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 Kanako Takahara

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Kanako Takahara
Kanako Takahara is a staff writer who has covered national politics, diplomacy, business and the economy at The Japan Times. A graduate of Sophia University, she is currently a national news editor.
A Metropolitan Police Department flyer on high-paying illegal work advertised on social media, known as yami baito
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 6, 2024
Police may be able to use fake IDs to investigate yami baito
The new measures would allow investigators to sign up for shady jobs with disguised identities and make contact with individuals behind the recruitment.
Critics have said that drivers who were speeding well over the speed limit or those who were extremely drunk were not indicted for dangerous driving because of its vague definition.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / EXPLAINER
Dec 6, 2024
What constitutes fatal dangerous driving in Japan?
Critics say its vague definition has often led prosecutors to indict offenders with less-serious charges of fatal negligent driving instead.
Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Itsunori Onodera (right) and his Democratic Party for the People counterpart, Makoto Hamaguchi, meet in Tokyo on Friday to discuss policies their parties could potentially agree on.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 8, 2024
LDP between a rock and a hard place in struggle to get DPP support
The opposition party wants to raise the threshold for tax exemptions from the current ¥1.03 million ($6,740), a move that would cost the government tax revenues.
Tsunehisa Katsumata was known for his quick decision-making, which earned him the nickname “Razor Katsumata.”
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2024
Former Tepco chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata dies at 84
Katsumata was the company's point man after the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant went into meltdown in the wake of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during an interview with reporters at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday night
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2024
Japan faces political upheaval after LDP-led coalition loses majority
The electoral rout opens up a potential path for the opposition to steer the lower chamber’s agenda if they can act cohesively.
Iwao Hakamata (left) gestures beside his older sister, Hideko, at a gathering with supporters on Monday in the city of Shizuoka, his first public appearance since his exoneration over a 1966 murder case.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 15, 2024
Ex-boxer Hakamata set to vote for the first time in decades
Efforts are being made to allow the world's longest-held death row inmate, who has been exonerated over a 1966 murder case, to vote in the Oct. 27 general election.
Toshiyuki Mimaki, the co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, speaks at an event held in November at United Nations headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the second meeting of state parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2024
Nihon Hidankyo awarded Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to achieve nuclear-free world
The organization was given the honor for its work to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.
New Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (front center) and other Cabinet ministers pose for a commemorative photo after an appointment and certification ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 1, 2024
New Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba unveils Cabinet as LDP divide emerges
His Cabinet, made up of lawmakers largely untainted by an LDP political funds scandal, has appeared to open up a rift in the ruling party.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves after he was elected as the new head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party during a leadership vote on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 27, 2024
Fifth time's a charm: Shigeru Ishiba set to be Japan PM after LDP poll win
Ishiba, who has also served as party secretary-general, won the LDP presidential election on Friday, defeating economic security minister Sanae Takaichi in a runoff vote.
Hideko Hakamata (center) and lawyers representing her younger brother, Iwao Hakamata, pose with a banner that reads "Iwao Hakamata verdict not guilty" as they leave the Shizuoka District Court on Thursday after the ruling was delivered.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 26, 2024
In rare retrial, Shizuoka court rules ex-boxer not guilty of 1966 murders
Iwao Hakamata, the world’s longest-serving death row prisoner, has maintained his innocence for decades.
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."
A satellite image shows Typhoon Shanshan south of Kyushu on Wednesday afternoon
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2024
Typhoon Shanshan batters Kyushu ahead of likely landfall
Shanshan could make landfall later Thursday while still a very strong storm, and its slow movement means it will deliver dangerous impacts over a prolonged period.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visits Yasukuni Shrine on Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 15, 2024
Kishida clears the way for ministers to campaign in LDP election
Prospective candidates are weighing whether they can gather the necessary endorsements and rake in enough votes to have a decent shot at winning.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2024
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
The surprise move came amid growing criticism from rank-and-file party members and bad poll numbers.
The streets of Tokyo's Ginza district on Thursday. The rainy season appears to have ended in the regions of Tokai and Kanto, including Tokyo, on Thursday, according to the Meteorological Agency.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2024
Rainy season ends in Tokai and Kanto regions
The season looks to have ended a day earlier than average, according to the Meteorological Agency.
The Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture. Brennon Washington, a 25-year-old U.S. Air Force serviceman based at Kadena, on Friday pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 12, 2024
U.S. serviceman in Okinawa pleads not guilty to sexual assault
Brennon Washington, who is stationed at the Kadena Air Base, said he did not kidnap or assault an underage girl in December.
Runners get started in the Tokyo Marathon 2024 in March.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 25, 2024
Nonbinary checkbox to be added to application for Tokyo Marathon
"We aim to create a more inclusive society through Tokyo Marathon 2025," race organizers said.
On a board for election posters in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on Monday, duplicates of one featuring a female kickboxer who is not running in the gubernatorial race take up half of all the spots.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2024
Seeing duplicates of a poster on election boards? It's due to a loophole.
The law only restricts details about other candidates or factually incorrect information from posters on boards set up for elections.
An election poster board in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on Friday. Incumbent Yuriko Koike and former Upper House lawmaker Renho may be stealing the spotlight for the July 7 Tokyo governor poll, but some other candidates highly unlikely to win are nonetheless running in the hope of gaining publicity during the campaign period.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 21, 2024
PR opportunity pushes Tokyo governor candidates to record number
The amount of publicity to be gained during the campaign period is a major draw, with the ¥3 million candidate deposit described as a bargain.
Japanese players celebrate after winning a point against Canada during a Volleyball Nations League match on Thursday in Fukuoka.
OLYMPICS / Volleyball
Jun 14, 2024
Japan’s women’s volleyball team punches ticket for Paris
The JVA received the news from FIVA, the sport’s governing body, after it calculated the rankings points as of Thursday.

Longform

People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?