Hashimoto rips Sakai mayor over integration vote

May 8, 2013

Hashimoto rips Sakai mayor over integration vote

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, coleader of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), criticized on Tuesday a proposal by Sakai Mayor Osami Takeyama to hold a city referendum on participating in an integrated Osaka, calling it nonsense and a political stunt. “Ridiculous. What’s going ...

Heritage status will mean big changes

May 2, 2013

Heritage status will mean big changes

Local and prefectural governments and businesses surrounding Mount Fuji welcomed the news that the World Heritage Committee is expected to designate Japan’s most famous and popular mountain as a World Heritage site, despite concerns about what it will mean to the local environment and ...

Apr 16, 2013

Oi reactors can remain online: court

In a key decision likely to affect efforts to restart the nation’s nuclear power plants, the Osaka District Court ruled Tuesday that two reactors in Oi, Fukui Prefecture, are operating under rational safety standards and that it is not clear there is a concrete ...

Suu Kyi: Japan gender equality poor

Apr 15, 2013

Suu Kyi: Japan gender equality poor

Myanmar opposition head Aung San Suu Kyi returns to Kyoto, where she lived in the 1980s, to speak on changes in her country and to chide Japan on its gender gap.

Ishin leaders, Abe meet on revising Constitution

Apr 11, 2013

Ishin leaders, Abe meet on revising Constitution

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met Tuesday evening in Tokyo with top Osaka-based Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) officials Toru Hashimoto and Ichiro Matsui to discuss cooperation on amending the Constitution. Hashimoto, who, along with Lower House member Shintaro Ishihara, serves as coleader ...

Hokkaido opposition to TPP surges

Apr 10, 2013

Hokkaido opposition to TPP surges

On a late March afternoon in central Sapporo’s “raccoon trail,” a covered shopping arcade, business is particularly brisk. While Honshu’s main cities celebrate under the cherry blossoms, several meters of snow remain piled up beside icy sidewalks — with more expected. That’s good news, ...

Apr 9, 2013

Hashimoto to sue Asahi for story on family past

Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) chief Toru Hashimoto plans to sue the weekly Shukan Asahi and daily Asahi Shimbun, claiming they violated his human rights when the magazine ran an article six months ago touching on his family background. ...

Nippon Ishin, LDP ally on separate paths

Apr 4, 2013

Nippon Ishin, LDP ally on separate paths

As Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) gears up for this summer’s Upper House election, its relationship with New Komeito, especially over constitutional revision, has come under increased pressure. Last week, Nippon Ishin unveiled its basic policy outline for the campaign. At the ...