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October 31, 2025
 

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Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Sep 24, 2017
Local, national agendas shade parties' prospects in expected snap poll
As Japan gears up for an anticipated snap election at the end of October, Kansai politicians and parties are staking out their positions on issues of national interest but with their eyes very much on local political needs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Sep 24, 2017
Kyoto's pricey lodging tax plan spurs fierce debate over necessity, tourism impact
A necessity for improving Kyoto's tourism infrastructure or a bad decision that might convince tourists to go elsewhere?
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Sep 16, 2017
Osaka, Okawa at the forefront of demographic changes altering power structures
On the surface, former Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and Kazuhito Wada, the head of Okawa village, Kochi Prefecture, have little in common. Hashimoto is brash, confrontational and more interested these days in getting rich as a private citizen than in being a politician. Wada is quieter, a team player who...
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2017
Depopulated Kochi village suspends idea of direct democracy
Just three months after the village of Okawa, Kochi Prefecture, drew national attention by announcing it might abolish its elected council due to a lack of qualified candidates and introduce direct democracy, the head of the sparsely populated municipality said Monday that talks on the issue would be...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2017
Theresa May arrives in Japan to allay Brexit fears and show solidarity against North nuclear threat
Formal talks between May and Prime Minister Abe are to begin Thursday and are expected to focus on issues surrounding Brexit, bilateral economic cooperation and increased defense ties.
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Aug 27, 2017
Competition to host Japan's first casino resort heats up
As the Diet prepares to debate the structure of integrated casino resorts this autumn, competition in Osaka and neighboring Wakayama to win the rights to host one of the first legal gambling complexes in the country is heating up.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Aug 27, 2017
Shiga tops in volunteerism; Osaka finishes in last place: leisure survey
If you're the kind of person who prioritizes volunteer work, enjoys playing badminton and has an interest in studying, Shiga Prefecture might be your ideal home in Kansai.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2017
Japan, South Korea, China agree to jointly promote Asian culture during next three Olympic events
The culture chiefs of Japan, China and South Korea agree to use the next three Olympic events in the region to jointly promote East Asia's culture to the world.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2017
Student trip to Guam canceled amid North Korea missile fears
Concern over the North Korean threats has led to the cancellation of a school trip to Guam, while local governments hold or plan evacuation drills.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2017
Osaka's ancient burial mounds eyed for World Heritage status but clear explanations elude
The government's decision in late July to nominate a group of 49 ancient burial sites in southern Osaka Prefecture for UNESCO World Heritage status has raised local hopes for a major boost in international prestige and tourism appeal.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 21, 2017
Color-coded map identifies potential nuclear waste sites in Japan but local governments may only see red
On July 28, the central government released what it called a scientific, specialized map of the country highlighting areas where highly radioactive nuclear waste from the nation's power plants might, or might not, be safely buried underground for as long as 100,000 years.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Aug 19, 2017
Lessons learned from the failure of the Osaka Foreign Settlement
This year, Osaka is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the opening of its port to the outside world. Numerous events, lectures and symposiums on how Osaka developed from 1868 to the present have taken place or are planned between now and early next year.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2017
Ways to curb gambling's social ills top talks at second casino hearing in Osaka
The second of eight public hearings on the structure, risks, and local rewards of building integrated casino resorts took place in Osaka on Friday, with concerns raised about problem gamblers, floor layouts and where the resorts would likely be most profitable.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2017
Typhoon Noru deluge prompts evacuation orders in central regions
Typhoon Noru prompted evacuation notices in at least half a dozen prefectures over fears of landslides and rising rivers as it brought heavy rains and flooding to the Hokuriku and Kansai regions on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2017
Kyoto city government set to pass lodging tax for some visitors
Kyoto hotel bills look likely to rise as a special panel studying a proposed lodging tax hands in its final report to the Kyoto Municipal Government.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Aug 7, 2017
Japan's shrinking rural population poses a dilemma for democracy
Deep in the Shikoku wilderness, along a steep winding road above a dark green river, sits the tiny village of Okawa. It's located in a region sometimes dubbed by enthusiastic travel writers as the "Tibet of Japan" for its comparative isolation within the mountains.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2017
Public hearings on Japan's casino resort policies to be held in nine cities
With its basic recommendations for operating integrated resort casinos now complete, the central government will hold public hearings across the country this month to explain the requirements and the policies to address problem gambling and concerns about money laundering.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2017
Osaka lays the groundwork in ambitious plan to host both expo and casino resort
As the government finalizes the basic guidelines for casino operations, Osaka is pushing forward with a separate but related plan to host the 2025 World Expo — if Japan's bid beats out the competition — at the new integrated gambling resort envisioned in Osaka Bay.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2017
As part of experiment, Consumer Affairs Agency transfers office from Tokyo to Tokushima
As part of the government's drive to relocate some of its Tokyo-centric functions to other cities to promote regional revitalization, the Consumer Affairs Agency inaugurated a new office in Tokushima Prefecture on Monday.
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Jul 23, 2017
Toyama embarks on compact redesign to foil natural disasters, depopulation at same time
Since early July, floods and landslides caused by heavy rain have forced tens of thousands of people from Kyushu to Tohoku to evacuate, with nearly three dozen deaths confirmed in western Japan. The financial damage to Oita Prefecture alone now stands at over ¥20 billion, prefectural officials announced...
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.
Trump trims fentanyl-linked China tariffs after 'amazing' Xi meeting
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping greet each other as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base, next to the Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday.
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.
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
Takaichi pushed back on U.S. request to ban Russian gas imports, sources say
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly turned down a request from the U.S. to cease imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia.
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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