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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 12, 2008
Upper House hits Fukuda with censure
The opposition-controlled Upper House passed an unprecedented, but nonbinding, censure motion Wednesday against Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, hoping to marshal public discontent with his stagnant administration into calls for a snap election.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2008
American finds his voice in the world of 'enka'
The world of "enka" ballads has been set on its ear with the historic debut of Jero, a 26-year-old black American from Pittsburgh whose sole passion since he was a child was to make the big time in the traditional crooning genre.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2008
Emissions trading test run by fall: Fukuda
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda unveiled his new climate change initiative Monday, including an "experimental" debut of greenhouse gas emissions trading in Japan starting this fall, and also voiced his support for introduction of daylight saving time.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2008
Diet officially declares Ainu indigenous
The Ainu celebrated a historic moment Friday as the Diet unanimously passed a resolution that recognizes them as indigenous people of Japan.
JAPAN
May 31, 2008
Japan joins effort to ban cluster bombs
Japan will agree on a draft convention to immediately and completely ban cluster bombs in principle, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Friday, marking a shift in Tokyo's position on the controversial munitions.
JAPAN
May 31, 2008
SDF quake-relief airlift to China is ruled out
Acknowledging apprehension in China, Japan has dropped plans to send Self-Defense Forces aircraft to China to transport emergency supplies to earthquake survivors, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Friday.
JAPAN
May 30, 2008
Reform bill sidesteps 'amakudari'
The Lower House passed a bill Thursday to reform the civil servant system, but the legislation omitted any steps to curb the notoriously corrupt system of "amakudari," the practice whereby bureaucrats retire into lucrative posts in industries they had overseen.
JAPAN
May 29, 2008
Amnesty hits government on death penalty
The head of Amnesty International's Japan chapter blasted the government Wednesday for negligence in promoting public understanding of human rights, saying such inaction fostered public backing for capital punishment.
JAPAN
May 23, 2008
If push comes to shove, DPJ won't
Yasuo Fukuda and his Cabinet are sinking, and political analysts say the prime minister's condition is critical. So this would seem like the perfect time for the Democratic Party of Japan to pounce.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 23, 2008
Ainu press case for official recognition
Hundreds of Ainu from all over Japan and their supporters staged a protest Thursday in Tokyo's Nagata-cho political district, demanding the Diet and the government recognize them as indigenous people.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 20, 2008
Ainu: indigenous in every way but not by official fiat
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples last Sept. 13, with Japan among the 144 member states voting in favor.
JAPAN
May 14, 2008
Road-tax bill clears Diet
The ruling bloc rammed a bill through the Diet on Tuesday that allows the government to use road-related taxes solely for nationwide road construction for the next 10 years, even though the Cabinet agreed earlier in the day to free up those revenues starting next April.
JAPAN
May 10, 2008
For the moment, panel turns aside road tax bill
An Upper House panel rejected a contentious bill Friday to use road-related tax revenue exclusively to pay for road construction for the next 10 years — even though it will likely be rammed through the Diet by the ruling coalition next week.
JAPAN
May 1, 2008
Gas tax bill is rammed through Diet
If you forgot to fill up your gas tank last night, you're out of luck.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Apr 29, 2008
By-election loss adds to Fukuda's troubles
The Liberal Democratic Party's defeat in the Lower House by-election in the Yamaguchi No. 2 district on Sunday is yet another blow to the already reeling Cabinet of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2008
Lawmakers visit Yasukuni festival
A group of lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties paid a visit to Yasukuni Shrine on Tuesday for its annual spring festival, just one day after South Korean President Lee Myung Bak said in Tokyo he would focus on building friendly ties with Japan.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2008
Officials' rally urges reinstatement of gas surcharge
Diet members, governors, mayors and local assembly members gathered Friday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward to call for the reinstatement of the provisionally higher levies on gasoline and auto-related taxes that expired on March 31.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2008
Cost at pump to drop until April-end vote
Gasoline prices are set to fall by ¥25 per liter after the ruling bloc and opposition camp failed to agree Monday on extending provisional extra levies on gas and other auto-related taxes.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2008
Under fire, ruling bloc passes the '08 budget
Ignoring a rejection by the opposition-controlled House of Councilors, the Diet Friday evening passed an ¥83 trillion state budget for fiscal 2008, which starts Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2008
Fukuda offers to untie road tax income in '09
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda hoped to break the Diet deadlock by declaring Thursday he is willing to allow revenue from road-related taxes to be freed up for purposes other than road projects in fiscal 2009, which starts in April next 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.
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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