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November 22, 2024
 

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GOVERNMENT

A "cooling shelter" set up inside the city hall in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture
JAPAN
May 1, 2024
Municipalities setting up 'cooling shelters' in bid to prevent heatstroke
Operators of designated facilities will be asked to open them for use by people to escape the heat when a special alert for heatstroke is issued.
Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward has offered a stationmaster experience at Shinjuku Station as a return gift for donations of ¥1 million to the ward.
JAPAN
May 1, 2024
Tokyo offers 'experience packages' as gifts to curb tax outflow
As their tax revenues continue to decline, Tokyo wards have begun diversifying their gift offerings under the hometown tax program.
Peaches grown in Fukushima Prefecture. A so-called zebra firm in the prefecture is selling substandard fruits to greengrocers in urban areas, which leads to higher incomes for local farmers.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2024
Japan eyes socially mindful startups to boost regional economies
Starting in June, the government will launch pilot projects to help such startups cooperate with local governments, banks and companies.
The Ibaraki Prefectural Government has introduced an optional four-day workweek to serve as a model for work style reform.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 30, 2024
Are local governments in Japan ready to embrace a four-day workweek?
Several municipalities are testing the waters by allowing employees to opt for longer workdays in exchange for an extra weekday off.
Chika Kon asks a question at a mock assembly session organized by the town assembly of Zao, Miyagi Prefecture, in July. Kon is now a member of the assembly.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 29, 2024
Local councils in Japan take measures to counter candidate shortfall
Efforts are being made to encourage participation to avoid undermining essential functions such as administrative oversight.
When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Apr 29, 2024
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
Among official records in Japan, the "koseki" is key to discovering where you came from. However, it's not without controversy.
The city government of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, has conducted its third marine survey around the Senkaku Islands.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 28, 2024
Okinawa's Ishigaki uses drone for first time during marine survey around Senkakus
During the survey, China Coast Guard vessels entered Japanese waters around the islands and attempted to interfere with the city's ship.
Members of the town assembly of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, on Friday deliberate a petition calling for a survey to examine the town's suitability for hosting a radioactive waste disposal site.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024
Town assembly in Saga approves petition for nuclear waste site survey
A town in Saga Prefecture has become the first host municipality for a nuclear plant to approve a petition to accept a survey for nuclear waste.
Kenji Imata, mayor of Togo, Aichi Prefecture, speaks during a news conference in the town on Thursday after a third-party committee found he had continuously engaged in "power harassment" and sexual harassment against several town employees.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024
Two town mayors in central Japan resign over harassment scandals
Kenji Imata of Togo, Aichi Prefecture, and Kazuo Okazaki of Ikeda, Gifu Prefecture, have stepped down.
Shintaro Wakiyama, mayor of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, speaks to reporters last week. Jiji
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2024
Saga town committee to OK petition to accept nuclear waste survey
The mayor of Genkai, Shintaro Wakiyama, has taken a cautious stance on the issue.
Members of the Generation Z division at the Kitakyushu municipal government in Fukuoka Prefecture discuss ways to attract more young people to live in the city.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 25, 2024
Local governments setting up unique divisions to revitalize economy
Kitakata in Fukushima Prefecture has created a ramen division and soba division to promote local cuisine.
Members of the town assembly of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, discuss on Wednesday whether to accept a survey to examine the town's suitability for hosting a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2024
Saga town begins discussions on nuclear waste disposal site survey
If approved by the special committee and the full assembly, the town mayor will need to make the final decision on whether or not to accept the survey.
Miyoko Kusunoki, an official of the board of education in Higashiura, Aichi Prefecture, shows the salt blocks that will be put up for sale on Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2024
Rock salt worth ¥600,000 to be sold on Mercari by Aichi town
Higashiura started selling unneeded items from the town hall on the flea market app this month.
Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu speaks to reporters in the city of Shizuoka on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 10, 2024
Shizuoka governor submits letter of resignation over controversial remarks
He initially planned to quit during an assembly session in June, but he has been under pressure to step down earlier.
Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai speaks at a a news conference in Sendai on Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2024
Miyagi governor suggests scrapping national sports event
The annual event is hosted in rotation by the 47 prefectures.
Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu speaks to reporters at the prefectural government office on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 8, 2024
Shizuoka governor to resign over gaffe
Heita Kawakatsu is under fire for a remark viewed as insulting to farmers and others.
Rescuers prepare supplies before entering Taroko National Park after an earthquake in Hualien, Taiwan.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2024
Local governments in Japan move to support quake-hit Taiwan
Areas in Japan hit by previous disasters are aiming to offer support for Taiwan.
Members of the Community-Reactivating Cooperator Squad living in Tokushima Prefecture meet in the city of Yoshinogawa in the prefecture in December 2022 to learn from each other's experiences.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 5, 2024
Record 7,200 served as 'community reactivators' in FY 2023
The government aims to increase the number of community cooperators to 10,000 by fiscal 2026.
Heita Kawakatsu, governor of Shizuoka Prefecture, explains his remarks at the prefectural government office on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 2, 2024
Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu to resign over latest gaffe
"Unlike (those who) sell vegetables, raise cattle and make things, you are basically highly intellectual people," he said to newly hired officials.
As of December 2022, the village of Zamami, Okinawa Prefecture, had in its stockpile six of the nine items listed in a survey as necessary for women and 10 of the 11 items listed as necessary for babies and infants, doing much better than other municipalities in the prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Apr 1, 2024
Municipalities push gender-inclusive disaster risk management
Some areas in Okinawa involve more women in decision-making and make an effort at stockpiling relevant items.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

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