author

 
Menu
Search
 
May 02, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Eric Johnston

Meta

Eric Johnston
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 24, 2016
Rumored U.S. presidential visit to Hiroshima, Nagasaki stokes mixed reactions
The reports of a possible visit in May are creating excitement and concern about how it will be perceived.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Mar 19, 2016
A Japanese version of Trump isn't so far-fetched
"On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."— H. L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2016
Japan to return 331 kg of plutonium as U.S. official warns of proliferation risk
A large shipment of plutonium is expected to depart Japan soon amid a warning from a senior American official saying nuclear reprocessing in East Asia could lead to increased amounts of nuclear material that could be used for nuclear weapons.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 16, 2016
Osaka Ishin to campaign on local autonomy, free education in Upper House poll
Expanded local autonomy and free education until college are part of a series of proposals for constitutional revision that Osaka Ishin no Kai is finalizing in advance of this summer's Upper House election.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 12, 2016
Knowledge is power: Navigating the household electricity market after deregulation
The country's household and small business electricity market will be deregulated from April 1, allowing individuals to choose their electricity provider. Optimists, especially renewable energy advocates and small entrepreneurs, hope the development will break the stranglehold that the country's 10 regional...
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Mar 10, 2016
Takahama injunction delivers body blow to Japan's nuclear power industry
Pro-nuclear politicians fear that the nation's push to restart as many reactors as possible as quickly as possible has come to a halt.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2016
Court issues surprise injunction to halt Takahama nuclear reactors
The Otsu District Court issues a provisional injunction ordering Kansai Electric Power Co. to shut down two reactors at its Takahama facility.
JAPAN / REVISITING 3/11
Mar 8, 2016
Five years on, joint disaster training a legacy of U.S. military's Operation Tomodachi
In the wake of the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, a range of U.S. troops and civilian rescue workers joined the relief effort. The scale of the disaster led to unprecedented logistical challenges on both sides and calls for more joint training specifically for disaster relief.
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2016
Japan's prefectures map out damage to agriculture sectors by TPP trade pact
With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet expected to approve a set of bills related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, the stage is set in the Diet for a debate on the controversial 12-nation deal.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2016
Japan restarts fourth atomic reactor since 2012 moratorium
The Takahama No. 4 reactor in Fukui becomes the fourth to be restarted since 2012 and the first to burn plutonium-containing MOX fuel.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 24, 2016
Nara targets gay tourists with new focus on LGBT economy
The city of Nara, Japan's ancient capital, will target LGBT tourists from Japan and abroad from April 1.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 21, 2016
With new TV show, Osaka's Hashimoto plots return to public eye
After an absence of more than eight years, Toru Hashimoto, former Osaka mayor, governor and founder of the Ishin movement, returns to television as a regular commentator next month in what is expected to be the start of a regular series beginning in April.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Feb 21, 2016
As residents and reactors age, Fukui's fortunes fade
On a gray winter day late last month alternating between rain and sleet, many in the Sea of Japan town of Takahama, Fukui Prefecture, were feeling sunny. For the restart of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Takahama plant No. 3 reactor means not only a return to nuclear power, but a return of the money stream...
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Feb 20, 2016
Kansai is in need of some youthful innovation
In its latest report, released Feb. 12, the Kansai Economic Federation presented mixed news about the local economy. Looking at monthly sentiment in eight different areas ranging from industrial production to housing purchases to sentiment toward China, the report showed that, on the whole, 2015 was...
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2016
Kyoto pushes for Maizuru in fifth Hokuriku bullet train extension plan
Kyoto's leaders have formally asked the government to consider a new route for the planned Hokuriku Shinkansen Line extension between Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, and Osaka that would see the new line stop in Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, and the city of Kyoto.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Feb 15, 2016
Kanazawa retirement community a relocation-from-Tokyo success story
With its artistic traditions and preserved traditional neighborhoods, the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, has long been known as "Little Kyoto." But over the past year, it has also been seen as a potential model for future continuing care retirement communities, or CCRCs, nationwide.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2016
Ginowan mayor wants to lobby for base closure in Washington
Ginowan Mayor Atsushi Sakima hopes to visit Washington D.C. as early as April to press his case for closing U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma as early as possible.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2016
Kansai business leaders hail nuclear power plant restarts, urge TPP ratification
The annual meeting of Kansai area corporate leaders opened Thursday in Kyoto with declarations of support for a recently restarted nuclear power plant and calls for the swift ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 3, 2016
New calls for reopening talks on U.S. Okinawa base closure emerge after Ginowan elects new mayor
The newly re-elected mayor of the Okinawan town hosting U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma has called on the prefectural governor to reopen negotiations on closing the controversial base within five years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 1, 2016
U.S. presidential contenders vow status quo in Japan ties
With the Iowa caucus Monday, the primary voting process that will select Democratic and Republican candidates to run in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election has begun. Over the next four months, American, and international, attention will be focused on the primary races, and who emerges as their party's...
Nearly half of workers in Japan engage in ‘quiet quitting’
"Quiet quitting" is most common among the younger generation, with 46.7% of respondents to a survey in their 20s identifying with the practice, reflecting a less-motivated workforce more focused on work-life balance.
Israel protests after Kyoto inn seeks war crime declaration from tourist
A street in Kyoto in March 2023. An Israeli tourist was asked to sign a document stating that he had not committed war crimes when he checked in at a Kyoto guesthouse in April, prompting a response from Israel's ambassador.
U.S. and Ukraine sign resources deal after fraught negotiations
The United States and Ukraine signed a minerals deal on Wednesday, offering a measure of assurance to officials in Kyiv.
Puzzling decisions and opaque rankings are all part of sumo's charm
Chiyoshoma (right) battles Churanoumi during the New Year Basho in Tokyo in January. The Mongolian's drop down the sumo rankings ahead of the May tournament was one of the biggest surprises of the latest banzuke.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
CDP submits bill proposal on separate surnames, but challenges remain
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers speak to reporters in parliament on Wednesday after submitting a bill in the Lower House to allow married couples to retain different surnames.
Puzzling decisions and opaque rankings are all part of sumo's charm
Chiyoshoma (right) battles Churanoumi during the New Year Basho in Tokyo in January. The Mongolian's drop down the sumo rankings ahead of the May tournament was one of the biggest surprises of the latest banzuke.
North Korea's Kim sets sights on nuclear-armed navy
An unidentified weapons system is fired from the deck of North Korea's latest destroyer, the Choe Hyon, during two days of tests on Monday and Tuesday in this undated photo released Wednesday.
Single, or not? Japanese dating app launches relationship verification system
Tapple, one of Japan's most popular dating apps, has launched the nation's first feature to verify a user's single status via their My Number card.
Counting the reasons why there are so few American cars in Japan
Tesla's store in Tokyo's Shibuya district. While sales of American cars in Japan appear to be shrinking, Tesla's presence in the country is growing.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027
Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER