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October 08, 2024
 

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Internal affairs minister Seiichiro Murakami speaks during an interview at the ministry in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Japan's new internal affairs minister looks to boost regional revitalization
Seiichiro Murakami aims to increase the number of regional development cooperation volunteers from 7,200 to 10,000.
JAPAN / Politics
Japan's party leaders' debate to be extended to 80 minutes
The debate pitting Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba against the heads of opposition parties is scheduled for Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Ishiba fends off questions on endorsement of scandal-tainted LDP members
The prime minister was grilled in parliament on the extent of support the ruling party will give those implicated in a recent slush funds scandal in upcoming polls.
An Oct. 1 picture of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his Cabinet posted on the website of the Prime Minister's Office (right) appears slightly different from one taken by a media agency (left). Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi admitted on Monday that the photo underwent minor digital edits before being uploaded to the government website.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024
New Cabinet photo on government website had minor edits, Hayashi admits
By Himari Semans
Media agencies had reported that their pictures appeared slightly different to what was posted on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Kuo Yu-jen, vice president of the Institute for National Policy Research, speaks in Taipei on Sept. 30.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024
Taiwan welcomes Japan's security 'policy shift'
Of the Group of Seven major powers, Japan is the sixth country to have sailed through the Taiwan Strait.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 6, 2024
Ishiba says LDP will not endorse some 'slush fund' lawmakers in general election
The new leader hinted that "a fair number of non-endorsements is likely" as the party looks to rebuild public trust that has eroded following the scandal.
Canadian Ambassador to Japan Ian McKay, who is also his country's special envoy for the Indo-Pacific, takes part in an interview with The Japan Times last week.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 6, 2024
Canada eyes joint coast guard patrols with more Asian partners, envoy says
By Gabriel Dominguez
Canada is recognized as a leader in terms of its "Dark Vessel Detection" technology designed to identify vessels fishing illegally in protected maritime areas.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers his inaugural policy address to parliament in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 5, 2024
LDP to endorse 'slush fund' lawmakers in general election
Opposition parties are turning up the heat on Ishiba, who had earlier signaled his intention to take action against those implicated in the scandal.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers his inaugural policy address to parliament in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2024
Ishiba omits divisive proposals in first policy speech as PM
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
He elaborated on his long-held ideas about creating a disaster-prevention agency and increasing grants for rural municipalities.
Digital minister Taro Kono attends an Upper House committee session in June. The cautioning of Kono over his use of his smartphone to respond to a question in the Upper House last November attracted significant attention and led to a bipartisan call for digital transformation within parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2024
Digitalization advances gradually in Japan's parliament
Improvement plans have been adopted but certain practices, such as the use of tablets at the podium during plenary sessions, remain off-limits.
Nippon Ishin no Kai head Nobuyuki Baba (back left) and Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan head Yoshihiko Noda (back right) discuss cooperation during the upcoming general election in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2024
Opposition parties have little time to form united front ahead of polls
By Eric Johnston
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s surprise announcement of an Oct. 27 general election has left others scrambling to coordinate in order to avoid multi-cornered fights.
Newly appointed Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks during his first news conference as Japan's top diplomat at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2024
Japan's new top diplomat calls 'Asian NATO' an idea for the future
By Kathleen Benoza
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya hinted that such a grouping would be open to all countries and partners in the region — including rivals such as China.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2024
Early Ishiba missteps add to anticipation over key policy speech
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
The prime minister's early days in power have been marked by a U-turn on the approach to a general election as well as challenges forming his government.
Japan's new justice minister Hideki Makihara says abolishing the death penalty would be "inappropriate."
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2024
New justice minister says scrapping death penalty 'inappropriate'
Capital punishment has strong public support in Japan, where scrapping it is rarely discussed.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba listens to a reporter's question as he attends a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 2, 2024
South Korea's Yoon and Japan's Ishiba agree to continue 'shuttle diplomacy'
By Jesse Johnson
In his first phone call with the South Korean leader, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stressed the importance of the two countries’ maintaining close communications,
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, 66, has experience as the onetime head of Japan’s former Defense Agency before it became a full-fledged ministry and is seen as a pair of steady hands.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 2, 2024
Ishiba looks to 'defense tribe' to fill key Cabinet positions
By Jesse Johnson and Kathleen Benoza
The new prime minister has named four former defense ministers to key posts — most notably, the defense and foreign affairs portfolios.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrives for a photograph with his new Cabinet members at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 2, 2024
Number of women in Japan's Cabinet drops to two
The government and businesses have regularly missed a range of self-imposed targets and plans to increase the number of women in leadership positions.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 2, 2024
Ishiba holds first phone call with Biden as prime minister
By Jesse Johnson
In their talks, Ishiba noted that the U.S.-Japan alliance “has been strengthened considerably” under his predecessor, and pledged “to continue along that path.”
New Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (front center) and other Cabinet ministers pose for a commemorative photo after an appointment and certification ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 1, 2024
New Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba unveils Cabinet as LDP divide emerges
By Eric Johnston and Kanako Takahara
His Cabinet, made up of lawmakers largely untainted by an LDP political funds scandal, has appeared to open up a rift in the ruling party.
Incoming child care policy minister Junko Mihara (center) arrives at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday. Mihara is one of only two female ministers in Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 1, 2024
A very LDP Cabinet — more of the same, despite hints of a power shift
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba retained veterans in key posts and rewarded those who supported him in the LDP presidential race.
LDP policy chief Itsunori Onodera, Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama, Vice President Yoshihide Suga, Shunichi Suzuki, chairman of the general affairs council, and Shinjiro Koizumi, chairman of the election committee, at the party's headquarters on Monday
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 30, 2024
Ishiba announces new leadership lineup ahead of general election
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
The appointments seem to reflect Ishiba’s desire to maintain internal party harmony ahead of a general election and reward those who have supported him.
Shigeru Ishiba, the new head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks during a news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 30, 2024
Incoming PM Ishiba sets Oct. 27 as date for snap election
By Eric Johnston
The newly elected Liberal Democratic Party president's announcement is highly unusual and not without controversy.
Shigeru Ishiba holds a news conference in Tokyo on Friday after winning the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 29, 2024
Ishiba hints at general election in late October as he starts to form Cabinet
By Eric Johnston
Media reports said that preparations were underway for a snap general election to be held on Oct. 27.

Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Sure, Tokyo’s trains are amazing. But are they ruining your trip?
Walking through Tokyo's varied neighborhoods and the sub-communities within them can be the best way for a tourist, even one with limited time, to take the city in.
Ishiba says LDP will not endorse some 'slush fund' lawmakers in general election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Saturday.
Important tool or alarmism? Japan experts split on megaquake advisories.
A damaged road in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 6, after a major earthquake struck the area on New Year's Day
Ishiba's U-turn on interest rates surprises market
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda ahead of their meeting on Wednesday. Ishiba's comment after the meeting that he doesn't believe Japan needs an additional interest rate hike has surprised the financial market.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Important tool or alarmism? Japan experts split on megaquake advisories.
A damaged road in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 6, after a major earthquake struck the area on New Year's Day
The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free
Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
At Tokyo Game Show 2024, nostalgia was king
As is the trend in movies and TV, the games with the biggest budgets at Tokyo Game Show 2024 were by and large remakes and remasters.
The forgotten Japanese naturalist who created a U.S. national park
Without Japanese outdoorsman George Masa, America might not have the Great Smoky Mountains National Park — so why do so many people in Japan not know he existed?

Podcast

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

Longform

Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free
By Anton L. Delgado

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