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May 05, 2024
 

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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.
For Kanako Takahara's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 19, 2023
Japan grants refugee status to woman from Uganda fearing LGBTQ persecution
The woman came to Japan in 2020 after claiming she was beaten by police in Uganda for being a lesbian.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 17, 2023
In wake of attack, Kishida thought of bystanders, election and G7 summit
In an exclusive interview, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that he did not feel his life was threatened in the immediate aftermath of an attack on Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 16, 2023
Kishida incident shows protecting VIPs from lone wolves remains a tall order
Campaigning often sees politicians looking to shake hands and deliver speeches in front of sometimes large audiences in settings without security checkpoints.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 15, 2023
Police probe explosives attack as Kishida returns to election rallies
A suspect is in custody after a cylindrical object landed 1 meter from the prime minister, who was evacuated before the device exploded.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2023
Search for crew from missing SDF helicopter continues as debris is recovered
The coast guard retrieved 10 pieces of debris, including a lifeboat, but there has been no sign so far of the 10 personnel who were were on board.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 24, 2023
Iwao Hakamata: The former pro-boxer fighting for exoneration, with help from his sister
The day of his arrest forever changed the course of Hakamata's life, but it was also the beginning of a long, drawn out fight for exoneration.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 20, 2023
Tokyo prosecutors decide not to appeal Iwao Hakamata retrial decision
The case will now be sent to the Shizuoka District Court, with a high possibility that Hakamata will be exonerated over murders in 1966.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Mar 17, 2023
Why Kishida and Yoon moved to improve frosty bilateral ties
Beyond good food and drinks, North Korea’s repeated missile launches and the need for the two countries to cooperate over economic security brought the two leaders together.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2023
Kishida and Yoon to resume ‘shuttle diplomacy’ as frosty ties warm
The visit to Japan by Yoon is the first by a South Korean president for a bilateral summit since Lee Myung-bak traveled to Tokyo more than 11 years ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2023
Police secure arrest warrant for expelled lawmaker GaaSyy
The former lawmaker is being sought for allegedly intimidating and defaming celebrities in videos he posted on social media.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 14, 2023
Upper House committee votes to expel GaaSyy from Japan's parliament
The decision, made unanimously among ruling and opposition lawmakers, will almost certainly be finalized during an Upper House plenary session on Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 13, 2023
Tokyo High Court orders retrial in 1966 Iwao Hakamata murder case
After nearly six decades, 10 court decisions and more than 30 years on death row, the court on Monday ordered a retrial for the 87-year-old convicted murderer and former pro-boxer.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2023
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to visit Japan on March 16
The meeting is expected to help mend bilateral ties, which have been impacted for years by a dispute over wartime labor.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2023
Japan's Cabinet OKs overhaul of immigration system
Proposed revisions to the immigration law would increase reviews of detentions, ease deportation rules and add a status of quasi-refugees.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 22, 2023
Japan accepted over 2,300 Ukrainians last year. Is its refugee policy finally changing?
Many were surprised with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's decision to accept Ukrainians into the country given Tokyo has long held a strict definition of who is eligible for asylum.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 14, 2023
Policy path in focus as Kazuo Ueda nominated to be Bank of Japan chief
An academic, author and former BOJ board member, Ueda will be tasked with leading the BOJ through a challenging period.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2023
What could Japan do about foreign spy balloons over its territory?
The nation may have already seen Chinese spy balloons over its skies, including two instances of remarkably similar design to the alleged spy balloon shot down by the U.S.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2023
Kishida’s son in hot seat over shopping during official trips overseas
Kishida says his son, who is also the prime minister's executive secretary, was buying souvenirs on his behalf, which would be considered part of his official duties.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 30, 2023
Deportation of Japanese robbery suspects could be decided by next week
The Philippine justice secretary said he wants the incident resolved before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s planned visit to Japan in the second week of February.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Explainer
Jan 29, 2023
What will change when Japan reclassifies COVID-19?
Japan is planning to downgrade the categorization of COVID-19 on May 8. How will that impact residents?
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
Traders spooked by intervention risk trim record yen shorts
Traders edged back from record bets on yen weakness this past week, in a period that included a likely bout of intervention by Japan to prop up the currency.
'Monster' Inoue ready to tear down Luis Nery in title defense at Tokyo Dome
Naoya Inoue (left) and Luis Nery following a pre-fight news conference in Yokohama on Saturday, two days ahead of their super bantamweight title fight.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

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