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September 17, 2024
 

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GOVERNMENT

Officials with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office raids the office of Lowr House lawmaker Mito Kakizawa in Tokyo's Edo Ward in November.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 6, 2024
Lawmaker Mito Kakizawa to admit to vote-buying allegations
The Lower House lawmaker's admission to vote-buying allegations in a Tokyo mayoral election will come after an initial denial.
Lower House lawmaker Mito Kakizawa (back right) when he was appointed deputy justice minister in September
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 28, 2023
Japanese lawmaker Kakizawa arrested over vote-buying allegations
The former LDP member allegedly gave bribes to assembly members in Tokyo’s Koto Ward to garner support for a candidate in the Koto mayoral election.
The prefectural and municipal governments of Osaka hold a meeting in the city on Dec. 14 to discuss offering a ride-hailing service at the 2025 Osaka Expo.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2023
Local governments in Japan eye independent ride-hailing services
Some local governments are exploring the introduction of their own systems tailored to fit local circumstances, separate from the central government.
Construction work goes on in the Henoko coastal district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on Monday, with Oura Bay in the foreground.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2023
Japan to OK base relocation project design change by proxy
The approval of the change application will mark the central government's first-ever proxy execution of a local government administrative task.
The Chinese national emblem and flags at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 21, 2023
China’s move to clip local borrowing puts growth engine at risk
A revamp of the intergovernment debt structure could diminish the fiscal discretion of local leaders and weaken their drive to enact new policies.
Police officers examine the site of a car crash in a square in front of the Hitachi municipal offices in Ibaraki Prefecture on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 7, 2023
Suspect in Ibaraki car crashes admits involvement, citing grudge
The vehicle that was rammed into a square in the city of Hitachi had the suspect's mother in the passenger seat at the time of the incident.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks during a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly meeting on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 6, 2023
Tokyo aims to make high school tuition free of charge for all
For families in the capital with an annual income of less than ¥9.1 million, current financial aid essentially makes high school tuition free.
Police try to control the crowd in the city of Osaka after the Hanshin Tigers won the Japan Series baseball championship on Nov. 5.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2023
Civil servants face different treatment at Kansai baseball parades
Kobe and Hyogo government workers working at the parades will be treated as being on duty, but those of the Osaka governments will not be.
A crowded crossing near Shibuya Station in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN / Society
Nov 1, 2023
Shibuya Halloween passes without fuss following ‘don’t come’ message
Shibuya's mayor has expressed satisfaction with the reduction in crowds and public drinking this year.
Shibuya's local government has mounted a campaign to dissuade revelers from visiting the neighborhood for Halloween celebrations and has banned drinking in the streets.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 30, 2023
Shibuya wants to cancel Halloween. That's a mistake.
This year, Shibuya isn't dressing up for Halloween. The neighborhood is turning revelers away, ignoring its role as a youth culture hub.
People visit Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward on Saturday, including a handful of costumed revelers gathering in the trendy area to celebrate the weekend before Halloween.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 29, 2023
Security tight for Halloween in Shibuya as costumed crowds fail to show
Measures to deter costumed revelers from gathering in the trendy area — including a ban on street drinking — appeared to be relatively effective.
Yayoi Kimura, mayor of Tokyo's Koto Ward, at a news conference to announce her resignation following allegations of election campaign violations.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2023
Mayor of Tokyo ward to resign over alleged campaign violation
Koto Ward mayor Yayoi Kimura says she will resign following a probe by public prosecutors in connection with an alleged election law violation.
Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe speaks during an interview at his office on Oct. 19.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 26, 2023
Can Shibuya's mayor turn his ward into a global icon?
For Mayor Ken Hasebe, reining in Halloween revelers is just one step on the way to transforming Shibuya.
Baby soap donated by sanitary products company Saraya to the city of Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture, has been distributed at child care support facilities in the city.
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2023
Donation platform matches firms with local governments in Japan
The platform not only helps improve the welfare of residents, but also allows companies to make effective use of inventories.
Yayoi Kimura, mayor of Tokyo's Koto Ward, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in August.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 25, 2023
Prosecutors raid Tokyo ward mayor's office over election campaign
The special squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office were acting on a criminal complaint filed by local residents against the mayor.
A growing number of local governments in Japan have adopted digital technology for over-the-counter services to allow residents to carry out procedures without having to fill out application forms.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2023
More local governments in Japan go digital for counter services
The measure has helped reducing waiting times and burden on visitors.
Tourists take pictures of an Enoshima Electric Railway train in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, in July.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2023
Japan tries 'nudge theory' in bid to curtail littering by tourists
Thea measures come as littering and other problems related to overtourism are worsening in popular destinations.
A new government panel will discuss the salaries and work styles of local government employees.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 16, 2023
Japan panel to probe work conditions for local government staff
Panel members are expected to exchange opinions about salary, personnel management systems and work styles.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 12, 2023
Okinawa governor refuses to approve design change for Henoko base
The central government has claimed that the governor's disapproval "seriously harms the public interest."
A bill would have banned the act of letting children play in a park or travel to school on their own, as well as parents going out and leaving their high school-age children behind to take care of younger siblings.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 10, 2023
Saitama to withdraw proposed ban on leaving children unattended
The bill had been criticized by many parents in the prefecture and beyond as being too restrictive and impossible to follow.
Japan's elderly population grows to record 36.25 million
The proportion of people aged 65 and over has risen since the 1950s and is expected to hit 34.8% by 2040, when the second baby boomers (born 1971-1974) will join that group.
'Shogun' becomes first non-English-language winner of best drama Emmy
Japanese actress Anna Sawai, winner of the outstanding lead actress in a drama series award for "Shogun," and Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada, winner of the outstanding lead actor in a drama series award for the show, pose in the press room during the 76th Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Japan jumps to No. 2, from sixth place, in Best Countries index
Pedestrians cross an intersection in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. Japan has experienced a postpandemic travel boom, with tourists pouring back in after restrictions closed the country’s borders to travelers.
South Korea is facing deepfake porn crisis
Activists hold up symbolic eye masks during a protest against deepfake porn in Seoul on Aug. 30.
Second assassination attempt on Trump is latest jolt in chaotic campaign
U.S. Secret Service and Homeland Security agents check a former home of a Ryan Routh, a suspect in an alleged assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Sunday.
‘Shogun’ and the painstaking art of ‘getting it right’
Hiroyuki Sanada and the cast and crew of "Shogun" accept the award for best drama series at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California.
Japan’s schools battle to keep kids cool, with or without AC
Students sit under a misting system during recess at Hikarigaoka Haru no Kaze Elementary School in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, on Sept. 6.
Chris Broad's new bar puts cocktails first, YouTube second
A self-proclaimed lover of great cocktails, YouTuber Chris Broad says his new Shibuya watering hole is more a place to get yourself a solid drink than it is anything related to his social media career.
In LDP presidential poll, three kingmakers hold all the cards
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo in January as former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (left) looks on.
How China’s dominance of solar and batteries is impacting Japan’s energy transition
Solar panels and wind turbines at a power plant in Hami in China's Xinjiang region. The U.S. and other countries have described China’s actions against Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region, a key cog in the cleantech supply chain, as a genocidal campaign aimed at erasing an entire culture.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Sasakawa works for a sustainable blue economy
Sasakawa works for a sustainable blue economy

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