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October 30, 2025
 

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Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
JAPAN / 3/11: Rebuilding Tohoku
Mar 11, 2018
Fukushima powers toward 100% goal on renewables as grid and cost woes linger
Seven years after the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, Fukushima Prefecture remains committed to becoming an international center for renewable-energy research and a domestic pioneer by meeting 100 percent of its energy demand via renewables by 2040.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 6, 2018
Osaka pushing life sciences and wellness in 2025 Expo bid
Hosting the 2025 World Expo is an opportunity to showcase Osaka and Kansai-based research and technological advancements geared toward taking head-on global issues, such as those that come with an aging society, Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui said in a recent exclusive interview with The Japan Times.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Feb 25, 2018
Kyoto executives consider making nightlife in Kyoto more tourist-friendly
As residents and tourists in Kyoto complain more about higher prices, hotel shortages and crowds at train stations, shrines and temples, Kansai's corporate leaders are searching for ways to keep visitors coming.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 25, 2018
Second try at Osaka merger referendum faces stiff headwinds
Political group Osaka Ishin plans to give the unpopular consolidation plan another go despite multiple uncertainties.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2018
Japan falling behind global leaders in renewable energy use, panel warns in report
Japan is falling behind other leading countries in renewable energy use, while its promotion of coal-fired plants risks hindering the competitiveness of domestic firms in a global market more concerned than ever about carbon emissions.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Feb 17, 2018
Kansai executives offer advice on improving nation's diplomacy
'Track II diplomacy" is the official neutral-sounding phrase used to refer to diplomatic efforts by "nonstate" actors. In thriller films and books, it's usually portrayed as a game of shadows between powerful but mysterious groups and individuals who may, or may not, be working to save the world.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2018
Shimane Prefecture group delivers petition to Gov. Zenbei Mizoguchi opposing restart of Matsue reactor
A Shimane Prefecture-based citizens group delivered a petition signed by nearly 48,000 people opposed to the restart of a local nuclear reactor to Gov. Zenbei Mizoguchi on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 9, 2018
Kansai business leaders seek nationwide support for World Expo bid
Kansai-area corporate leaders urged the local business community on Friday to boost efforts to promote Osaka's bid to host the World Expo 2025, and called on Tokyo to be more involved in the process.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2018
Election victory in Nago seen as LDP win but new mayor may prove tough to crack
Sunday's victory in the Nago mayoral election by a candidate who appears to favor the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to the city's Henoko district is widely seen as a political victory for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a defeat for anti-base advocates in Okinawa, starting with Gov....
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2018
Incumbent Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine falls in closely watched Okinawa election
In a political victory for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a defeat for anti-U.S. base forces in Okinawa, incumbent Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine failed in his re-election bid Sunday night, losing to a candidate strongly backed by Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2018
Tokyo takes more steps to deal with Sanchi oil spill
Japan steps up measures to deal with what has been described as potentially one of the worst oil spills in decades before it taints Kyushu and Okinawa.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 30, 2018
Gifu election loss bad news for potential LDP challenger to Abe
The loss by a ruling party candidate in Gifu's mayoral election over the weekend has spurred speculation that the outcome may deal a blow to a potential successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 25, 2018
Kansai business lobby calls for new diplomatic initiatives to strengthen ties with other Asian nations
One of the Kansai region's leading business lobby groups has called for new diplomatic initiatives to strengthen Japan's relations with other Asian nations, in a bid to reduce regional tensions and consider a defense policy more independent of the present close ties to the United States.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2018
Okinawa governor expresses anger after third U.S. military helicopter makes precautionary landing in the prefecture
“The U.S. military is out of control. They can't exercise any oversight, there are no signs they will reform,” said Okinawa's governor after another American helicopter made an emergency landing.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2018
Osaka watching closely as Paris moves closer to withdrawing World Expo bid
Osaka reacted with cautious optimism as Paris moved closer to officially withdrawing its bid to host the 2025 World Expo, leaving only Osaka, Azerbaijan's Baku and Russia's Ekaterinburg in a three-way race to be decided in November by the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE).
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2018
Osaka cautiously optimistic after French media report say Paris will pull 2025 Expo bid
Supporters of the Osaka 2025 World Expo bid have long seen Paris as their main rival.
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Jan 21, 2018
Japan's Kansai region abuzz over chance to host G-20 and climate gatherings in 2019
2018 has just begun, but Osaka and Kyoto are already looking ahead to 2019, when the prospect of hosting two major international conferences has the local political and business circles excited.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2018
Fukui weighs new wave of reactors to protect status as Japan's 'nuclear capital'
With 13 commercial nuclear reactors — more than any other prefecture — Fukui has long been Japan's nuclear power capital. Prior to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and triple core meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, Fukui's plants provided up to half of Kansai's electricity.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2018
Residents and expats in Kansai mark Trump inauguration anniversary with protest march
One year after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, nearly 70 Kansai residents, mostly Americans and Japanese, staged a protest march over the weekend against a leader whose policies, statements and treatment of women and minorities has been internationally condemned as racist and sexist....
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Jan 20, 2018
Journalism tied to those in power must be checked
"If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking."
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
At first summit with Trump, Takaichi pledges 'new golden age' for alliance
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her fist as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of U.S. Navy personnel on board the U.S. Navy's USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the American naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
Abe shooting suspect Yamagami pleads guilty to murder
Members of the media gather outside the Nara District Court in the city of Nara on Tuesday hours before the start of the trial of Tetsuya Yamagami, the man accused of fatally shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022.
Takaichi buys time and builds trust with ‘near-perfect’ Trump summit
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during a visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JPYC, world’s first yen stablecoin, is issued
Noritaka Okabe, head of Japanese startup JPYC, at a news conference for the first yen stablecoin in Tokyo on Monday
At Japan Mobility Show, BYD gears up to conquer Japan's EV market
BYD Auto Japan President Atsuki Tofukuji unveils the Racco at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Oasis returns to Tokyo: Rain, rapture and rock
Fans wait to get into the Oasis show at Tokyo Dome on Saturday. While lining up in the rain, some broke into impromptu versions of the British rock group's hits.
Kyushu banzuke sets the stage to cement 2025’s sumo narratives
Onosato ahead of his bout against Aonishiki at The Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 18
Tokyo Film Festival opens with global stars and a spotlight on Asian storytelling
Director Junji Sakamoto (left) walked the Tokyo International Film Festival red carpet with Sayuri Yoshinaga (center) and Non (right), who both play mountaineer Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Mount Everest, in the biopic "Climbing for Life."
Spanish artist and Japanese writer duos diversify the manga talent pool in Japan
"Menheim” is a dark fantasy manga with a story that centers on a girl’s quest to find a cure for her ill brother.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
By Alex K.T. Martin

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