Tag - local-government

 
Menu
Search
 
April 01, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

A poster for digital coupons at a store in the city of Fukushima
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Mar 11, 2024
Fukushima’s welfare coupon campaign highlights digital divide
A call center dedicated to the initiative received so many calls that telephone lines were overloaded.
Iwate Gov. Takuya Tasso speaks during an interview in February in the city of Morioka.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2024
13 years after 3/11, Iwate looks to make best use of new infrastructure
The governor of Iwate also called on the central government to continue necessary reconstruction projects while listening to people in the affected areas.
Hideo Kojima (right), mayor of Ginan, Gifu Prefecture, hands his letter of resignation to the head of the town's assembly at the town hall on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 29, 2024
Gifu town mayor resigns amid sexual harassment allegations
Hideo Kojima, 74, a former town assembly member, was first elected mayor in November 2020 and was serving his first term.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 20, 2024
Tokyo to draft ordinance to curb harassment by customers
The harassment of front-line workers by customers has become a growing trend in the capital, Gov. Yuriko Koike said.
Gold badges distributed to Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly members after the April 2023 election. The prices for both types doubled from four years ago.
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Feb 19, 2024
Gold assembly badges worth millions of yen unreturned in Kyushu
Each elected member receives a new badge for every election and is supposed to return them on losing an election or retiring from politics.
Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward is testing a project to fight rats using garbage bags imbued with the smell of herbs they hate.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 11, 2024
Tokyo ward using garbage bags with herbs to combat rats
Chiyoda Ward received around 200 complaints annually in fiscal 2019 to 2022, a surge from around 50 until fiscal 2018.
Shoko Kawata stumps in the city of Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture, last year.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 6, 2024
Japan's youngest female city mayor is focused on women's empowerment
The election of Shoko Kawata, 33, was unexpected — but was a welcome change for some.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2024
New Kyoto mayor aims to tackle over-tourism with higher fares
Koji Matsui faces many hurdles, and he takes over at a time when the demerits of over-tourism have become a particular topic of concern for residents.
Akira Ogawa (center) celebrates her win in the Maebashi mayoral election in Gunma Prefecture on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2024
Opposition-backed candidate wins in Maebashi mayoral election
Akira Ogawa will become the first female mayor in Maebashi after defeating incumbent Ryu Yamamoto.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 30, 2024
Local governments in Japan battle overtourism challenges
Officials are seeking ways to solve problems that emerge from higher tourist numbers, such as a shortage of taxis and the accumulation of garbage.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2024
Ruling bloc-backed candidate wins Hachioji election
The win comes despite the LDP being embroiled in a high-profile slush funds scandal linked to its factions' fundraising parties.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 22, 2024
Regional business creators system picks up steam in Japan
The system allows local governments to leverage private-sector know-how in areas including tourism promotion and digitalization.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Yamagata’s Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a classic beauty
Yamagata’s Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a classic beauty

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER