Tag - foreign-ministry

 
 

FOREIGN MINISTRY

JAPAN
Feb 5, 2020
Japan to improve how its passports show birth names of married citizens
The Foreign Ministry will change the way it records birth names in passports for those who adopt the surname of their spouse, in order to display both names more clearly, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2020
Japan names ambassadors to Bolivia, Cyprus, East Timor, Iceland and UNESCO
The government named on Tuesday new ambassadors to Bolivia, Cyprus, East Timor, Iceland and UNESCO, effective Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2020
Three Japanese ministries and the patent office to test ways to cut number of plastic bags at convenience stores
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Friday that it will launch a trial next week at convenience stores at three government ministries and an agency to test ways to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 13, 2020
Former Syria hostage Jumpei Yasuda sues Japan for denying him passport
The journalist says denying him a passport is “a violation of the Constitution that guarantees freedom of movement abroad.”
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 11, 2020
Motegi to discuss North Korea and other issues with U.S. and South Korean foreign ministers
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will meet with his U.S. and South Korean counterparts in San Francisco on Tuesday to discuss their cooperation on the denuclearization of North Korea.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2019
Funeral prep for Emperor Hirohito began seven years before his death: declassified documents
The Foreign Ministry began funeral preparations for Emperor Hirohito seven years before his death, holding secret talks with the Imperial Household Agency on the matter in 1982, recently declassified ministry records show.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 19, 2019
Japanese officials and U.S. envoy agree to stay in step on North Korea
The top U.S. envoy for North Korea agreed with senior officials of the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday to continue working closely together amid a standstill in denuclearization talks with Pyongyang.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2019
Japan's Foreign Ministry to provide Korean-language explanation of Rising Sun flag on website
Japan's Foreign Ministry plans to provide an explanation in Korean on use of the kyokujitsuki Rising Sun flag on its website, in addition to the details currently provided in Japanese and English.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 3, 2019
Japan names new top diplomat for Asian affairs
Japan named its new top diplomat for Asian affairs on Tuesday, at a time when it is embroiled in a bitter feud with South Korea over wartime history and trade and as North Korea provokes its neighbors with a series of missile tests.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jul 31, 2019
Passports, maiden names, brackets: Japan Foreign Minister Taro Kono wades into a minefield
When Foreign Minister Taro Kono wrote on Twitter that he would order his ministry to look into the contentious issue of maiden names on passports in response to a tweet in early June, he may not have been aware of the minefield he was about to step into.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 25, 2019
Allies agree to quick access for Japan officials to U.S. military accident sites, but consent still required
Tokyo and Washington revised a set of 2005 guidelines Thursday that deal with off-base U.S. military aircraft accidents in Japan to allow for the "expeditious early entry" of Japanese officials into an inner cordoned off area to be set up around the wreckage, the Foreign Ministry said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2019
Ex-captive Japanese journalist Jumpei Yasuda denied passport by Foreign Ministry
Japanese journalist Jumpei Yasuda, who returned home last year after more than three years of captivity in Syria, said Tuesday the government has denied him a new passport, effectively preventing him from traveling overseas.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2019
Activist Rebiya Kadeer calls on Japan to highlight persecution of Uighurs as Osaka G20 begins
As the Group of 20 summit formally kicked off in Osaka on Friday, Rebiya Kadeer, a prominent political activist for China's Uighur ethnic minority, urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to highlight Beijing's alleged persecution of the majority-Muslim group in the country's far west, slamming Japan's inadequate...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / G20 Osaka
Jun 25, 2019
Can the G20 summit pave a path for the future of multilateral trade?
Since it first convened two decades ago, the Group of 20 summit has been regarded as a forum for developed and developing countries to take collective action against economic uncertainties.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 29, 2019
Lost lives in Kawasaki rampage: A good-natured schoolgirl and a Burmese-language specialist
Hanako Kuribayashi was known as being a thoughtful and good-natured girl, while Satoshi Oyama was recognized as a specialist in the Burmese language and a highly qualified Foreign Ministry official, before they were killed in Tuesday's mass stabbing in Kawasaki.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 9, 2019
Japan supports Taiwan's bid to attend World Health Assembly in move that could anger China
Foreign Minister Taro Kono expressed support on Wednesday for Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly in a move that could anger China.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 23, 2019
Japan softens tone on North Korea and Russia in foreign policy report as Abe pursues deals
Tokyo removed a reference to applying “maximum pressure” on Pyongyang and stopped short of explicitly claiming ownership of the Russian-held islands off Hokkaido.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 4, 2019
Japan and U.K. to postpone 'two-plus-two' security talks amid Brexit deadlock
Tokyo and London have decided to postpone their ministerial security talks scheduled for next week, a Japanese government source said Wednesday, due to the U.K. Parliament's continued efforts to end the Brexit impasse.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2019
Japan assures world that Reiwa is all about 'beautiful harmony' and has nothing to do with 'command'
The move is intended to dispel what the ministry considers erroneous reports overseas that the new era name has connotations of “command” or “order.”
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2019
Foreign Ministry may go Gregorian, dropping use of Japan era names in documents when it can
With the upcoming Imperial era name change, the Foreign Ministry is considering scrapping the use of the era name for calendar years in some of its official documents and switching to the Gregorian calendar, according to informed sources.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals