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May 05, 2024
 

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks during a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly meeting on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 6, 2023
Tokyo aims to make high school tuition free of charge for all
For families in the capital with an annual income of less than ¥9.1 million, current financial aid essentially makes high school tuition free.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Mito Kakizawa's constituency office in Koto Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 17, 2023
Ruling party lawmaker suspected of vote-buying in Tokyo mayoral race
Several Koto Ward assembly members have already been questioned about potentially the payments.
Prosecutors search the office of House of Representatives lawmaker Mito Kakizawa in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 16, 2023
Ruling party lawmaker's office searched over mayor race scandal
Several assembly members of Koto Ward have been already questioned on a voluntary basis about suspected payments.
Police try to control the crowd in the city of Osaka after the Hanshin Tigers won the Japan Series baseball championship on Nov. 5.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2023
Civil servants face different treatment at Kansai baseball parades
Kobe and Hyogo government workers working at the parades will be treated as being on duty, but those of the Osaka governments will not be.
Shoko Kawata (right) receives flowers after winning the Yawata mayoral election in Kyoto Prefecture on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 13, 2023
Ex-lawmaker secretary becomes Japan's youngest female mayor at 33
Shoko Kawata beat two other newcomers in the mayoral election held following the resignation of the former mayor.
A crowded crossing near Shibuya Station in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN / Society
Nov 1, 2023
Shibuya Halloween passes without fuss following ‘don’t come’ message
Shibuya's mayor has expressed satisfaction with the reduction in crowds and public drinking this year.
Shibuya's local government has mounted a campaign to dissuade revelers from visiting the neighborhood for Halloween celebrations and has banned drinking in the streets.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 30, 2023
Shibuya wants to cancel Halloween. That's a mistake.
This year, Shibuya isn't dressing up for Halloween. The neighborhood is turning revelers away, ignoring its role as a youth culture hub.
People visit Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward on Saturday, including a handful of costumed revelers gathering in the trendy area to celebrate the weekend before Halloween.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 29, 2023
Security tight for Halloween in Shibuya as costumed crowds fail to show
Measures to deter costumed revelers from gathering in the trendy area — including a ban on street drinking — appeared to be relatively effective.
Yayoi Kimura, mayor of Tokyo's Koto Ward, at a news conference to announce her resignation following allegations of election campaign violations.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2023
Mayor of Tokyo ward to resign over alleged campaign violation
Koto Ward mayor Yayoi Kimura says she will resign following a probe by public prosecutors in connection with an alleged election law violation.
Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe speaks during an interview at his office on Oct. 19.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 26, 2023
Can Shibuya's mayor turn his ward into a global icon?
For Mayor Ken Hasebe, reining in Halloween revelers is just one step on the way to transforming Shibuya.
Baby soap donated by sanitary products company Saraya to the city of Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture, has been distributed at child care support facilities in the city.
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2023
Donation platform matches firms with local governments in Japan
The platform not only helps improve the welfare of residents, but also allows companies to make effective use of inventories.
Yayoi Kimura, mayor of Tokyo's Koto Ward, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in August.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 25, 2023
Prosecutors raid Tokyo ward mayor's office over election campaign
The special squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office were acting on a criminal complaint filed by local residents against the mayor.
A growing number of local governments in Japan have adopted digital technology for over-the-counter services to allow residents to carry out procedures without having to fill out application forms.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2023
More local governments in Japan go digital for counter services
The measure has helped reducing waiting times and burden on visitors.
A man (left) who had been deemed eligible for compensation from his employer by a Tokyo labor office after his boss revealed he was gay without his consent attends a news conference at the health ministry in July.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 23, 2023
Growing number of municipalities ban outing of LGBTQ individuals
Mie and Saitama prefectures have prohibited outing on a prefectural level, but none of the ordinances across Japan have legal penalties.
Aiko Taniguchi (front row, center) visits Colonia Pinhal, a settlement in Sao Paulo, for the first time in 11 years and participates in a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of its opening, in August.
JAPAN / History
Oct 19, 2023
Brazil's 'Fukui Village' celebrates its 60th anniversary
Fourteen people in three families from Fukui Prefecture first settled in Colonia Pinhal the 1960s.
Tourists take pictures of an Enoshima Electric Railway train in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, in July.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2023
Japan tries 'nudge theory' in bid to curtail littering by tourists
Thea measures come as littering and other problems related to overtourism are worsening in popular destinations.
A new government panel will discuss the salaries and work styles of local government employees.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 16, 2023
Japan panel to probe work conditions for local government staff
Panel members are expected to exchange opinions about salary, personnel management systems and work styles.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 12, 2023
Okinawa governor refuses to approve design change for Henoko base
The central government has claimed that the governor's disapproval "seriously harms the public interest."
A bill would have banned the act of letting children play in a park or travel to school on their own, as well as parents going out and leaving their high school-age children behind to take care of younger siblings.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 10, 2023
Saitama to withdraw proposed ban on leaving children unattended
The bill had been criticized by many parents in the prefecture and beyond as being too restrictive and impossible to follow.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki speaks to reporters in Naha on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 6, 2023
Land minister sues Okinawa governor over U.S. base landfill plan
The central government and Okinawa Prefecture have long been at odds over relocating U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
G7 eyes plan on U.S.-led $50 billion aid package for Ukraine
A local resident visits the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The U.S. is in talks with close partners to lead a group of allies that would give as much as $50 billion in aid to Ukraine.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
'Monster' Inoue ready to tear down Luis Nery in title defense at Tokyo Dome
Naoya Inoue (left) and Luis Nery following a pre-fight news conference in Yokohama on Saturday, two days ahead of their super bantamweight title fight.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.

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[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

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
By Stephen Mansfield

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