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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
Apr 6, 2006
Fingerprint bill unfair, activists say
A bill under deliberation in the Upper House to fingerprint foreigners entering Japan, which backers say is a necessary counterterrorism measure, must be defeated at all costs because it is discriminatory and vague, human rights groups said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2006
Bill to fingerprint, photograph arrivals clears Lower House
The House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday to require fingerprinting and photographing of foreigners entering Japan as a measure to prevent terrorism.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2006
Diet summons Nagata-named e-mail go-between
The House of Representatives Disciplinary Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to summon Takashi Nishizawa, named by lawmaker Hisayasu Nagata as the middleman who gave him the fake Horie e-mail, for sworn testimony on April 4.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2006
Lawyer hopes 'go-between' can skip Diet
A lawyer representing the alleged go-between who gave an e-mail suggesting shady financial links between Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie and a son of Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe to an opposition lawmaker called Monday on the House of Representatives Disciplinary Committee...
MULTIMEDIA
Mar 25, 2006
Nagata finally IDs magazine exec as e-mail middleman
Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Hisayasu Nagata finally revealed Friday what various media sources have already divulged -- that Dumont magazine executive Takashi Nishizawa gave him the fake e-mail suggesting a shady financial link between Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie and a son of Liberal Democratic...
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2006
Nagata finally IDs magazine exec as e-mail middleman
Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Hisayasu Nagata finally revealed Friday what various media sources have already divulged -- that Dumont magazine executive Takashi Nishizawa gave him the fake e-mail suggesting a shady financial link between Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie and a son of Liberal Democratic...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2006
Nagata regrets false allegations
House of Representatives member Hisayasu Nagata apologized Wednesday to the Lower House Disciplinary Committee over false allegations he made last month, based on a faked e-mail that suggested shady financial links between Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie and a son of Liberal Democratic Party Secretary...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2006
Lower House wants Nishimura to quit
The House of Representatives passed a resolution Friday urging former Democratic Party of Japan member Shingo Nishimura, who is on trial for allegedly violating the Attorney's Law, to step down.
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2006
Minorities call for strong antidiscrimination legislation
Representatives and supporters of minority groups issued a united call Tuesday for a robust antidiscrimination law.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2006
DPJ's Nagata apologizes but not for allegations
Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Hisayasu Nagata apologized Tuesday for failing to prove allegations he raised in the Diet that Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie made a shady fund transfer to a son of Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2006
DPJ's Nagata hints at resignation over credibility of e-mail
Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Hisayasu Nagata has offered to resign from the Diet after failing to authenticate e-mail he claimed proved shady financial links between Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie and a son of Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2006
DPJ member leaves party over assault
Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Yoshitake Kimata resigned Tuesday from the largest opposition party for assaulting and injuring a woman at a bar in Aichi Prefecture, but he said he will not give up his Diet seat.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2006
Women left in China fail to win redress
The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday dismissed a damages lawsuit filed against the state by three Japanese women left behind in China during the final stages of World War II.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2006
Official tally: 115 women trafficked here in '05
The Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau said Tuesday 115 women from six countries were trafficked into Japan in 2005, the first number it has officially tallied.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2006
Access to courts no given under freedom of press, judge rules
The Tokyo District Court dismissed a journalist's suit Wednesday over the press club system and government discrimination against freelance reporters, ruling media access to court proceedings does not fall under freedom of the press.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2006
Reporter's kin file suit over chopper crash
The family of a reporter who died in a 2004 helicopter crash in Nagano Prefecture filed a damages lawsuit for 168 million yen Wednesday against the government and her employer for not taking steps that might have prevented the accident.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2006
Compromised Kurds file again for safe haven
Six Kurdish asylum-seekers, whose identities were revealed to Turkish authorities in 2004 along with those of eight of their family members, reapplied for refugee status Thursday at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2006
Program aims to reform domestic abusers
For years, Masaru Suzuki used threats and physical violence to control his wife. Whenever he did not get his way, he lashed out at her verbally or with hands that were all too ready to strike.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2005
Japan remains safe haven for parental abductions
Murray Wood's two children left Canada for Japan with his Japanese ex-wife in November 2004 to visit their gravely ill grandfather for a few weeks.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2005
Ministry lashed over asylum seekers' info
The Justice Ministry violated the human rights of nine Turkish Kurds seeking asylum by giving their personal information to the Turkish government last summer, an action that could infringe on their security and freedom, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations warned Monday.
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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