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Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Apr 10, 2019
Japanese group ACE works to end child labor and foster education across developing world
In 1998, a march to protest child labor involving people in 107 countries made Yuka Iwatsuki realize that the issue, which she had been interested in since college, was a global movement. She also realized that there were no organizations in Japan leading the global fight.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 8, 2019
Osaka Ishin now firmly in control across prefecture, piling pressure on Komeito to back merger
Osaka Ishin has long championed the reform plan while Komeito, along with the LDP, have opposed it.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 8, 2019
Osaka leaders win in elections to swap roles, but merger prospects unclear
Osaka voters appear to have done little to shift the political landscape from where it was before polls opened Sunday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2019
G20 in Osaka offers chance for health and financial policymakers to stop fighting and join hands
To effectively tackle global health issues it's crucial that the Group of 20 nations use their June summit to overcome the barriers that have traditionally separated health experts and policymakers from financial and economic leaders.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 3, 2019
From casinos to nuclear power, local issues with national significance to play out at polls across Japan
Municipal mergers, integrated casino resorts, bullet trains and the future of nuclear power plants — local issues with national political repercussions — are expected to be taken up by candidates from Hokkaido to Kyushu in the coming weeks as the country prepares for a series of elections on April...
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 29, 2019
Campaigns kick off across Japan for prefectural and metropolitan assembly elections
Campaigning began Friday across Japan for prefectural and major metropolitan assembly elections set for April 7, with economic policies, aging, population decline and assistance for the elderly and working mothers the broad issues of concern for voters and candidates.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / Beyond Tokyo
Mar 24, 2019
Base-laden Okinawa vies to become tourism magnet
Just a couple minutes from the Okinawa Prefectural Government building and the busy shopping street Kokusai-dori, Sora Shokudo offers jerk chicken on the menu — a Caribbean cuisine that goes well with rum — which is now also produced in Okinawa and attracting interest from domestic and overseas tourists....
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 21, 2019
Osaka wrestles with merger plan as campaign for governor kicks off
To merge or not to merge? That is the question Osaka hopes to finally answer as the campaign for Osaka governor kicked off Thursday morning.
JAPAN / Politics / View from Osaka
Mar 16, 2019
In Osaka, leaders' bid to swap seats could spell trouble as region faces global spotlight
When Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui and his sidekick, Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura, announced they would resign their positions to run for each other's seats next month, local reactions ranged from disbelief to exasperation.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 15, 2019
LDP picks former assemblyman Yanagimoto to take on Osaka Ishin's Ichiro Matsui in mayoral race
Former Osaka municipal assemblyman Akira Yanagimoto of the Liberal Democratic Party has been tapped to run against Ichiro Matsui, the governor of Osaka Prefecture and head of Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka), in next month's Osaka mayoral race, with the focus on whether to abolish Osaka's 24 wards and...
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 11, 2019
Ex-Vice Gov. Konishi tapped by LDP to run for Osaka governor after actor Takuro Tatsumi says no
After a frantic scramble, local political and business leaders remain concerned about who will support him.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 8, 2019
Osaka's governor-mayor duo quit in audacious bid to swap posts in name of merger referendum quest
Frustrated by their failure to merge Osaka's wards, Gov. Ichiro Matsui and Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura shock political circles by quitting to run for each other's positions next month.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2019
Japan ranks at bottom of G20, and in lowest quarter globally, for percentage of female MPs
Japan ranked 165th out of 193 countries for its percentage of female politicians holding seats in lower or single parliamentary chambers, a report by the Inter-Parliamentary Union shows.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2019
As pool of candidates in rural Japan dwindles, Kochi village to allow councilors to retain side jobs
Faced with a rapidly shrinking population of elderly residents reluctant to run for seats on the local council, the village of Okawa, Kochi Prefecture, passed a referendum Monday designed to make it easier serve on the council while concurrently holding side jobs.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 25, 2019
After strong 'no' vote, Okinawans look to highlight case against Henoko base plan in Tokyo and Washington
“Now that the clear opposition of the Okinawa people has been conveyed, it's up to individuals in the rest of Japan to consider our wishes,” an activist says.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2019
More than 70% in Okinawa vote no to relocation of U.S. Futenma base to Henoko
More than 70 percent of voters in Okinawa on Sunday voted against a plan to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Ginowan to Henoko — a coastal area in the northeastern part of the main island — in a closely watched prefecture-wide referendum that was the first of its kind on the issue....
Reference / EXPLAINER,Q&A
Feb 24, 2019
Okinawa's referendum on relocating the U.S. Futenma base to Henoko: Why now and what's the point?
On Sunday, Okinawa Prefecture's 41 cities, towns and villages held a referendum on whether to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Ginowan, in the central part of the main island, to a replacement facility being built beside Camp Schwab off the coast of Henoko. It was the first prefecture-wide...
JAPAN / Beyond Tokyo
Feb 24, 2019
As the world drowns in plastic, Kameoka in Kyoto and other cities across Japan fight back
Plastic pollution in the ocean has become one of the world's most urgent environmental problems. Footage of vast fields of floating plastic debris between California and Hawaii — now commonly known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — have driven home the gravity of the problem, with scientists and...
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Feb 16, 2019
Osaka in the spotlight ahead of G20 and elections
January and early February in Kansai, and Japan as a whole, is a busy time for local leaders. New Year's greetings are exchanged by (mostly) elderly men at stuffy buffet parties in luxury hotels. Their job is to stand around holding a white paper napkin-covered drink and toast to, well, something, after...
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 14, 2019
Campaign kicks off for Okinawa referendum on U.S. base relocation plan
The voter turnout rate is crucial to how the results of the referendum will be perceived in Tokyo and Washington.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Podcast

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

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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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