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November 04, 2025
 

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Reiji Yoshida

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Reiji Yoshida
Reiji Yoshida is a staff writer and deputy manager of the Domestic News Division. Since joining The Japan Times in 1993, he has intensively covered domestic politics, diplomacy and defense issues as well as the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 17, 2014
Low voter turnout mars Abe's claim of election triumph
The Liberal Democratic Party won 43.12 million votes in Sunday's snap poll, nearly 3 million fewer than in the 2009 election, which it lost.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014
Abe claims mandate for economic, security policies despite lowest turnout ever
Emerging as the big winner in the Lower House election, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declares he has a renewed mandate to keep pushing his policy agenda.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 15, 2014
Kaieda quits as DPJ chief after humiliating ejection from Diet
Humiliated by the loss of his seat in the Lower House election, Banri Kaieda resigns as president of the Democratic Party of Japan.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014
DPJ President Kaieda loses Diet seat, set to quit as leader
In a stunning development early Monday morning, Banri Kaieda, president of the Democratic Party of Japan learned he lost his Diet seat in Sunday's Lower House election and is now set to quit as leader of the nation's largest opposition force.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014
Undecided voters swing Abe's way again
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a gambler, and he won again Sunday night.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 13, 2014
Amid lack of alternatives, Abe looks to win big by default
The focus of the House of Representatives election is not on how close it will be, but on how strong Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition will become.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 10, 2014
DPJ faces uphill battle for swing voters
While the ruling coalition commands a higher number of core supporters, opposition parties are vying for swing voters in an election that is expected to see a low turnout.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 3, 2014
Campaigning for election kicks off as Abe's approval rating dips
Official campaigning for the Dec. 14 Lower House election kicked off Tuesday, with 1,191 candidates across the country angling for one of the chamber's 475 seats.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 2, 2014
With all parties opposed to tax hike, policy debates ring vague
Official campaigning for the Dec. 14 Lower House election started Tuesday, but voter enthusiasm remains low.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2014
Prince Akishino airs anti-war convictions ahead of 49th birthday
Prince Akishino, second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne, told a recent news conference that he is convinced wars should never be fought again and wants to keep the collective memories of World War II alive, according to the transcript released Sunday by the Imperial Household Agency.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2014
Abe's snap election claims first victim as Your Party disbands
An opposition party once seen as a possible third force in Japanese politics has decided to disband ahead of next month's snap election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2014
Abe to dissolve Lower House on Friday for Dec. 14 election
After weeks of leaks and speculation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Tuesday he will dissolve the Lower House on Friday for a snap election next month, after his administration decided to delay a second consumption tax hike planned for next October.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 18, 2014
Abe is banking on getting a new voter mandate
It's finally official. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday he will dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election next month, after his administration decided to delay the next hike in the consumption tax until April 2017.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 17, 2014
Faltering GDP adds pressure to Abe to call off sales tax hike
The announcement that the economy contracted for a second consecutive quarter raises the political pressure on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to delay the consumption tax hike planned for next October.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2014
Asahi Shimbun announces new president
The scandal-hit daily newspaper says 55-year-old Masataka Watanabe, one of its managing directors, will take over as president of the company on Dec. 5.
BUSINESS
Nov 14, 2014
DPJ will oppose tax hike to 10%, saying Abe failed to meet conditions
Reversing its earlier stance, the Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition force, said Friday it will oppose the planned sales tax hike to 10 percent from 8 percent next October.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2014
Asahi rapped for 'grave errors' in retracted Fukushima No. 1 scoop
A third-party investigation has found that senior editors at the newspaper failed to verify a story about a government interview with the late chief of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 11, 2014
Despite denial, don't be surprised if Abe calls snap election
The possibility that the prime minister will dissolve the Lower House is gaining credence, especially if he decides not to raise the consumption tax again.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 7, 2014
Tokyo admits 'differing views' on Senkakus, opening door to Abe-Xi meeting
The leaders of Japan and China appear to be set to hold their first summit-level talks since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned to power nearly two years ago.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 7, 2014
Japan Coast Guard overstretched as Chinese coral poachers make off with lucrative haul
About 100 Chinese fishing boats suspected of poaching coral were headed back to the waters off the Ogasawara Islands on Friday morning after sheltering from a passing typhoon, a Japan Coast Guard spokesman said in Tokyo.
The unstoppable rise of konbini tourism
Guests typically follow Ryo Ito’s lead as he weaves through the narrow, colorful aisles of convenience stores.
More Japanese universities pushing toward teaching in English
Waseda University in Tokyo
A narrow Pacific waterway at heart of U.S. plans to choke China’s vast navy
Philippine and Australian troops fire an M777 howitzer during live fire exercises as part of joint military drills in Laur, Nueva Ecija, the Philippines, in August.
Trump would make U.S. Supreme Court history by attending tariffs case
There is no record in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 235-year history of a sitting president ever attending arguments, according to Clare Cushman, director of publications and resident historian at the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Dodgers clinch back-to-back World Series titles as Blue Jays downed in thriller
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and teammates celebrate after winning the World Series against the Blue Jays. Yamamoto was named MVP for the series.
How airlines are refining their in-flight food in Japan's tourism boom
All Nippon Airways' gourmet program, The Connoisseurs, showcases the Japanese concept of "shun" (peak season for ingredients), giving passengers a preview of the refined cuisine that awaits them in Japan.
The unstoppable rise of konbini tourism
Guests typically follow Ryo Ito’s lead as he weaves through the narrow, colorful aisles of convenience stores.
Anime isn’t competing with Hollywood — it’s beating it
After its July release, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Infinity Castle,” an animated feature adapted directly from a TV arc, became the highest-grossing Japanese film ever.
Oasis returns to Japan after 16 years — and fans can still sing every word
Liam Gallagher commanded the stage with effortless charisma during Oasis' Tokyo Dome set on Saturday.
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.

Podcast

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

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes
By Alex K.T. Martin

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