan, tens of thousands of people remain unable to return home since the deadly earthquake and tsunami hit Tohoku on March 11....
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2011
Gillard pledges assistance, reliable energy supply
Visiting Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard pledged Thurday that Canberra will continue to be a "reliable supplier of energy" to Japan, while expressing her condolences over the March 11 disaster to Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2011
Clinton meets with Matsumoto
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto on Sunday in Tokyo, where she expressed Washington's sympathy and solidarity with Japan's attempts to rebuild from the deadly quake and tsunami that claimed more than 13,000 lives.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2011
Fukushima crisis now at Chernobyl level
The government's nuclear watchdog on Tuesday raised its assessment of the severity of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant to the highest level under the international standard, putting it on a par with the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe - the worst atomic power disaster in history.
Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
Honda and Nissan consider mutual production of vehicles, report says
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2023.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

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