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 Setsuko Kamiya

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Setsuko Kamiya
Setsuko Kamiya is a staff writer and editor covering local news, including legal issues, and has been following the ongoing judicial reform. A 2005 Fulbright journalist grantee, she studied the American jury system in California.
For Setsuko Kamiya's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2012
Ozawa not guilty of fund conspiracy
Ichiro Ozawa, former president of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, was acquitted Thursday of conspiring with former aides to make false financial reports in his political fund management body Rikuzankai in 2004 and 2005.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2012
Cultist who hid Aum fugitive gets 14 months
The Tokyo District Court sentenced former Aum Shinrikyo member Akemi Saito to 14 months in prison Tuesday for harboring fugitive cultist Makoto Hirata for more than 14 years.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2012
Ozawa enters final plea of innocence
Ichiro Ozawa, former president of the Democratic Party of Japan, entered his final plea of innocence Monday at the Tokyo District Court, claiming no false entries were made in his political funds reports and he never conspired with his former secretaries to make such entries.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2012
Filipinos find career switch pays off
Like many Kesennuma residents who worked in the fisheries industry on Miyagi Prefecture's coast, Charito Ito lost her job when the processing firm she had worked at for 14 years was wiped out by tsunami last March.
Japan Times
JAPAN / QUEST FOR RECOVERY
Mar 10, 2012
Pupils excelled on 3/11 but life since a struggle
Shin Saito, a junior high school teacher in Kamaishi, still has nightmares about the day he and his students had to desperately dash to higher ground as tsunami crashed into Iwate's coast, barely managing to escape the terrifying waves.
Japan Times
JAPAN / QUEST FOR RECOVERY
Mar 7, 2012
Fisheries rebound at sporadic pace
On a late February afternoon, 66-year-old Masakazu Haga prepared mackerel at his new temporary fish processing compound, erected on elevated ground in the Akahama district facing Otsuchi Bay in Iwate Prefecture. The compound stands out because it's one of the few new structures in this town devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and a fire that followed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2012
Lay judges present ideas to make system better
A group who have performed lay judge duties say the courts should provide more information to citizens who serve on the bench to help them make fair and impartial decisions.
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2012
Onus on aides as Ozawa 'can't recall' fund details
Ichiro Ozawa maintained Wednesday he had nothing to do with the alleged falsification of political funding reports, telling the Tokyo District Court he left all financial matters to his secretaries and doesn't remember what one of his secretaries says he told the political don about how the money in question was being handled.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2012
Only aides handled the accounts, Ozawa says
Former Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa on Tuesday once again flatly denied that he conspired with his aides to falsify his political fund management body's reports in 2004 and 2005 over a ¥400 million land deal in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2011
Former Ozawa aide denies involvement in funds fraud
A former aide to Ichiro Ozawa claimed in court Wednesday that he was never involved in drafting or submitting the political funds statements of the Democratic Party of Japan power broker's political funds management body, despite holding the title of secretary in charge of accounting.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2011
Aide denies Ozawa saw fund reports
A former aide to Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa testified Tuesday that he never consulted with his former boss about making alleged false entries in the financial statements for Ozawa's political fund management body, Rikuzankai, in 2004 and 2005.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2011
Radioactive soil can fill 23 Tokyo Domes
Radioactive soil and vegetation that must be removed in Fukushima and four adjacent prefectures could reach up to 28.79 million cu. meters, equal to filling the Tokyo Dome 23 times, according to a recent Environment Ministry estimate.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 28, 2011
Aides' convictions bode ill for Ozawa
The convictions Monday of Democratic Party of Japan ex-leader Ichiro Ozawa's former aides for making false entries in his political funds records will inevitably impact the kingpin's own trial that starts next month and weaken his clout in the ruling party, legal and political observers said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2011
Former Ozawa aides judged guilty
Three former secretaries of Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa were given suspended prison terms Monday for making false entries in the financial reports of Ozawa's political fund management body Rikuzankai in 2004, 2005 and 2007.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 20, 2011
You name it: Rights for more municipal sites go on sale
C.C. Lemon isn't just the name of a soft drink — it's also the name of a famous concert hall in Tokyo more popularly known as Shibuko — a mecca for aspiring rock stars throughout Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2011
Mainali's kin submit retrial request
The wife and brother of Govinda Prasad Mainali, a Nepalese man serving life in prison for the 1997 robbery-murder of a 39-year-old woman, on Thursday called for his immediate release and demanded a retrial be held to prove his innocence.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 13, 2011
Hosono to reshape nuclear policy
New Environment Minister Goshi Hosono has vowed to reduce Japan's reliance on nuclear power but has said that halted reactors that pass stringent safety tests may be restarted if the nation's energy needs are not being met.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2011
Six months on, few signs of recovery
After the March 11 earthquake and tsunami destroyed everything from houses to street lights, the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, has been so dark and quiet at night it's unnerving.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2011
Massive debate slowed quake aid: Red Cross
The delay in quake aid distribution was caused by an unprecedented 15-prefecture effort to draw up a fair set of criteria for determining the amount of money each person should receive, the Japanese Red Cross Society said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2011
Public looks to Noda to provide stability
People interviewed Tuesday on the streets of Tokyo voiced hope that new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will quickly find ways to rebuild the tsunami-ravaged Tohoku region but were frustrated by the frequent changes in leaders and called for a stable government.

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