For Sakura Murakami's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Open the door to a small studio tucked away on a street near Kokubunji Station in western Tokyo on a Friday evening, and you'll find a group of young adults making jam or Japanese ponzu citrus-based sauce as they chat quietly amongst themselves. The scene ...
In the latest political clash over a controversial immigration bill, the ruling parties on Tuesday voted down a motion calling for the dismissal of the head of the Lower House's judiciary committee. The motion was submitted last week against Chairman Yasuhiro Hanashi, a Liberal Democratic ...
A ruckus in the Diet over erroneous statistics leaves the government’s Dec. 10 deadline for passage of new legislation in doubt.
Some 345,000 blue-collar foreign workers may join the workforce through the first five years of a new working visa system set to be introduced in April — if it wins Diet approval.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday that the government will soon reveal estimates of worker shortages that will effectively function as a cap on the number of foreign workers to be admitted under a new visa system currently being deliberated by the Diet. As he ...
Tokyo may see President Donald Trump accelerate his war on what he considers “unfair” trade, as he seeks ways to fire up his political base.
The bill marks a departure from previous policy in allowing foreign individuals to work in blue collar industries for a potentially indefinite amount of time.
The Liberal Democratic Party's General Council approved on Tuesday a government-drafted bill on immigration control, which will introduce new visa statuses for blue-collar and skilled workers, despite concerns within the party over whether the country can properly handle the possible influx of workers and ...
The global community has less than two years to reach the Aichi Biodiversity Targets set for 2020, yet public awareness of biodiversity issues is still relatively low. Experts spoke of the need to raise awareness of how important biodiversity and ecosystems are at an interview ...
The 48-day session is likely to include debates on a draft proposal from the ruling LDP to revise the war-renouncing Constitution, among other key issues.
