With Olympics on way, activist group's next campaign targets human trafficking in Tokyo
As the next Olympic host, Japan has become the focus of a global campaign against child prostitution and exploitation linked to sports, with activists working to shed light on "hidden crimes" they say have a symbiotic relationship with mega-events. Major sporting events attract troves of ...
Japanese group ACE works to end child labor and foster education across developing world
In 1998, a march to protest child labor involving people in 107 countries made Yuka Iwatsuki realize that the issue, which she had been interested in since college, was a global movement. She also realized that there were no organizations in Japan leading the ...
NGO denounces 'extra-judicial executions' by Venezuela police
Eight people were killed in "extra-judicial executions" by Venezuelan special forces following last week's protests against President Nicolas Maduro, a nongovernmental organization said on Monday. Rafael Uzcategui, director of the Venezuelan Program for Education-Action in Human Rights, also said that another 35 people have been ...
Developing a coffee break for the Philippines
Katuhisa Ota's drive for social development led to a grassroots coffee venture in Mindanao that aims to help locals and promote fair trade.
A group of lawyers claimed Tuesday that a female asylum seeker was asked inappropriate questions by a counselor during questioning earlier this year. Asserting that similar cases have taken place in the past, members of the Japan Lawyers Network for Refugees filed a complaint against ...
Libya coast guard returns 300 migrants to Tripoli after altercation with NGO ship
Libya's coast guard intercepted about 300 migrants packed onto a wooden boat and returned them to Tripoli on Wednesday after warning off a ship that was preparing to pick them up for passage to Europe. Footage filmed by Sea-Watch, a nongovernmental organization, showed a Libyan ...
NGOs pressure G-7 to take action on Paris climate deal
Nongovernmental organizations fighting climate change on Thursday urged leaders of the Group of Seven countries to swiftly implement the ambitious pledges they made in Paris in December and criticized Japan for thwarting efforts to reduce fossil fuels. On the sidelines of the G-7 summit in ...
Citizens' summit ponders whether Obama should apologize over Okinawa slaying
Questions about whether U.S. President Barack Obama should apologize over the alleged brutal murder of an Okinawa woman by an American base worker were raised Tuesday on the final day of the Citizens' Ise Shima Summit in Mie Prefecture. Speaking on a global peace and ...
Japanese activist groups call on Abe to boost support for Syrian refugees
The decision by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to accept 150 Syrians over the next five years is both praised and criticized.
Nepalese teens learn how Tohoku sprang back from disaster
Nepalese teenagers who survived devastating earthquakes in the mountain kingdom last year are drawing inspiration from how Tohoku has sprung back in the past five years, conveying ideas about disaster preparedness to their compatriots back home. As work to rebuild homes, government buildings and businesses ...
Toyama NGO brings gift of goats to quake-hit Nepalese villages
A nongovernmental organization in the city of Toyama has donated goats to a Nepalese village as part of the recovery effort from last April's devastating earthquake. A member of the NGO said goats were valuable because they were easy to raise and are in demand ...
Nongovernmental organizations from Japan, South Korea and Mongolia called on governments in Northeast Asia and elsewhere to push for the creation of a nuclear-weapons-free zone during a gathering at U.N. Headquarters on Thursday. In a joint statement, the NGOs and other organizations said the establishment ...
