Eric Johnston - The Japan Times

October 31, 2025

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Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston

JAPAN

Jan 18, 2018

Nippon Ishin no Kai leader and Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui files suit against Niigata Gov. Ryuichi Yoneyama over Twitter comments

Matsui demanded an explanation after Yoneyama made a reference on Twitter to a Nippon Ishin leader who attacks party members voicing different opinions, forcing them to be obedient.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jan 12, 2018

Pew survey gauges Japanese confidence in media coverage at 65%

A survey by a U.S. think tank finds the majority of Japanese think the domestic media are doing at least “somewhat well” on accuracy.

JAPAN

Jan 9, 2018

Kansai Electric denies it plans to ship nuclear waste from Fukui plants to Aomori site

Kansai Electric Power Co. has denied reports earlier this week that it was planning to ship nuclear waste from its Fukui Prefecture plants to the town of Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, after the idea was opposed by Mutsu Mayor Soichiro Miyashita.

JAPAN

Jan 5, 2018

World Expo 2025: Kansai Economic Federation will open Paris office to directly promote hosting bid

The Kansai Economic Federation will open an office in Paris to directly lobby representatives who will decide the host of the World Expo 2025.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jan 5, 2018

Many of Japan's thousands of isles await buyers, as depopulation presents challenges around defending the nation's territory

After a slew of recent news reports about North Korean fishing vessels washing up on uninhabited islands, as well as ongoing disputes with China over the Senkaku Islands and intrusions by Chinese vessels into Japanese waters, public and media attention on Japan's uninhabited isles is growing.

JAPAN

Dec 26, 2017

Local governments in Japan look to clamp down on private lodging services with stricter regulations

With the explosion of overseas tourism, local governments are looking to curb the number of illegal outlets that have sprung up in recent years.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Dec 25, 2017

Coast guard's Maizuru base stands on the front line of Japan's poaching and nuclear concerns

Located less than 900 kilometers from North Korea and beside Fukui Prefecture's nuclear power reactors, Japan Coast Guard's 8th Regional Headquarters in Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, finds some of the nation's challenges close at hand.

JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE

Dec 24, 2017

Expo, casinos and shinkansen at top of Kansai's 2018 agenda

For Kansai, many of 2017's events will remain newsworthy in 2018. Here are some of the bigger topics expected to be closely followed in the region.

JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE

Dec 24, 2017

Kyoto to mark 150th anniversary of Meiji Restoration with series of events

Kyoto's long history is one of great prosperity (the Heian Period of a millennium ago, when the arts flourished) and great tragedy (the 1467-1477 Onin War devastated the city). But in more modern times, 1868 was something of an annus horribilis.

JAPAN

Dec 22, 2017

Kansai Electric decides to scrap two Oi reactors over safety concerns

Kansai Electric Power Co. formally notified the Fukui Prefectural Government on Friday that it will decommission the Oi No. 1 and No. 2 reactors.

JAPAN

Dec 21, 2017

Kansai Electric to decommission Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture

The decision, expected to be officially endorsed Friday, will bring to 14 the number of reactors earmarked to be scrapped since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

JAPAN / View from Osaka

Dec 16, 2017

20 years on, the Kyoto Protocol initiated awareness

In the midst of serious news about North Korean missiles and constitutional revision, as well as a steady diet of BLT (bright, light and trite) stories and corporate propaganda that clog our intellectual arteries, it's easy to lose track of what developments are critical to life itself.

JAPAN

Dec 13, 2017

Osaka city assembly urges central government to pressure San Francisco to remove 'comfort women' memorial

The Osaka city assembly has called on the central government to pressure San Francisco to remove a statue to wartime "comfort women" — a euphemism used to refer to the women and girls who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels before and during World War II.

JAPAN

Dec 12, 2017

Charles Jenkins, U.S. defector to North Korea and husband of former Japanese abductee Hitomi Soga, dies at 77

Jenkins, who spent nearly 40 years in North Korea as a prisoner, lived in Japan with his family after his release in 2004.

Japan Times

JAPAN / History

Dec 9, 2017

Open waters: Opening of ports 150 years ago remains a watershed moment in the nation's history

The year 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, which ended about 250 years of self-imposed isolation and marked the beginning of Japan's efforts to become a major international power.

JAPAN

Dec 8, 2017

Osaka regales top World Expo official, but concerns linger over hosting 2025 event

In an attempted display of local enthusiasm for the 2025 World Expo, Osaka rolled out the red carpet this week for a senior official from the organization that will decide next November who will host the event.

JAPAN / EXPLAINER

Dec 4, 2017

20 years after Kyoto Protocol, where does world stand on climate?

On Dec. 11, 1997, representatives from over 150 nations gathered in Kyoto to hammer out what would become the world's first international agreement to control and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide.

JAPAN / Politics

Nov 29, 2017

LDP backs away from election promise of 'free education' election promise

Ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers tasked with drawing up proposed constitutional amendments approved a plan Tuesday that does not include a guarantee to make all education free.

JAPAN / Politics

Nov 26, 2017

Kansai biz leaders give Tokyo their project-funding wish list

Of the many Japanese autumn traditions, one not found in tourist guidebooks is the drawing up of wish lists by influential business organizations from Hokkaido to Okinawa.

JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE

Nov 26, 2017

In pitching 2025 Expo bid, Osaka must sell itself over Paris, and Africa may hold the key

Imagine you're in Osaka in 2025. After arriving, you're welcomed by people on the streets, where you stop by a takoyaki vendor for a quick octopus dumpling snack before heading out to see the sights. Walking around Osaka, you'll feel safe in the presence of police officers offering snappy salutes and...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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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