For Eric Johnston's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
International concern over the environmental damage done by the use of plastic in various forms is now the topic of political and economic discussions across the planet. Dealing with plastic waste, especially in the ocean, is one of the long-term issues that Japan has ...
Residents near the venue for the June 28-29 Group of 20 leaders' summit will face traffic restrictions immediately before and after the meeting, Osaka officials said Wednesday evening, but the exact measures are still being worked out. About 200 residents of the city's Suminoe Ward, ...
As Osaka enters 2019 with a full political schedule, including local and national elections and the Group of 20 Leaders' Summit, relations between ruling coalition partners Komeito and Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka), a local political party, remain tense, creating potential political problems ...
Like other major cities around the world, Tokyo acts as a magnet for the rest of the country, attracting people whose energy and talents spark new businesses and forms of art and culture, which, in turn, attract even more people. But for other cities in ...
Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui revealed Wednesday that his Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) political group had signed a deal with Komeito, in April 2017, to hold a referendum on merging the city's wards during the current terms of the prefectural and municipal assembly ...
The government may be planning to bring in nearly 345,000 foreign workers by 2023, but in Kyoto, a recent survey shows most firms outside the hospitality sector have no plans to discuss adding overseas laborers to their workforce. The city remains a major domestic and ...
With six months to go until the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, the basic agenda has been set for discussion on issues of global importance. But with the G20 process increasingly seen as failing and many leaders likely to arrive in Osaka with severe ...
In the moments after Osaka was awarded the 2025 World Expo on the early morning of Nov. 24, there was jubilation, back-slapping, and wide smiles. More than a few eyes glittered at the thought of what senior business leaders hoped would be a major ...
Within weeks of being awarded the event, Osaka leaders on Tuesday kicked off preparations for the 2025 World Expo. A formal prefectural headquarters to plan and prepare for the event was opened the same day by Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui. The office will coordinate with ...
Located in northwestern Honshu on the Sea of Japan coast, Akita Prefecture has long been thought of in Tokyo and especially western Japan as remote — part of poet Matsuo Basho's famed "The Narrow Road to the Deep North." The prefecture is well-known for the ...
