Only 11% of Japan's municipalities plan disaster evacuation manuals for foreign tourists
Just 11 percent of local municipalities planned to set up evacuation manuals for foreign tourists in their disaster prevention plans, a government survey has shown, indicating slow progress despite an expected surge in visitors from abroad in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ...
Just 13% of Japan's local governments working to meet U.N. Sustainable Development Goals
Only about 13 percent of local government authorities in Japan are working to achieve the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals, in areas such as the fight against climate change, a Cabinet Office survey has shown. Some 58 percent of local governments are interested in ...
Social media abuzz over Kagawa's move to limit kids' daily smartphone fix
A draft ordinance designed to curb internet and video game addiction among children and teenagers in Kagawa Prefecture has sparked controversy, as it seeks to restrict daily smartphone usage for those under 18 to 60 minutes on weekdays. If it comes into effect in April ...
Japan's coming-of-age ceremonies under cloud as 2022 revision to age law looms
Many local governments remain undecided on whether coming-of-age ceremonies should continue to be held for people aged 20 after the age of adulthood defined under the country's Civil Code is lowered to 18 from 20 in April 2022 following the planned revision of the ...
Japan giving more government workers permission to moonlight amid labor crunch
More civil servants are taking second jobs amid the nationwide labor crunch, with some municipalities giving the green light for side jobs that contribute to society. Municipal and prefectural governments issued 41,669 approvals in 2018 allowing employees to take additional jobs, according to the internal ...
Most local governments in Japan have or plan multilingual disaster info services
A large majority of major Japanese cities recognize the need to provide multilingual information and aid to the growing number of foreign residents and tourists should a natural disaster occur, a Kyodo News survey found Thursday. The survey, conducted late last year, found that 52 ...
Minato Ward in Tokyo to guarantee LGBT people's right to self-expression through appearance
Minato Ward in Tokyo plans to revise its gender equality ordinance to guarantee the right of LGBT people to express themselves through their personal appearance. According to sources, the ward's plan would mean changing, among other regulations, school uniform rules that require boys to wear ...
Japan's local governments struggling with debt due to public investment and disasters
Debts incurred from past public investment and reconstruction work after disasters are placing heavy financial burdens on local governments.
Majority of Japan's local government buildings would run out of emergency power within 72 hours
Around 60 percent of local government buildings nationwide are not equipped with emergency power supplies that would last 72 hours, a crucial time frame for saving lives during a disaster, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Aggregated data for all 1,741 municipalities, released ...
Japan considers law requiring local governments to fill transport gaps in rural areas
The transport ministry is considering a new system to help maintain public transport services in nonurban areas at a time when the population has been declining. The system will call on governments to create plans for securing means of public transportation and seek new service ...
Hokkaido may fold its hand in the nationwide bid to host a casino resort
Some residents voiced concerns about the environmental impact of building a so-called integrated resort housing a large hotel and conference rooms.
It's illegal to pay gangs ... but that's not the point
A set of revised organized crime ordinances went into effect on Oct. 1 in Roppongi, Kabukicho, Shibuya and 26 other designated special districts in Tokyo. Under the law, any individual or group in these districts who pays protection money to anti-social forces — crime syndicates, ...
