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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
Feb 19, 2009
Opposition parties smell blood
The opposition parties, not satisfied with Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa's abrupt resignation Tuesday and scenting the possibility of a bigger scalp, demanded Wednesday that Prime Minister Taro Aso apologize for the political turmoil.
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2009
No way out left for Aso, experts say
The resignation of Finance Minister Shoichiro Nakagawa following his disgraceful display in Rome has further weakened Prime Minister Taro Aso and could prove to be the straw that breaks the Cabinet's back, political observers said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2009
Aso won't fire 'drunk' Nakagawa
Prime Minister Taro Aso refused Monday to fire Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa for his unusual behavior Saturday after a Group of Seven meeting which has led opposition parties to call for his dismissal.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2009
Aso's handout foes face trump card: poll
Prime Minister Taro Aso's ¥2 trillion cash handout program, his key stimulus plan, is under threat after former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, arguably Japan's most popular lawmaker, openly dismissed its importance.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2009
Aso hit by resignation threat
Another headache surfaced for unpopular Prime Minister Taro Aso on Tuesday as Justice Parliamentary Secretary Chuko Hayakawa said he intended to resign after the fiscal 2009 budget passes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Feb 7, 2009
Aso Mining POWs seek redress
Former Allied prisoners of war who were forced to work for a company run by Prime Minister Taro Aso's family during World War II said they were placed in extremely dangerous conditions with very little food or clothing.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2009
Divisions over Aso rack LDP's largest faction
The Liberal Democratic Party's largest faction decided Thursday to unify solely under former Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura in an attempt to muzzle outspoken faction manager Hidenao Nakagawa and keep him in line with its goals.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2009
International Red Cross returns to Japan
It all began with one man's eyewitness account of the atrocities committed in the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in present-day Italy in 1859. What Swiss businessman Henry Dunant saw was the horror of war — thousands of dead and severely wounded soldiers lying on the battlefield without proper...
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2009
DPJ's Maehara causes uproar by branding Aso a 'con man' and 'tax thief'
Seiji Maehara, vice president of the Democratic Party of Japan, went on the attack Wednesday, calling Prime Minister Taro Aso a "con man" and "tax thief" and stirring up the Lower House Budget Committee.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2009
No Okinawa clause for textbooks
The government officially decided Tuesday not to insert a special Battle of Okinawa clause into textbook screening guidelines that would give "special consideration" to passages about the history of Okinawa.
JAPAN / History
Feb 4, 2009
Red Cross group back in Japan after 60 years
The Swiss-based International Committee of the Red Cross opened on Tuesday its first office here in 60 years, aiming to drum up Japanese support for humanitarian assistance for victims of war around the world.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2009
Now healthy, Abe sticking to the sidelines
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday he still feels responsible for failing to fulfill his duties as national leader but must suppress any ambitions for a comeback.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2009
Aso vows 'bold' steps to remedy economy
Prime Minister Taro Aso on Wednesday renewed his pledge to lead Japan out of the current economic crisis faster than any other country through drastic economic and employment measures.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2009
Extra budget with cash handouts passed
Political wrangling in the Diet over the controversial second supplementary budget for fiscal 2008 ended Tuesday when the ruling bloc's legislation effectively prevailed by default.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2009
Diet poised to OK second extra budget
The Diet was set Monday to approve over the strong protests of opposition parties a second supplementary budget for fiscal 2008 that includes Prime Minister Taro Aso's controversial ¥2 trillion cash handout.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2009
Cabinet OKs diluted tax reform bill
Prime Minister Taro Aso got a little breathing room Friday after the Cabinet approved his modified tax reform bill, which now offers an open-ended clause for a future consumption tax hike, while mending an internal rift over the issue in his Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2009
Ruling bloc sets stage for antipiracy mission
The Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc said Tuesday it will work to send Maritime Self-Defense ships to take part in antipiracy efforts off Somalia under a maritime police action provision of the Self-Defense Forces law.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2009
Diet gets biggest budget ever
The government on Monday submitted to the Diet an ¥88 trillion budget for fiscal 2009 — the biggest initial budget in history — to stimulate the sagging economy.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2009
LDP pledges to unite behind Aso
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party held its annual convention Sunday to gear up for the upcoming Lower House general election, vowing to unite under Prime Minister Taro Aso and win one of the toughest battles it has ever faced.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2009
Watanabe, Eda to form political group but not new party
Former administrative reform minister Yoshimi Watanabe, who quit the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday, announced Friday he will form a political campaign group with lawmaker Kenji Eda and two analysts.
How Bashar Assad's inner circle fled Syria after his fall
Syrians step on posters of Bashar Assad and his father, Hafez Assad, in Homs, Syria, on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy to replace Ukraine ambassador to Japan
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky delivers a speech during a handover ceremony of Self-Defense Force vehicles to Ukraine, at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, in May last year.
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.
For baseball fans, 2024 brought The Summer of Shohei Ohtani
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts to a standing ovation from fans after hitting his 50th home run of the season, against the Marlins in Miami on Sept. 19.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?
Steam rises from a geothermal plan in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture. Despite its long history and potential, geothermal provided just 0.3% of Japan's overall energy mix in the fiscal year from April 2023
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.
North Korea aiding Russia where it needs it most, Canadian general says
North Korean special forces soldiers march and shout slogans during a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang in April 2017.

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