Masami Ito - The Japan Times

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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 Times

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 Times

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 Times

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.

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.

Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.

The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'

By Tomoko Otake

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