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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
Sep 5, 2006
Even without direct say, public influencing LDP race
, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe (center) and Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, attend an LDP regional meeting last week. KYODO PHOTO
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2006
Some LDP freshmen decide to support Abe
would like to entrust (the post of) party president to Abe, to be the leader of a new LDP, and a new Japan." Abe, who attended the meeting, expressed his appreciation for the support and said he looks forward to the election.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2006
Aso bucking odds in LDP race
Nobody likes to lose and there may still be a chance to win, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Thursday of his hope to emerge victorious the Sept. 20 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2006
Aso declares candidacy for LDP race
Foreign Minister Taro Aso officially declared his candidacy Monday for the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election, throwing his hat into a ring where Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe is already expected to win by a landslide.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 16, 2006
Defiant Koizumi visits Yasukuni
Defying repeated warnings from China and South Korea, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine on Tuesday, the 61st anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, paying his respects at the Shinto site that honors the nation's 2.5 million war dead and 14 Class-A war criminals.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2006
Nukaga decides not to run in LDP presidential race
Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga said Friday that he would not enter the race for Liberal Democratic Party president, confirming earlier reports that he would not run.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2006
Center gives refugees reason for hope
has been commissioned by the government to provide followup (to refugees who have been recognized)," said Shin Ohara of RHQ. "I think all foreigners living in Japan face hurdles, but for refugees it is especially hard to be adopted into Japanese society for various reasons, including the language barrier." The...
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 8, 2006
Avoid Yasukuni legacy: former aide
A visit by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to contentious Yasukuni Shrine on surrender day Aug. 15 will taint his Cabinet, so he should reconsider any plans for making the trip, former Liberal Democratic Party Vice President Taku Yamasaki said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2006
'Koizumi's children' no longer
"Koizumi's children" are making their ways out of the nest and into the factionalized world of the Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 22, 2006
Fukuda not to run in LDP presidential poll
Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, a Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight and one of four prospective candidates for the Sept. 20 party presidential election, told reporters Friday he has decided against joining the race.
JAPAN
May 27, 2006
Ruling coalition, DPJ submit own bills for referendum
The ruling bloc -- the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito -- and the Democratic Party of Japan submitted separate bills Friday to the Diet with their separate visions for procedures for holding a national referendum to amend the Constitution.
JAPAN
May 27, 2006
Law enacted to slim bureaucracy avoids 'amakudari,' DPJ charges
The Diet enacted key legislation Friday that lays out a timetable for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's efforts to reform and slim down the government over the next several years.
JAPAN
May 18, 2006
Diet passes bill to take foreigners' prints, pics
A bill requiring fingerprinting and photographing of foreigners upon entry to Japan was passed Wednesday as a way to prevent terrorism.
JAPAN
May 12, 2006
Door opened for Abe, Fukuda to seek LDP helm
Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said Thursday he has no intention of preventing more than one person from the Liberal Democratic Party faction he heads from running in September's election for the LDP presidency.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2006
DPJ win helps Ozawa, reflects anti-LDP mood
The narrow victory of a Democratic Party of Japan candidate in Sunday's by-election in Chiba Prefecture has given a boost to the main opposition force's new president, Ichiro Ozawa, virtually assuring his re-election in the DPJ's presidential poll in September, political pundits say.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2006
Reform timeline approved by Lower House
The House of Representatives approved a bill Thursday giving the timeline for a range of administrative reforms to be implemented in the next several years.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2006
Education bill advances after patriotism defined
into the verge of ruin," said Fuyushiba. "Considering that the phrase 'a mind that loves the nation' was used in education during those times (in the 1930s and 1940s) there was a need for thorough discussion over whether that phrase should be included in the Fundamental Law of Education to be able to...
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2006
DPJ elects Ozawa as new president
The Democratic Party of Japan elected veteran lawmaker Ichiro Ozawa, 63, as its new president Friday, ending his head-to-head race with rival and two-time President Naoto Kan.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2006
DPJ freshmen call for unity, credibility in leadership contest
The 13 freshman members of the Democratic Party of Japan elected for the first time in September's Lower House election issued a joint statement Thursday asking the party's presidential candidates to create party unity.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2006
It's official -- Ozawa, Kan will compete for DPJ presidency
and Naoto Kan face reporters separately in Tokyo.
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.
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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