Japanese society and culture seem intrinsically suited to bicycles, which require a degree of safety of environment and intimacy that are alien to many thunderously car-based, brash and crime-ridden Western societies.
While Tokyo voters took a new direction with Gov. Yuriko Koike's Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites First) on Sunday, Hyogo voters opted for more of the same by giving 71-year-old Gov. Toshizo Ido a fifth term on his promises to deal with the prefecture's ...
With North Korea test-launching missiles on a regular basis toward Japan, towns, cities and prefectures are getting more serious about how best to respond if and when one approaches. Parts of the Kansai region along the Sea of Japan coast appear to lie within range ...
A projection showing that Japan's population could fall from 127.09 million in 2015 to 88.08 million by 2065 has pushed Kansai leaders harder for more policies and funding to increase the local birthrate, keep younger people from leaving and protect the growing ranks of ...
Senior business leaders, former diplomats and government advisers, and national security experts Friday warned that while Japan's relationship with the United States is the foundation for regional security, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's attempts to forge a close relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump carried ...
Japan's leaders need to take U.S. President Donald Trump seriously, but not always literally, and must exercise great caution in interpreting what he says. But Japan must also stress to him the importance, and benefits, of the U.S.-Japan security and economic relationship. That was the ...
In 3½ weeks, Kansai's business leaders will gather in Kyoto for their annual summit. Some of the world's most recognizable firms will send their top executives to the two-day retreat. There, they will rub shoulders with local politicians, academics, and "business consultant" types who, ...
A casino, an expo, tourists, trains, and old nuclear power plants. These are just some of the major issues the Kansai region faces in 2017. In addition, the fortunes of Osaka-centric opposition party Nippon Ishin no Kai and Komeito in both the Diet and the ...
Japan's bar association is urging a Malaysian low-cost carrier to apologize to a Japanese man with disabilities after it refused to check-in his electric wheelchair, eventually causing him to miss his flight at Kansai airport. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations said on Wednesday it ...
Reading the tweets as they scroll below NFL games shown live on Twitter has become my new Japanese study obsession.
Some central Japan prefectures and even cities like Kyoto and Nara are increasingly adopting measures to reduce the number of vacant homes, including via subsidies for owners.
