For Chisato Tanaka's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
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. Following the incident in the city of Takatsuki, in which a 40-meter-long wall surrounding ...
On most weekends, the plaza surrounding the famous Hachiko dog statue outside Shibuya Station is thronged with people. However, the popular Tokyo rendezvous point last Saturday hosted an emergency tent where people in bright blue T-shirts tried to raise awareness ahead of June 20 ...
The Japan Association of National Universities (JANU) has adopted its new English proficiency benchmarks for entry into state-run universities, which now measure English speaking and writing skills, giving high school students a better grasp of the language before entering college. The new standard approved by ...
Exciting news for "Harukists": Internationally acclaimed novelist Haruki Murakami will serve as a DJ for a one-off radio program on Aug. 5, Tokyo FM announced Tuesday. This is the first time the famed writer will feature on a radio show, according to the station. The theme ...
Seibu Group's Prince Hotels and Resorts, one of the nation's largest hotel leisure businesses, is planning to file a lawsuit against the owner of the Tabata Prince Hotel, which opened last month in Tokyo, for infringement of the trademark law. Seibu Group owns trademark rights ...
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike announced Wednesday the adoption of the Tokyo Declaration, in which 22 megacities around the world committed to reducing waste and tackling air pollution by sharing technologies and knowledge. The announcement came during the Tokyo Forum for Clean City and Clear Sky, ...
The rise seems to correlate with a Justice Ministry crackdown on “provisional releases,” which detainees allegedly abuse to earn money before deportation.
Last year, Japan granted refugee status to just 20 out of a record-high 19,629 applicants. After the figure was released in February, global and domestic coverage was noticeably polarized. Some slammed Japan's strict asylum policy, saying that the world's third-largest economy has failed to meet ...
It is not unusual for overseas visitors on their first visit to Japan to be impressed by the country's efficient rail network, with its heated seats and computerized message boards providing passengers with information updates. That was certainly true of James Mmari, 35, a Tanzanian ...
It's tough for asylum-seekers to keep their hopes up in Japan, where only 1 in every 1,000 applicants was granted refugee status last year. While waiting, which takes more than 10 months on average, they practically have nothing to do. Only those whom the Justice ...
