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December 22, 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
Aug 12, 2011
DPJ shifts focus to Kan successor
As the Lower House passed a crucial bill authorizing bond-issuances Thursday, lawmakers in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan accelerated their hunt for a successor to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, with former Diet affairs chief Shinji Tarutoko the latest name floated in the Nagata-cho political center....
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2011
Noda delays announcement of bid to replace Kan amid market turmoil
With financial markets in a state of tumult, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda decided Tuesday to postpone the anticipated announcement of his candidacy to succeed Prime Minister Naoto Kan as president of the Democratic Party of Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2011
Ozawa ex-aide tapes inquisitor, talks up don
On May 17 last year, lawmaker Tomohiro Ishikawa, arrested for allegedly falsifying a political funds report but free on bail, walked into the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office with a mission — to record his pending interrogation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2011
Nuclear policy trio face ax
Industry minister Banri Kaieda announced Thursday he is firing three senior nuclear officials over the mishandling of the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2011
Lawmaker defends attempt to observe disputed Takeshima isles
Three Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers who were denied entry by South Korea when they tried to visit an island near disputed territory in the Sea of Japan remain undeterred, although their actions ratcheted up diplomatic tension with Seoul.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2011
Iwate beef cattle shipments banned
The government issued a shipment ban Monday on all beef cattle from Iwate Prefecture after detecting radioactive cesium exceeding the state limit from a number of cows.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2011
Energy policy revised to cut nuclear role
The government officially shifted its energy policy away from nuclear power Friday with the release of an interim report vowing to pare reliance on atomic energy.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2011
DPJ keeps Tohoku revival plan vague
The Democratic Party of Japan-led government bowed to strong opposition within its ranks Friday and endorsed a watered-down version of its basic reconstruction policy for the Tohoku region that ultimately failed to specify the size and duration of a tax hike to fund the work.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2011
Miyagi beef cattle shipments barred
The government ordered a complete ban Thursday on all shipments of beef cattle from Miyagi Prefecture after detecting radioactive cesium above the government limit in some local cattle.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2011
Rumors grow over talks with N. Korea
Speculation is rising that Japan and North Korea will soon resume normalization talks after Hiroshi Nakai, former state minister in charge of the abduction issue, and a key North Korean official met secretly last week in Changchun, China.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2011
Kan wants elections for both chambers in '13
Elections for both chambers of the Diet should be held together in 2013, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday, denying he intends to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election anytime soon.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2011
World Cup-winning women's soccer team may get top honor
The government is considering giving the People's Honor Award to the national women's soccer team, which won the Women's World Cup last week, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2011
No protest over U.S. subcritical nuke tests
Japan will not file a complaint against the U.S. government for conducting two subcritical nuclear experiments, last Dec. 1 and Feb. 2, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2011
Fukushima cattle under shipment ban
The government banned beef cattle shipments from Fukushima Prefecture on Tuesday, more than a week after meat from the prefecture showed high levels of radioactive cesium, including some already sold and consumed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2011
Kan meets soccer champs, perks up
It looks like the victory of the "Nadeshiko" Japan women's national soccer team not only gave hope to a nation still recovering from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami but also energized unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who vowed Tuesday to persevere.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2011
'Stress tests' to be done in two stages
The government announced a new safety assessment plan for nuclear power plants Monday, making it precondition that reactors undergoing check-ups to pass the first stage of the so-called stress test before restarting them.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2011
Kan under fire from his own team
Prime Minister Naoto Kan apologized to his Cabinet on Friday morning over the confusion he caused by his sudden order that "stress tests" be conducted on all nuclear power plants in Japan.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2011
Kyushu Electric TV stunt slammed
Kyushu Electric Power Co. drew fierce criticism Thursday for ordering employees of its group firms to send comments to a local television program supporting the restart of the utility's two nuclear reactors at the Genkai power plant in Saga Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2011
Genkai mayor withdraws OK for two reactors' restart
Genkai Mayor Hideo Kishimoto on Thursday officially retracted his controversial decision to approve the rebooting of two reactors at the Genkai nuclear plant and slammed the central government for ordering "stress tests" out of the blue following weeks of assurances about reactor safety.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2011
Job 1 for Hirano is rebuilding public trust
Tatsuo Hirano, who Tuesday replaced Ryu Matsumoto as reconstruction minister, has a full plate and his first task will be to re-establish trust with survivors of the March 11 catastrophe in the Tohoku region that his predecessor damaged with insulting remarks just one week into the job.
Freed anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson arrives in France
U.S.-Canadian anti-whaling environmental activist Paul Watson, who was released from prison in Greenland's capital Nuuk after five months in detention, arrives with Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy-en-France, near Paris, on Friday.
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.
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.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
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.

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