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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
Nov 28, 2009
Pyongyang hinges six-party return to U.S. talks progress
is attaching importance on bilateral ties with the U.S.," Kitazawa said after the meeting, adding, "North Korea is ready to take part in the six-party talks anytime if the (expected) talks with the U.S. go well." Liang, who came to Tokyo right after his trip to North Korea, where he met Kim Jong Il,...
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2009
Yemen captors free engineer
A Japanese engineer abducted by armed Yemeni tribesmen Nov. 15 was freed early Tuesday Japan time along with his local driver, government officials said in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2009
U.S. official presses implementation of 2006 base deal
Wallace Gregson, U.S. assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, said Tuesday in Tokyo that adhering to the 2006 bilateral agreement is the only way to proceed on relocating the Futenma military airfield.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2009
Hatoyama and Obama put off hard decisions
health insurance, and it didn't want to expose disagreements" with Japan. As concern grew over the diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and Japan, the two governments decided to set up a ministerial-level working group earlier in the week to "probe" Futenma's relocation. However, no deadline for reaching...
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2009
Japan central to Asia plans, Obama says
U.S. President Barack Obama expressed Saturday in Tokyo his firm intention to build strong ties with Asia while stressing that the alliance with Japan lies at the center of his policy for the region.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2009
Obama, Hatoyama prioritize alliance
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President Barack Obama vowed Friday to bolster the bilateral alliance and cooperate on pressing global issues, including climate change and nuclear disarmament.
JAPAN / TIES IN THE BALANCE
Nov 11, 2009
Strong undercurrent as Obama comes to test the waters
First of two parts
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2009
Japan and U.S. to create high-level Futenma panel
The Japanese and U.S. governments agreed Tuesday to form a Cabinet minister-level "working group" to explore ways to resolve the stalled relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada announced.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2009
Campbell talks up ties with U.S. but ducks queries on Futenma
Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs, made a brief stop Thursday in Tokyo to talk up bilateral ties despite simmering discord over where to move U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 3, 2009
Marriage ever-changing institution
Marriage may be an institution, but it's permutations have run the gamut from polygamy, a practice that dates to ancient times but is still allowed in certain areas, to the recent legalization in some places of same-sex partnerships, with everything in between.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2009
New Komeito gropes for its own brand; LDP ties now nonissue
New Komeito, finding itself outside the power loop for the first time in a decade, must find a way to stand on its own feet and establish a distinct brand instead of trying to latch onto other parties, its newly appointed leader says.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2009
Tanigaki slams DPJ for halting Yamba Dam
Sadakazu Tanigaki, fresh from victory in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election, tried to pick a fight Thursday with the Democratic Party of Japan over its handling of the controversial Yamba Dam project in Gunma Prefecture.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2009
LDP picks Tanigaki to lead comeback
The Liberal Democratic Party elected former Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki as its president Monday, giving him the task of guiding back into power a party still stinging from its recent electoral thrashing.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2009
LDP presidential campaign kicks off as three-horse race
Campaigning for the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race officially kicked off Friday with three candidates vying for the task of rebuilding the party and returning it to power.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2009
Politicians to lead but knowhow of mandarins vital: Hatoyama
New Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama vowed Wednesday to create an administration that will break the strong grip of bureaucrats on policymaking and budgets.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2009
Hatoyama embraces 'alien' label
Meet new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, also known as "the alien."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2009
Hatoyama ushers in new era in politics
Japan saw the dawning of a new political era Wednesday as Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama became prime minister, ending five decades of almost unbroken rule by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2009
Vowing reform, Tanigaki makes bid to become LDP president
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Sadakazu Tanigaki declared Tuesday his candidacy to become party president, vowing to reform and strengthen the former ruling party following its recent electoral drubbing.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2009
Shattered LDP must pick up the pieces
The collapse of the Liberal Democratic Party empire has cast a dark shadow over party headquarters in Tokyo's Nagata-cho, the political heartland. Stunned by its devastating defeat in the Aug. 30 Lower House election, the LDP lies in pieces.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2009
Losing floor space, battle over key posts heaps more humiliation on LDP
As if losing power after more than five decades of almost continuous rule wasn't humbling enough for the Liberal Democratic Party, it is now finding that being in opposition means having to give up all the privileges it has become accustomed to.
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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