Tag - local-government

 
 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 25, 2019
Journalist sues city of Nagasaki over alleged sexual violence by senior official
A journalist Thursday filed a damages lawsuit against the city of Nagasaki over alleged sexual violence during her newsgathering activities by a senior municipal official, who has since taken his own life.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 22, 2019
Abe likely to use upcoming big events to distract Japanese public from election routs, experts say
The Liberal Democratic Party's defeat in two by-elections on Sunday is likely to prompt the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to use upcoming diplomatic events to deflect domestic attention from recent political setbacks, as he looks ahead to a key Upper House election in the summer, experts said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 22, 2019
Cosplaying eccentric Mac Akasaka of the Smile Party snags seat in Tokyo ward assembly
He clambers out from under the table, wearing a pink Hooter's tank top while sporting fluffy angel wings and a halo, before bowing deeply toward the camera and taking a seat.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 22, 2019
Record six women secure mayor jobs in Japan's local elections, though two won uncontested
A record six women have secured city mayoralty in this year's quadrennial unified local elections.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 15, 2019
Youth turnout a worry in Japan's first quadrennial elections under new voting age of 18
The first quadrennial unified local elections to be held after the voting age was lowered to 18 in June 2015 are being hampered by concerns about the youngest voters' low voting rate.
Japan Times
JAPAN / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 12, 2019
Is a lack of money behind Japan's drought of local political candidates?
In an Asahi Shimbun editorial published March 30, a week before nationwide elections were held for prefectural and municipal assemblies on April 7, the newspaper fretted about the state of local politics.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 8, 2019
With opposition fractured, LDP bags over half of prefectural seats in first leg of polls
The results show that support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's party remains firm ahead of the Upper House election set for this summer.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2019
Special celebrations planned for newlyweds on auspicious first day of Japan's new Reiwa era
Local governments are planning something special for those who register their marriage on the first day of the new era, including gifts and commemorative photos, as they prepare for a spike in the number of couples tying the knot on May 1.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 3, 2019
From casinos to nuclear power, local issues with national significance to play out at polls across Japan
Municipal mergers, integrated casino resorts, bullet trains and the future of nuclear power plants — local issues with national political repercussions — are expected to be taken up by candidates from Hokkaido to Kyushu in the coming weeks as the country prepares for a series of elections on April 7 and 21.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 30, 2019
Will Japan finally promote its female politicians?
Japan has one of the lowest participation rates of women in national parliaments in the world, but a law is meant to remedy this deficit, even if it includes no enforceable quotas or penalties.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2019
China's local government debt: The bomb that doesn't explode — but gets kicked down the road
China has embraced the idea of defaults imposing some discipline on debtors in its bond market. And some of the most troubled debtors are local governments' financing vehicles. So an LGFV default has long seemed on the cards. But it just isn't happening.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2019
Shrinking Wakayama village cuts assembly to five, tying Okinawa council for fewest members in Japan
A mountainous village in Wakayama Prefecture will have the joint-smallest assembly in the country, represented by only five members, it said Tuesday, in the latest sign of the nation's declining population.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 11, 2019
Son-in-law arrested in Tokyo after Chiba assembly member stabbed to death
A man was arrested Sunday after a local assembly member in Chiba Prefecture was found to have been stabbed to death at his condominium.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 10, 2019
Japanese lawmaker in Kisarazu Municipal Assembly stabbed to death
A member of the Kisarazu Municipal Assembly in Chiba Prefecture has been stabbed to death, and investigators said Sunday they are interrogating a man believed to be a relative on suspicion of murder.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2019
As pool of candidates in rural Japan dwindles, Kochi village to allow councilors to retain side jobs
Faced with a rapidly shrinking population of elderly residents reluctant to run for seats on the local council, the village of Okawa, Kochi Prefecture, passed a referendum Monday designed to make it easier serve on the council while concurrently holding side jobs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Beyond Tokyo
Feb 24, 2019
As the world drowns in plastic, Kameoka in Kyoto and other cities across Japan fight back
Plastic pollution in the ocean has become one of the world's most urgent environmental problems. Footage of vast fields of floating plastic debris between California and Hawaii — now commonly known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — have driven home the gravity of the problem, with scientists and environmental groups warning that the colossal oceanic mess imperils the ecosystem and human health.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2019
Tsunami-hit Japanese town completes divisive demolition of former municipal office
A town in Iwate Prefecture on Wednesday completed the demolition of its former municipal office building — where its mayor and 27 other workers were killed in the tsunami triggered by the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 — even though some people had sought to have it preserved as a memorial.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2019
Hyogo mayor who called senior official 'stupid' over stalled evictions to make way for road quits
A Hyogo Prefecture mayor submitted a letter of resignation Friday after facing criticism for calling a senior city official "stupid" and suggesting he "burn down" a local building that stood in the way a road project, officials said.
EDITORIALS
Jan 26, 2019
Local autonomy in dire peril
Demographic pressure is reaching crisis proportions in communities across Japan. It's time to act.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2019
City hall in Gifu Prefecture is first in Japan to deploy autonomous robots to aid residents
At its city hall on Tuesday, a local government in central Japan demonstrated an experiment showing robots that can independently guide people to the right information window or teach them how to fill out government forms.

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces