National
NRA makes new reactor safety regimen official
The Nuclear Regulation Authority officially approves new safety requirements for reactors aimed at preventing disasters like the catastrophe at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
Community | OUR MAN IN TOKYO Apr 9, 2013
British ambassador laments his two 'lost decades'
by Mami Maruko
Tim Hitchens, the new British ambassador to Japan, has observed with his own eyes the country’s economic transition since he first visited here as a teenager back in the 1970s. But even as Japan stumbled through economic turbulence — from the oil crisis of ...
Our Lives | OUR MAN IN TOKYO Apr 2, 2013
'Green growth' tops Costa Rican envoy's agenda
by Mami Maruko
Costa Rican Ambassador Alvaro Cedeno Molinari says his mission here is to deliver his country’s message on green growth and renewable energy — and to develop what he describes as a green growth agenda between his country and Japan. “My agenda is not a ...
Voices | OUR MAN IN TOKYO Feb 26, 2013
Romania envoy hopes cultural affinity boosts ties
by Mami Maruko
Romanian Ambassador Radu Serban is a veteran diplomat with a mission to promote economic ties with Japan. But the envoy, 61, has another agenda — promoting cultural and educational exchanges, which ties into his personal love of Japanese literature, especially haiku. Serban’s love of ...
Profile | OUR MAN IN TOKYO Dec 25, 2012
Finns eagerly embracing things Japanese: envoy
by Mami Maruko
Santa Claus, Moomin, contemporary design and saunas may be the things that come to mind when Japanese think of Finland. What may be less widely known is that the two countries have been strengthening cultural and educational ties in recent years. More and more ...
Profile | OUR MAN IN TOKYO Dec 4, 2012
Envoy puts focus on people-to-people ties
by Mami Maruko
To serve as the United States ambassador to Japan is obviously not an easy task — not by any stretch of the imagination. That’s the position John Roos was assigned in August 2009 even though he didn’t have previous diplomatic experience or hold a ...
Profile | OUR MAN IN TOKYO Nov 20, 2012
Envoy acts as bridge between Japan, Armenia
by Mami Maruko
It didn’t come as much of a surprise to Grant Pogosyan when the offer came to him from the Armenian government to become his home country’s ambassador to Japan. For over 20 years, Pogosyan, 59, has lived and worked in Japan — albeit in ...