Search - local-elections

 
 
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 3, 2014

'Abenomics' appears headed for trouble as challenges build

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan for the economy to generate self-sustained growth on the back of his three policy "arrows" of massive monetary easing, spending and reform appears to be faltering — but no magic solution is in sight.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 29, 2014

Macau panel set to 're-elect' leader

Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui is widely expected to be "re-elected" on Sunday after the pro-China government stifled an unofficial referendum on democracy, taking a much harder line on the gambling hub than leaders have in neighboring Hong Kong.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 28, 2014

China moves to limit polls in Hong Kong

China moved on Wednesday to limit 2017 elections for Hong Kong's leader to a handful of candidates loyal to Beijing, local media reported, a move that is likely to escalate plans by pro-democracy activists to blockade the city's Central business district.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 25, 2014

Ferguson's lone black councilman keeps low profile amid protests

In many ways Dwayne James is a beacon of hope in Ferguson, which has been torn apart by racially charged riots. The only black councilman in a predominantly black town, James is widely respected even by political opponents and talked of as a candidate for mayor.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jul 23, 2014

Retirees swell national debt treating clinics as clubs

Kaoru Ishiyama gets to an orthopedic clinic in Kawasaki early so he can chat with about 20 other retirees while they wait outside for it to open, each sitting on folding chairs brought from home.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2014

The real victims of U.S. sanctions on Myanmar

Myanmar's opening attracted much interest not only from Asian neighbors but also from those in the West that once considered the country a pariah.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 18, 2014

As Scotland decides, not all Scots get a say

Ruth McPherson was born and educated in Scotland but left to work in London two years ago and so has no say on whether her native country should end three centuries of union with England.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 16, 2014

Hong Kong leader says city must abide by strict Chinese election rules

Hong Kong's leader told Beijing on Tuesday that the city's residents wanted a full election in 2017, but said the financial hub would have to abide by the restrictive framework set down by China's communist authorities.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 11, 2014

Megacities offer toxic mix of modern apocalypse

Exhibits at the 14th Venice Biennale of Architecture demonstrate that the urgent challenge for many societies is to prevent the megacity from becoming a byword for multifaceted apoclypse, mashinging together poverty, corruption, violence and fundamentalism.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jun 15, 2014

Activist yearns to return to a truly democratic Burma

From his adopted home in Tokyo, veteran democracy advocate Kyaw Kyaw Soe pushes for change in Myanmar and supports his fellow refugees in Japan.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 9, 2014

As talks kick off, Ukrainian leader says violence must end this week

New Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko said the violence that has rocked the former Soviet republic's easternmost regions must end this week as peace talks began involving an envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2014

India's diversity is Modi's burden

Whether new Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Gujarat state recipe can work well for all of India is problematic. India needs more competition, new ideas, new entrepreneurs — not new privileges for the rich
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
May 28, 2014

Foreign labor key to Olympic gold

At a construction site in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, worker Fan Xiuyu says he's too busy to miss the wife and 6-year-old child he left behind in China.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 4, 2014

Don't count on bubbles, wage hikes for more Asian growth

Japanese companies should realize the potential danger in relying on the continued expansion of Asian consumer spending, as it appears the region is headed for a period of economic stagnation.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 24, 2014

Hamas, Abbas' PLO announce reconciliation agreement

The Gaza-based Islamist group Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas' Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) announced a unity pact on Wednesday, deepening a crisis in U.S.-brokered peace talks with Israel.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 12, 2014

Gloves off as India's BJP woos Hindu vote

India's main opposition party, tipped to form the next government, appears to be returning to its Hindu nationalist roots at the start of a five-week general election, raking up divisive issues and using strong language in an area hit by religious riots.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 9, 2014

Putin lacks springboard for east Ukraine offensive

It took Russian President Vladimir Putin just three weeks to annex Crimea. Figuring out what to do with eastern Ukraine might take him longer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 23, 2014

Hashimoto wins snap mayoral election amid record low 23.6% turnout

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto cruises to re-election in a highly criticized snap contest that drew a weak voter turnout rate of just 23.59 percent — the city's lowest ever.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 20, 2014

Lack of interest in Osaka mayoral race threatens to damage Ishin brand

While Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto is all but certain to be returned to office in Sunday's election, a lack of interest among voters and the refusal by the major political parties to field candidates threatens to make the result meaningless.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 17, 2014

U.S. military report suggests cover-up over toxic pollution in Okinawa

Perhaps the most serious concern raised in the internal U.S. military report is the fear that PCB contamination at Kadena — if made public — would prompt demands for widespread tests on other U.S. bases.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 14, 2014

Dahl still drawing on the joys and absurdities of expat life

For over 20 years, Roger Dahl has been making Japan Times readers laugh — and think — with his Opinion Page political cartoons and “Zero Gravity” comic strip, which pokes gentle fun at the foreign experience in this country.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 9, 2014

Are nation's oligarchs a necessary evil in the quest for stability?

After losing control of Crimea, the embattled new Ukrainian government in Kiev has turned to the nation's oligarchs in a bid to calm secessionist sentiment in the pro-Russian east. But the appointment of oligarchs to positions of political power has not been welcomed in all quarters, and certainly not...
EDITORIALS
Mar 5, 2014

Move cautiously in TPP talks

Ministers from Japan, the U.S. and 10 other Pacific-Rim countries again have failed to reach broad agreement on terms of their Trans-Pacific Partnership, but that's no reason for Japan to become less cautious about the talks, which have the potential to change the very fabric of Japanese society.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2014

Obama complicates policy, playing good cop, bad cop

The Obama government has taken a Cold War stand on the crisis in Ukraine, which is a questionable tack given his disposition of combining threat with accommodation.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 23, 2014

Shambolic Venezuela's biggest threat? Itself.

Late President Hugo Chavez used to call it "la revolucion bonita" (the pretty revolution), but the world looked at Venezuela last week and saw only ugliness. Protesters gunned down in the streets, barricades in flames, chaos. One of the dead was a 22-year-old beauty queen shot in the head.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2014

Singh seeks India votes with 29th state as opponents vow fight

India's lower house moved to create a new state in the south to resolve a 50-year dispute, risking unrest where Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have their offices as the ruling Congress party seeks votes before elections.
EDITORIALS
Feb 10, 2014

Nuclear power remains an issue

Apparently Tokyoites want their new governor, Yoichi Masuzoe, to give full play to his experience as head of a social welfare ministry in improving the well-being of Tokyo residents.
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 2014

Assist Myanmar's reform efforts

Nearly three years after its transition from military to civilian rule, Myanmar faces difficult challenges in its path to democratization and economic reform, including the infrastructure necessary to attract business investment and a military-centered constitution.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Dec 29, 2013

Britons ready to welcome arrivals from Bulgaria, Romania, with caveats

Romanians and Bulgarians coming to the U.K. on New Year's Day will be welcomed by more than two-thirds of Britons if they integrate and work hard, a new poll suggests ahead of restrictions on them being lifted.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 24, 2013

Can Christie lead GOP back to White House?

Since Chris Christie's landslide re-election as governor of New Jersey earlier this month, which has seen him confirmed as an early favorite for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, the question of the precise nature of his political personality, and its appeal, has loomed as large as the man...

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight