Tag - explainer

 
 

EXPLAINER

Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / EXPLAINER
May 31, 2020
Aomori's Rokkasho nuclear plant gets green light but hurdles remain
Construction on the massive facility, which began in 1993, has been plagued by delays over the years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / EXPLAINER
May 24, 2020
New lows: What do near-negative oil prices mean for Japan's economy?
The benchmark U.S. oil price fell below zero last month for the first time in history.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
May 13, 2020
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura: From man of the hour to future prime minister?
Over the past few weeks, the governor has gone from being a locally liked politician to a national media darling.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
May 3, 2020
Necessary or not? The LDP's proposed emergency powers clause for the Constitution
73 years since the Constitution took effect, arguments on revising it have focused on the war-renouncing Article 9. But the coronavirus has prompted a different proposal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 30, 2020
LDP secretary-general: The power behind the PM
Those in the position are de facto the most powerful person within the party after its president.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 28, 2020
Odd couple: LDP-Komeito political marriage faces testing times
Power struggles in Abe's party could further strain the two-decades-old coalition in the weeks to come
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 17, 2020
Coronavirus and LDP politics loom large over Shizuoka by-election
A Lower House by-election in Shizuoka Prefecture, the race for which officially kicked off Tuesday, is gaining attention nationwide, and not only for its possible national political impact.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 16, 2020
Japan's governors under the spotlight as coronavirus pandemic rages
The coronavirus pandemic has prompted the national government to declare an emergency in seven prefectures. This, in turn, has put the spotlight on the powers and responsibilities of prefectural governors. Though often compared to state governors elsewhere, there are key differences.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Apr 8, 2020
What changes under Japan's state of emergency declaration?
After weeks of intense pressure Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has declared a state of emergency in seven urban areas, but what does that change?
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 2, 2020
With suicide note and lawsuit, Moritomo scandal back to haunt Abe
With the publication of a suicide note by a former Finance Ministry official and subsequent lawsuit by his widow, the Moritomo Gakuen scandal has returned to haunt Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. But with Abe saying the issue has been settled and Japan finding itself in the midst of the coronavirus crisis,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / EXPLAINER
Mar 29, 2020
A closer look at Kansai Electric and its gift-giving scandal
Earlier this month, Kansai Electric Power Co. concluded that scores of its employees had received cash and gifts worth hundreds of millions of yen from an influential politician in a Fukui Prefecture town where the utility operates a nuclear power plant. The revelations by Kepco's investigative panel...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 25, 2020
25 years after Tokyo subway attack, Aum is a shadow of its former self
Doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo's sarin gas attack on Tokyo subway trains shocked Japan and the world, raising concerns over nonstate organizations obtaining weapons of mass destruction.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 10, 2020
What will Abe's amended law for a national emergency mean in practice?
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government aims to pass by week's end controversial revisions to a 2012 law governing national actions to be taken in the event of new types of influenza.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 6, 2020
Women in Japanese politics: Why so few after so very long?
To mark International Women's Day on March 8, there will be worldwide marches, parades, protests and public awareness activities on the contributions of women and the barriers and discrimination they still face.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 1, 2020
A Tokyo prosecutor's delayed retirement spurs more allegations of Abe cronyism
Over the past month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his government once again found themselves the target of allegations of political favoritism.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 23, 2020
The Japanese Communist Party's quest to unify a shattered opposition
Last month, for the first time in 16 years, the Japanese Communist Party met to revise its basic political program. Part of the reason was that the party hopes a change of rhetoric, at least, will make it easier to form an opposition coalition to challenge the Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito ruling...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 17, 2020
Osaka referendum: Merger gets second chance, but are voters on board?
Five years after voters in the city of Osaka narrowly voted down a referendum on consolidating its 24 wards into five with more autonomy and eliminating the municipal assembly and mayor, another referendum is set for later this year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 3, 2020
The Kawai scandal and the race to succeed Shinzo Abe
Hiroshima-based Liberal Democratic Party Diet member Anri Kawai admitted in January to receiving ¥150 million from LDP headquarters prior to the July 2019 Upper House election. Kawai, a novice in national politics, is also the wife of disgraced former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai, who was forced...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 22, 2019
SDF tests public support with next mission in Middle East
The Cabinet is expected to approve a Self-Defense Forces mission to the Middle East that will comprise a destroyer, patrol planes and 250 personnel as part of an intelligence-gathering operation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 15, 2019
Could merger talks finally produce a credible opposition force in Japan?
With the close of the extraordinary Diet session on Dec. 9, some of the largest opposition parties once again entered talks about merging before year's end, with an eye toward increasing their seats in the next general election. Here's a look at the talks and what they might mean for Japan's political...

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