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July 17, 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
May 12, 2010
Don't fault China for sea confrontation: envoy
...
JAPAN
May 12, 2010
Japan avoiding initiative in nonnuclear movement
The August 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings killed tens of thousands of people outright and drew a line in history between the prenuclear world and what came afterward.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 7, 2010
Hatoyama's reach exceeds grasp
What a mess.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2010
Court: disclose Okinawa papers
The Tokyo District Court on Friday ordered the government to disclose diplomatic documents related to the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japan from the United States.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2010
Okada hails new U.S. policy of limiting nukes
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada welcomed on Wednesday the new U.S. policy of limiting the use of atomic arms, calling it a big step toward a "world without nuclear weapons" but adding that other nuclear powers need to follow suit to make it effective.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2010
U.N. rights rep has bone to pick
Jorge Bustamante, U.N. special rapporteur on the rights of immigrants, has concluded his Japan visit and takes with him a sense that the government lacks a system to curb discrimination and better protect the human rights of foreigners.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2010
China: Four Japanese will be put to death
China has informed Japan that it will execute four Japanese nationals for drug-smuggling, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada revealed Friday, expressing concern over how the killings will impact public sentiment.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2010
Deportation rule troubles U.N. official
A recent government decision to deport only the parents of families without residency status, thus separating children from their mothers and fathers, flies in the face of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Jorge Bustamante, the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 23, 2010
Greater peacekeeping role OK, not truce enforcement
Japan has often been criticized by the international community for resorting to "checkbook diplomacy" instead of committing uniformed personnel to danger zones as part of U.N. peacekeeping operations, but the ruling Democratic Party of Japan has signaled it wants that to change.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2010
Nuke pact files may have been chucked
A former senior Foreign Ministry official testified Friday in the Diet that key documents related to the secret nuclear pacts between Japan and the U.S. that he had filed were missing, and suggested they were deliberately destroyed.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2010
Ambassadors urge action on child abductions
Japan should sign the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and act to resolve its current cases by enabling parents left out in the cold to contact their spirited-away offspring, eight ambassadors in Tokyo said in a joint statement Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2010
DPJ rule raises Hague treaty-signing hope
It has been over five years since Murray Wood's two children left their home in Canada with his Japanese ex-wife for a supposed visit with their ill grandfather in Japan.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2010
Sea Shepherd activist arrested
The Japan Coast Guard on Friday arrested a member of U.S.-based antiwhaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for trespassing in connection with his boarding of a whaling fleet vessel in the Antarctic Ocean last month.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Mar 10, 2010
Admitting worst-kept secrets all about timing?
The Democratic Party of Japan-led government effectively dragged the skeletons in the closet of postwar Tokyo-Washington diplomacy out into the light Tuesday, in the process exposing the hollowness of its predecessor administrations' long denials.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2010
Okada, Steinberg discuss Iran nukes
Visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said in Tokyo Friday that he and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada are discussing how to coordinate more closely on the nuclear challenges of Iran.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2010
Group hopes U.S. ad raises awareness of Futenma
Concerned about the lack of information in the U.S. regarding the relocation of a marine base in Okinawa, a network of Japanese and U.S. citizens and nongovernmental groups announced Wednesday plans to take out a full-page ad on the controversial issue in a major U.S. newspaper.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2010
Dispatch of medical team to Chile called off
The government abruptly called off sending an emergency medical team to earthquake-hit Chile on Tuesday after Santiago declined the offer of assistance.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2010
Diet members send Obama nuclear letter
A group of nonpartisan Diet members sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday urging him to strive to limit the role of America's atomic weapons to that of nuclear deterrence.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2010
New panel mulls new security parameters
A newly set-up government panel began discussing basic defense policies Thursday, ultimately aiming to revise the National Defense Program Guideline before year's end.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2010
Top marine says Okinawa bases are vital
The U.S. bases in Okinawa are strategically necessary and marines are prepared to die to protect Japan, the commander of the U.S. Marine Corps of the Pacific said Wednesday in Tokyo.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
Kansai airports to increase takeoff and landing slots ahead of Osaka Expo
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. The upper limit on the number of takeoff and landing slots at the airport as well as Kobe Airport in Hyogo Prefecture will be raised in spring next year ahead of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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