Tag - local-government

 
Menu
Search
 
May 05, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Police officers work to control a crowd gathering to celebrate Halloween in the Shibuya district of Tokyo on Oct. 31, 2022.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 5, 2023
Shibuya mayor vows to keep things civil as Halloween nears
The mayor made headlines last month when he told would-be partiers to stay away from the Tokyo ward this year for the occasion, citing safety concerns.
Okinawa rejects central government order on U.S. base work
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2023
Okinawa rejects central government order on U.S. base work
The central government and Okinawa Prefecture have long been at odds over relocating U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
Station staff call on people to stand still while riding escalators at Kanayama Station in Nagoya on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 2, 2023
Nagoya mayor promotes new ordinance to stop walking on escalators
The ordinance, which carries no penalties, is aimed at preventing accidents.
A website offering gifts for the furusato nōzei hometown tax program
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2023
Japan hometown tax changes mean donors getting less bang for buck
Local authorities must now keep the total value of gifts and other costs — including shipping fees — below 50% of the donations they receive.
Makoto Nishimoto during his campaign rally in December 2022. On Wednesday, Nishimoto, a member of the Miyazaki Municipal Assembly who goes by the name Super Crazy-kun, was indicted on sexual assault charges.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 28, 2023
Japan politician Super Crazy-kun indicted on sexual assault charges
Makoto Nishimoto was charged on the grounds of nonconsensual sexual intercourse resulting in injury. The victim was a female acquaintance in her 30s.
Paternity leave has not taken root in Japan due to concerns over decreases in income and disruptions to the work side of life.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 24, 2023
Japan local governments working to encourage paternity leave
From Saga to Yamanashi, local officials are trying a variety of policies to give their male employees a chance to better participate in family life.
Vietnamese staff work at a seafood processing firm in Yamada, Iwate Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 17, 2023
86% of municipalities across Japan want more foreign workers, survey says
The poll underscores the serious shortage of workers in farming and other key sectors as the country grapples with a declining population.
A vote is held on conducting a preliminary survey on a potential nuclear waste disposal site, at the Tsushima Municipal Assembly in Nagasaki Prefecture on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 12, 2023
Tsushima assembly approves request for nuclear waste site survey
If the island city decides to conduct the survey, it would receive up to ¥2 billion in state subsidies.
Police officers guide the Halloween crowd at the Shibuya scramble crossing in Tokyo on Oct. 31 last year.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 12, 2023
Shibuya’s mayor has a message for Halloween revelers: Don’t come
Shibuya’s scramble crossing has become the go-to spot for younger generations, but past incidents have fueled concern among officials.
Kaoru Sasaki (center) and her lawyers head to the Sapporo District Court on Monday for a damages suit seeking spousal benefits relating to her same-sex relationship.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 11, 2023
Sapporo court denies spousal benefits to same-sex couple
According to lawyers, the lawsuit is Japan's first centered on the family relationship of same-sex partners.
Iwate Gov. Takuya Tasso (right) receives flowers in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, on Sunday after winning a fifth term as governor.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 4, 2023
Iwate Gov. Takuya Tasso wins fifth term
Voter turnout rose to 56.63% from the record low of 53.46% logged in the previous election four years ago.
Students at Wakaura Elementary School in the city of Wakayama eat lunch in 2019. Wakayama Prefecture's school lunch program began in April 2017.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 3, 2023
Why a movement for free school lunches is spreading across Japan
By the end of this year, most of Tokyo’s wards will have policies to make lunch free in some form.
Mount Fuji has seen a large increase in the number of hikers, prompting a local government to devise new ways to control visitor numbers.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2023
Yamanashi governor proposes light rail system for Mount Fuji
The rail system, intended to address over-tourism, would replace the Fuji Subaru highway, which leads to one of the Mount Fuji’s fifth stations.
Foreign visitors in Kyoto. Local governments are rushing to use big data on spending by foreign visitors to analyze trends.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2023
Local governments tap big data on spending by foreign visitors
Such data allows authorities to analyze consumption trends in detail, "visualize" markets and place targeted advertisements.
Digital minister Taro Kono (right) tries out a device that allows the use of My Number cards as health insurance cards at Chigasaki City Hall in Kanagawa Prefecture on Aug. 9.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 21, 2023
My Number and beyond: What's holding back Japan’s digitalization?
The transition from analog to digital in the public sector has been a long-standing challenge for the country, spanning at least the past two decades.
A meeting is held in Tokyo on July 28 to decide on the recommended minimum wages.
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2023
Some minimum wage hikes in Japan to top government recommendation
The new minimum wages for fiscal 2023, which began in April, will take effect in stages beginning Oct. 1.
A special committee of the assembly of the southwestern city of Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, voted Wednesday to adopt a petition calling on the city to accept a survey to examine whether it is suited to host a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear plants.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2023
Tsushima panel adopts petition for nuclear waste site survey
Such surveys are currently being conducted in the town of Suttsu and the village of Kamoenai, both in Hokkaido.
Parents of private high school students in Osaka submit a letter to education minister Keiko Nagaoka (center, left) late last month.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 12, 2023
Idea to make all Osaka high schools free sparks controversy
Private schools in Osaka Prefecture have voiced opposition to the plan, fearing increased financial burdens.
The streets of Kagoshima city on Wednesday amid strong winds from Typhoon Khanun.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 9, 2023
Japan prefectures drift away from posting disaster warnings on X
A growing number of prefectures have stopped posting disaster warnings on the platform due to limits on the number of free posts allowed.
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 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.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there
Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER