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Sakura Murakami
Reuters
For Sakura Murakami's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa attend a working dinner during G7 ministerial meetings, in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 7, 2023
G7 support for Ukraine will not waver due to Gaza crisis, Japan says
The G7 nations, as well as the European Union, meet in Tokyo on Nov. 7 to 8 to discuss issues including the Ukraine war and the Israel-Gaza crisis.
An official explains the National Defense Report at the Ministry of National Defense in Taipei on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 12, 2023
Japan elevates Taiwan security ties in move likely to rile China
The defense ministry said it would only pursue "nongovernmental" ties with Taipei.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel after eating fish during his visit to Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Thursday
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2023
U.S. ambassador to Japan visits Fukushima in show of support
Japan has sought an immediate end to the ban and threatened to resolve the matter through the WTO framework.
Protesters shout slogans and raise banners reading "Don't throw polluted water into the sea! Keep your promises" during a rally against Japan's plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima plant into the ocean, in front of the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 18, 2023
Fukushima water release poses test for Japan-South Korea unity
The dumping of radioactive water may happen days after a summit in which the U.S. wants Japan and South Korea to lock in friendly ties.
Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi meets with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Friday in Jakarta.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2023
Japan calls on China to approach Fukushima water release in 'scientific manner'
The issue of the water release took up a substantive amount of the hourlong talks between the nations' top diplomats, but the two did not come to a clear agreement on the matter.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 14, 2023
Japan calls on China to approach Fukushima water release in 'scientific manner'
The issue of the water release took up a substantive amount of the hourlong talks between the nations' top diplomats, but the two did not come to a clear agreement on the matter.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2023
IAEA head meets with residents ahead of visit to wrecked Fukushima plant
Grossi will visit the wrecked plant, where he will inaugurate an IAEA office on site that will monitor the release of treated water, which is expected to take 30 to 40 years.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 7, 2023
Taiwanese presidential contender says he wouldn't meet Xi without agenda
Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je has risen in the polls in recent weeks.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 17, 2023
At Hiroshima G7, bomb survivors grapple with a disarmament dream deferred
They fear Hiroshima's legacy — its importance as the first city to be flattened by a nuclear weapon — may be reduced to a historical artifact rather than a call for change.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Feb 19, 2023
Families seek closure for mine disaster as Japan-South Korea relations thaw
136 Koreans and 47 Japanese were killed when the Chosei mine beneath the seabed on the Yamaguchi Prefecture coast collapsed and flooded in 1942.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2022
As Japanese manufacturing fades, a factory town fights to stay alive
Home to about 6,000 firms, Higashiosaka is emblematic of how a weak yen and rising costs are pushing Japan's small manufacturers toward a tipping point.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2022
As Fukushima memory fades, Japan's nuclear power proponents hope for reset
The growing calls from business leaders and lawmakers come amid persistent public opposition to nuclear power, muddying the outlook for energy policy.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 7, 2022
Miho Takagi takes silver in 1,500-meter speedskating
Speed skating great Ireen Wust swept around the Beijing oval in a time of 1 minute and 53.28 seconds to claim her sixth Olympic gold medal.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2021
Decade on from nuclear disaster, Fukushima farmers fear contaminated water could hurt business
Japan plans to release more than 1 million tons of contaminated water from the Fukushima No. 1 plant into the sea from 2023 as part of an effort to clean up the site.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2021
Kishida's nuclear push faces resistance ahead of election
Debate over whether to restart more reactors in Japan is highly charged, with 40% of the population opposing the move.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 28, 2021
LGBTQ groups hope LDP's leadership race may lead to same-sex marriage in Japan
Of the four candidates for the Liberal Democratic Party leadership, Taro Kono and Seiko Noda have supported gay marriage. Within Asia, same-sex marriage is currently only legal in Taiwan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2021
Renewable energy firms pin hopes on Taro Kono winning race for Japan PM
Kono has long championed renewables for Japan and has promised an economic stimulus package focused on them if he wins.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 6, 2021
Germany's Florian Wellbrock wins men's swimming marathon
Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary took silver and Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy claimed bronze.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 30, 2021
Record haul: Japan wins men's epee team event for 17th gold medal of the Tokyo Games
Japan took just under a week to earn a national record 17 golds at the Tokyo Olympics, topping the total won at the 1964 Tokyo Games and 2004 Athens Games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2021
Decades apart, father and son design Olympic aquatics venues in Tokyo
Paul Noritaka Tange has paid tribute to Kenzo Tange's 1964 venue with his design for the 2020 Tokyo Aquatics Center.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on