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May 01, 2025
 

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Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
JAPAN / History
Mar 14, 2020
The 1970 Osaka Expo: Looking back at the past to gauge where Japan sits in the present
The 1970 Osaka Expo laid down a bold statement about Japan's future. Fifty years later, has the country been able to live up to its promises?
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Mar 14, 2020
Outbreak turns Kyoto's overtourism into 'undertourism'
A mild winter in many parts of Japan means the cherry blossoms are expected to arrive earlier than usual. By the time we hit April — the start of the fiscal year, the school term, and when new employees begin their first day on the job — the cherry blossoms are likely to be almost finished in the...
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 11, 2020
Spreading clusters of coronavirus cases worry Japan's local governments
While the national government drive forward legal revisions to allow the declaration of a national emergency over the COVID-19 virus as early as this week, local governments are growing increasingly concerned about the spread of the novel coronavirus in so-called clusters.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 10, 2020
What will Abe's amended law for a national emergency mean in practice?
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government aims to pass by week's end controversial revisions to a 2012 law governing national actions to be taken in the event of new types of influenza.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 6, 2020
Women in Japanese politics: Why so few after so very long?
To mark International Women's Day on March 8, there will be worldwide marches, parades, protests and public awareness activities on the contributions of women and the barriers and discrimination they still face.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 1, 2020
A Tokyo prosecutor's delayed retirement spurs more allegations of Abe cronyism
Over the past month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his government once again found themselves the target of allegations of political favoritism.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 29, 2020
Panic-buying of 'made in China' tissues and toilet paper erupts in Japanese cities
Fears that COVID-19 could lead to shortages of daily items sparked incidents of stockpiling from Thursday night through Saturday, causing drugstores and supermarkets in several cities to run short of toilet paper and other items.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2020
Tokyo Disneyland joins long list of establishments and events hit by COVID-19
With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe having asked organizers of big sporting and cultural events scheduled for the next two weeks to consider canceling, postponing or downsizing them during what is seen as a critical time for stemming the spread of COVID-19 infections, the list of closed facilities and canceled...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 23, 2020
The Japanese Communist Party's quest to unify a shattered opposition
Last month, for the first time in 16 years, the Japanese Communist Party met to revise its basic political program. Part of the reason was that the party hopes a change of rhetoric, at least, will make it easier to form an opposition coalition to challenge the Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito ruling...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 17, 2020
Osaka referendum: Merger gets second chance, but are voters on board?
Five years after voters in the city of Osaka narrowly voted down a referendum on consolidating its 24 wards into five with more autonomy and eliminating the municipal assembly and mayor, another referendum is set for later this year.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Feb 15, 2020
COVID-19 tests Osaka's ability to reach East Asia
Since Kansai International Airport opened in 1994, business and political leaders in Osaka have touted the region as the gateway to Asia. Often showing little interest in other parts of the world, they would tell each other in conference rooms, cocktail parties, symposiums and seminars that China and...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 3, 2020
The Kawai scandal and the race to succeed Shinzo Abe
Hiroshima-based Liberal Democratic Party Diet member Anri Kawai admitted in January to receiving ¥150 million from LDP headquarters prior to the July 2019 Upper House election. Kawai, a novice in national politics, is also the wife of disgraced former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai, who was forced...
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2020
Could growing tourism troubles unseat Kyoto's long-time mayor?
Kyoto voters head to the polls Sunday to cast their ballots in a mayoral election that will have an impact on the city's future policies for domestic and international tourism, at a time when voter concerns about the problems of too many tourists are paramount.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2020
Ghosn's escape exposes business jet industry's security loopholes
Beside the prominent entrance to Kansai International Airport's Terminal 2, which serves several budget airlines, is a nondescript door to which a sign saying Premium Gate Tamayura has been affixed.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 24, 2020
How lessons learned from SARS could apply to the coronavirus outbreak
With the arrival of the Lunar New Year, Japan and other international destinations are bracing for an annual influx of tourists.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 19, 2020
Casino bribes scandal threatens to upend Diet debate as public opposition climbs
Just a month ago, the Diet session opening Monday was expected to hotly debate but ultimately approve more specific measures on how Japan will operate what will eventually be its first casino resorts.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Jan 18, 2020
Memories from the Great Hanshin Earthquake still resonate 25 years later
On the morning of Jan. 17, 1995, I was jolted awake in my Kyoto apartment by the largest earthquake I'd ever experienced. The glass windows shook violently, but thankfully didn't break.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2020
Kobe marks quarter century since Great Hanshin Earthquake killed thousands
Kobe and the surrounding area on Friday morning marked a quarter century since the Great Hanshin Earthquake devastated the region, killing 6,434 people in what was then Japan's worst postwar natural disaster.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2020
25 years after Kobe quake, SDF respected and volunteerism still strong
As Kobe commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake that took the lives of more than 6,400 people, the city and region are working to remind younger generations of the past devastation — and the importance of disaster-preparedness — even as they face tough questions about their...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2020
Awareness of issue of plastic garbage in Japan slowly gaining steam
At a mid-December meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organization and UNESCO, Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa spoke with pride about his city's successes in the area of sustainable, environmentally friendly tourism.
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.
Shohei Ohtani's example could change Japan's views on paternity leave
Shohei Ohtani and Mamiko Tanaka announced the birth of their first child on April 19.
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.
Delta routes new Airbus plane to Tokyo to sidestep Trump tariffs
Delta Air Lines signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on April 9. The airline is flying a new Airbus SE plane through Japan to skirt U.S. import tariffs.
High levels of PFAS found in blood of Osaka factory workers
The levels of a type of "forever chemical" found in seven current and former employees at Daikin Industries' Yodogawa plant in Osaka Prefecture were about 38 times those for nearby residents, according to a survey conducted by a team including Kyoto University.
Could this be Japan’s year at the Kentucky Derby?
Christophe Lemaire rides Admire Daytona, who was bred in Japan, during the UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on April 5.
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.
Shohei Ohtani's example could change Japan's views on paternity leave
Shohei Ohtani and Mamiko Tanaka announced the birth of their first child on April 19.
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.
U.S. secretary of the navy weighs ‘dual-use’ shipbuilding with Japan
John Phelan at a Senate confirmation hearing for U.S. secretary of the navy in Washington in February

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

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