Tag - gaffes

 
 

GAFFES

Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu speaks to reporters in the city of Shizuoka on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 10, 2024
Shizuoka governor submits letter of resignation over controversial remarks
He initially planned to quit during an assembly session in June, but he has been under pressure to step down earlier.
Former Prime Minister Taro Aso speaks during a forum in Taipei in August.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 2, 2024
Ex-PM Aso retracts sexist remarks against top diplomat
In a speech on Sunday, Aso described Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa as an "obasan."
Taro Aso, vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party, makes a speech in Ashiya, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 30, 2024
Japan foreign minister brushes off controversial remarks by Taro Aso
Yoko Kamikawa appeared unfazed after Aso called her an old lady and said she's "not that good looking.”
Fisheries minister Tetsuro Nomura apologizes at the ministry on Thursday after calling treated water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant "contaminated."
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 1, 2023
Fisheries minister under fire for ‘contaminated water’ gaffe
“Contaminated water” is the expression used by China, and Japan has been extremely critical of Beijing's labeling.
Yukiko Kuwazuru (center), a member of the Shibuya Ward Assembly, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2023
Tokyo ward deputy mayor resigns after calling assemblywoman 'pig'
The targeted assemblywoman said she was emotionally hurt, and that in the chat Shin Sawada had also exposed the address where she resides.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 8, 2022
Disgraced ex-Tokyo Olympics chief Mori still doubling down on sexist remarks
Yoshiro Mori, who resigned his post last year after claiming that women 'talk too much,' told an LDP event in Tokyo that he has been 'scolded for telling the truth.'
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2022
Beef bowl chain exec fired over sexist gaffe in marketing lecture
The Yoshinoya executive asked students to come up with an attractive marketing strategy that would get 'innocent young girls' hooked on the chain's signature dish as though it were drugs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2021
Japan's new digital chief called out for image copyright gaffe
A blog post by Yoko Ishikura published last displayed a low-resolution image with a 'Pixta' watermark, a breach of the stock photo platform's terms of service.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Explainer
Aug 2, 2021
Pressure builds over raising Japan's age of consent
Controversial remarks by a Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker and cases of paternal rape have driven discussion on lifting the age of consent.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2021
Disgraced ex-Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori delivers another sexist remark
Former Tokyo Games chief Yoshiro Mori, who resigned last month amid backlash over sexist remarks toward women, called a female political staffer 'too old to call a woman.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 24, 2021
How the Tokyo Olympics became one big public relations quagmire
Japan's Olympic organizers have all but lost control of any messaging, with no real strategy to generate any momentum toward holding the fast-approaching games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2021
Celebrity Naomi Watanabe 'frustrated' over coverage of 'Olympig' idea
'I would have definitely rejected it. It's simply not interesting, and I don't understand the point of it at all,' the 33-year-old said during a livestream.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2021
Tokyo 2020 creative chief quits over Naomi Watanabe 'Olympig' pitch
Hiroshi Sasaki floated the idea of comedian Naomi Watanabe descending from the sky in porcine form during the opening ceremony, a magazine reports.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2021
How a student battled a culture of silence to help oust Tokyo's Olympic chief
In less than two weeks, Momoko Nojo's petition campaign gathered more than 150,000 signatures, galvanizing global outrage over sexist remarks by Yoshiro Mori.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2021
Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto appointed Tokyo Games chief
Never has the position changed hands so close to the start of the Olympic Torch Relay, and nor have the games ever been held during an ongoing global pandemic.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2021
Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto ready to be Tokyo Games chief, source says
Hashimoto may replace Yoshiro Mori, the former president of the organizing committee who resigned over a sexist remark.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2021
How 'indispensable' Mori came to enjoy huge influence in politics and sport
The former prime minister had contacts his peers did not and the ability to get things done behind the scenes that leaders in both arenas relied on heavily.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2021
Toyota president 'disappointed' by Tokyo 2020 chief Mori's sexist comments
The carmaker, a worldwide Olympic sponsor, said it issued Toyoda's message on Wednesday because it concluded it should not keep silent.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 10, 2021
Mori's sexist remarks highlight slow progress in narrowing Japan gender gap
Japan consistently ranks poorly in the World Economic Forum's gender gap rankings, coming 121st out of 153 countries in 2020.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 10, 2021
Ladies in white: Lawmakers dress to protest Mori's sexist remarks
Opposition party members wore white jackets with white roses to a Diet session in an homage to the women's suffrage movement.

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