Tag - local-government

 
 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito speaks during a prefectural assembly session on Thursday in Kobe. A motion of no confidence against Saito, who is accused of workplace bullying, was submitted to the prefectural assembly on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 19, 2024
Hyogo assembly passes no-confidence motion against embattled governor
The extremely rare move forces Gov. Motohiko Saito, who is accused of workplace bullying, to either step down or dissolve the assembly within 10 days.
There are worries that residents' personal information would be compromised if vulnerabilities in local government security systems are left unnoticed.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2024
Japan to conduct mock cyberattack tests on local governments
The measure aims to strengthen local governments' security by checking for system vulnerabilities.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito responds to questioning in Kobe on Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2024
LDP and other parties demand Hyogo governor's resignation
All 86 members of the prefectural assembly have now called for Saito's resignation.f
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike poses with Liberal Democratic Party members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on July 8, following her win for a third term in the gubernatorial election the previous day.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 10, 2024
After Tokyo governor poll, eyes turn to 2025 assembly election
Both the Liberal Democratic Party and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan are under pressure to regroup ahead of the quadrennial metropolitan assembly election.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito, accused of workplace bullying, testifies to an investigative panel in Kobe on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2024
Nippon Ishin calls on Hyogo governor to resign over bullying claims
Nippon Ishin’s move is expected to be a politically fatal blow for Motohiko Saito, as he had the party’s support when he was elected as an independent.
Atsushi Sakima (center) celebrates his victory in the Ginowan mayoral election with his supporters in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2024
Ruling camp-backed candidate wins Ginowan mayoral election
Atsushi Sakima, a former Ginowan mayor, defeated Isao Tobaru, a former member of the Ginowan assembly, and corporate representative Takashi Higa.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki speaks during a news conference in the prefectural government office in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 6, 2024
Okinawa governor condemns alleged sexual assault by U.S. Marine
The governor said that the prefecture will lodge a protest with the Japanese and U.S. governments over the case.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito attends a session of a panel investigating allegations of workplace harassment against him, in Kobe on Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2024
Hyogo governor disputes legal protections for harassment whistleblower
Motohiko Saito said that he didn’t believe it was a problem to allow an investigation into the creator of a document making allegations against him.
A voter casts a mail-in ballot at a drop box outside the Maricopa County Recorder and Elections Department's southeast Mesa office during the Arizona state primary election in Mesa, Arizona, on July 30.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 6, 2024
U.S. election prompts cities to get a grip on fake news
Local officials are increasingly forced to address false information about public health, migration, and urban planning strategies, which intensify during polls.
Asahikawa Mayor Hirosuke Imazu (left) receives the final version of a reinvestigation report on a schoolgirl suicide case from education critic Naoki Ogi in Asahikawa on Sunday.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 2, 2024
Reinvestigation report on death of bullied Hokkaido girl submitted
The submission of the final version had been delayed due to the need to take measures to prevent its content from being leaked.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito speaks during a committee meeting in Kobe on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2024
Embattled Hyogo governor to face no-confidence motion
For its passage, the no-confidence motion needs to be supported by three-quarters or more of assembly members present at a meeting for voting.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito (center) attends a session before a prefectural assembly investigative panel on Friday in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2024
Hyogo governor sidesteps accusations of workplace bullying
In the wake of the deaths of two prefectural officials, Gov. Motohiko Saito told an investigative panel that he may have been a "strict boss."
Nippon Ishin no Kai head Nobuyuki Baba (left) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discuss political reform in Tokyo in May.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 28, 2024
Hyogo governor's scandal could spell more trouble for Nippon Ishin
The party, still reeling from a mayoral election loss, gave its backing to Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito in his 2021 gubernatorial bid.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito speaks to reporters in front of the prefectural government building in Kobe on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2024
Hyogo panel releases power harassment report
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito said he sometimes made harsh remarks to prefectural workers, but that it did not constitute power harassment.
The land ministry is planning to create a system in which the central and local governments would evenly shoulder part of the demolition costs that condominium management associations should pay.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2024
Japanese government to subsidize demolition of old condo buildings
The land ministry is planning to subsidize such demolitions from the fiscal year beginning April 2025.
Revised guidelines on municipal governments' postpartum care programs will likely include care for women who temporarily stay at their parents' homes to give birth.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024
Japan to revise guidelines for local government postpartum care
The upcoming revision comes as some local governments face difficulties implementing postpartum care projects by themselves.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito holds a news conference on Aug. 7.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 20, 2024
Nearly 40% of employees knew of Hyogo governor’s alleged power harassment
Gov. Motohiko Saito has called the allegations — which were made by a prefectural government official who was found dead — “groundless."
A man tests his lung function free of charge using a device provided by the Tokushima Prefectural Government at an event organized by companies.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 19, 2024
Japan takes new steps against lifestyle-linked lung disease COPD
A health ministry survey highlighted 16,384 deaths from COPD in 2021, making it the ninth leading cause of death among men.
As if moving isn't stressful enough, Japan requires a host of paperwork to accompany your switch to a new apartment — a process that may get a little simpler in the near future.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 16, 2024
Online banking consortium to slash the busywork of moving in Japan
The free service is expected to launch in February 2025, with even more functions available online by 2026.
A bulletin board shows the day's highest temperature in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on July 29.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Aug 8, 2024
From Naha to Nemuro, how Japan’s cities are responding to more heat
Municipalities are reaching for everything from automated misting systems to anime to help cool residents and educate them about the risks of heat.

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