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Mizuho Aoki
Mizuho Aoki is a staff writer covering local news, including the current Tokyo gubernatorial race, education and aviation-related stories. She graduated from Hitotsubashi Universty with a degree in social science.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Oct 6, 2018
Goichiro Toyoda taps technology in bid to save Japan's health care system
Goichiro Toyoda, 34, has an impressive resume. A graduate of the prestigious University of Tokyo faculty of medicine, Toyoda worked as a brain surgeon in Tokyo before leaving to become a research scholar at Children's Hospital of Michigan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 24, 2018
Wild boar carcasses found in Gifu dull prospects for declaring containment of swine fever
An outbreak of swine fever on a farm in Gifu Prefecture earlier this month seemed to come to an end after the culling of hundreds of pigs and the disinfection of all related facilities.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Aug 8, 2018
Tokyo Medical University scandal just reaffirmed what many female doctors already knew: The bar was higher for them
The admissions scandal in which Tokyo Medical University admitted to manipulating females' entrance exams did not come as a surprise for many women doctors, but rather was verification of what they had suspected for a long time: Some medical universities set the bar higher for women.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2018
Hiroshima hibakusha recounts experience to American university students
The U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are extensively taught at schools in Japan and abroad, but many rarely have a chance to hear survivors' stories firsthand — what civilians saw, smelled and felt under the mushroom clouds.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2018
Women's university in Japan officially announces new policy to start accepting transgender students from 2020
In what is believed to be a first in Japan, a prestigious national women's university officially announced Tuesday its new policy to open doors from 2020 to people who were assigned as male at birth but identify as female, saying it's a natural decision that takes gender diversity into account.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2018
Osaka quake highlights dangers posed by concrete-block walls
The death on Monday of a 9-year-old girl in Osaka Prefecture highlights the potential dangers of violating building codes and of concrete-block walls, which can turn lethal when major earthquakes strike.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Deep Dive
Jun 17, 2018
Travelers without insurance cause headaches for Japan's hospitals
Are you insured?
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Jun 11, 2018
Panasonic employee drives innovation by connecting young, enterprising new entrants to Japan's workforce
It's often difficult for people to maintain the enterprising spirit they had when they first entered the workplace, fresh out of university.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 24, 2018
For sake of kin, Korean residents of Japan seek any thaw with Pyongyang but doubt Abe can bring results
If and when a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un takes place, it will be a day of hope, especially for the people of Northeast Asia, that a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, technically at war since a 1953 armistice halted the Korean War, is finally within...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 22, 2018
City in Saitama Prefecture to tap into new revenue source with manhole cover ads
As the costs of operating its municipal sewer system rise, a city in Saitama Prefecture is hoping to cash in on the growing popularity of manhole cover designs with a plan to use the creative lids as an advertising medium.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 7, 2018
Caution urged as Okinawa measles outbreak spreads
Measles cases are spreading in Okinawa, with the reported number of patients exceeding 90 in just over a month, prompting the prefecture last month to warn that visiting the resort islands may be not advisable for infants and pregnant women.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2018
Japan to screen departing foreign flyers with facial recognition tech to shorten arrival process
Automated gates equipped with the technology will screen departing foreign nationals at major airports from fiscal 2019 in a bid to speed up the immigration process.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2018
Me Too rises in Japan as sexually harassed journalists speak out
Women journalists in Japan join the growing ranks of the Me Too movement following allegations of sexual harassment at high levels.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2018
Preferential visa system to be extended to foreign fourth-generation Japanese
The preferential visa program for foreign descendants of Japanese will be extended to the fourth generation this summer, the Justice Ministry says.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2018
Organizers cancel Bangkok event to promote Fukushima fish after groups voice safety concerns
A Thai event to promote fish from Fukushima Prefecture was canceled after locals and citizens' groups raised safety concerns, despite the fact no radioactive material was found in the fish, officials from the prefecture confirmed Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 3/11: Rebuilding Tohoku
Mar 11, 2018
In shadow of nuclear disaster, Fukushima's rice farmers look to rebuild their market
For 36-year-old rice farmer Emi Kato, the first few years after the 2011 core meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant were grueling.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2018
Nara announces record number of deer bites as tourists flood in
Famed wild deer in the city of Nara appear to be growing increasingly frustrated with tourists who make them wait to munch on crackers while trying to frame the perfect photo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2018
Kojien dictionary definition for 'LGBT' criticized for inaccuracy by advocates
The publisher of Kojien, the nation's most authoritative dictionary, has drawn complaints from advocates for sexual minorities for incorrectly defining the term, "LGBT," in its latest edition released Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2018
Cybozu chief Yoshihisa Aono leads suit against Japanese government for right to use premarital names
The plaintiffs claim that the use of different rules for foreign nationals contravenes constitutional rights guaranteeing equality under the law.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 9, 2018
Unclaimed remains accumulating in aging Japan
The smell of mold wafted through the small underground room at a municipal-run cemetery in the city of Saitama in late November, where around 600 unclaimed urns filled the shelves.

Longform

Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free