National / Politics Oct 29, 2018
Abe grilled at Diet on new visa statuses and upcoming tax hike
by Tomohiro Osaki
The prime minister was also questioned about moves to amend the postwar Constitution.
National / Politics Apr 5, 2018
by Tomohiro Osaki and Daisuke Kikuchi
The ministry acknowledged the activity logs, from an Iraq mission, had been kept hidden from top officials for more than a year ,despite an earlier claim that they didn’t exist.
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Dec 30, 2017
Japanese media's hits and misses of 2017
by Philip Brasor
The term "fake news" was used in so many different situations this year that it no longer describes an agreed upon concept but rather anything you don't agree with. This is why the U.S. press has had a difficult time making sense of its ...
National / Politics Oct 22, 2017
Sunday's Lower House election brought mixed results to politicians attempting to emerge from scandals. Shiori Yamao kept her seat despite an alleged extramarital affair that forced her to quit the opposition Democratic Party. The former prosecutor, 43, ran as an independent instead and won a third ...
National / Politics Aug 27, 2017
Given latest scandals, Japanese government looks to revise document-shredding rules
In the wake of several scandals, the government will launch a debate before month’s end on revising how administrative documents should be managed.
National / Crime & Legal | INSIGHTS Aug 6, 2017
Lawyers attempt to fill in the gaps in the GSDF's heavily redacted South Sudan PKO logs
by Kayoko Kimura
Lawyers poring over the activity logs that led to the defense minister's exit suspect that redactions point to illegal activities.
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Aug 5, 2017
Parsing gender stereotypes in Japan's media landscape
by Philip Brasor
Tomomi Inada's resignation as defense minister ended a tenure that often made reporters wonder if her transgressions had more to do with ignorance than with incompetence. It would be wrong to associate her failures with her sex, though there were some in the media ...
National / Politics | ANALYSIS Aug 1, 2017
Abe's dream of amending Constitution slipping away
by Linda Sieg
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has achieved much of his conservative security agenda since taking office in 2012, but unless he can revive his flagging popularity, his goal of revising the pacifist Constitution is likely to elude his grasp. Failure to achieve that goal by the ...
National / Politics Aug 1, 2017
With support rate in free fall, Abe eyes veterans for key posts in Cabinet reshuffle
by Reiji Yoshida
Announcement is widely seen as part of a desperate bid to shore up plummeting approval rate amid a spate of scandals.
National / Politics Jul 31, 2017
No apology as Inada attends Defense Ministry resignation ceremony
At her resignation ceremony, Tomomi Inada calls for an “open” Defense Ministry and Self-Defense Forces but does not apologize for the cover-up scandal that brought her down.
National / Politics Jul 29, 2017
Inada's leadership hopes evaporate after meteoric rise to defense chief
by Miya Tanaka
Outgoing defense chief Tomomi Inada never seemed to understand the job, and her mentor’s rush to expedite her career may have left her out of her league, critics say.
National Jul 28, 2017
Inada makes resignation official; Kishida to pick up defense portfolio
by Tomohiro Osaki
Beleaguered Defense Minister Tomomi Inada announced Friday that she will resign over allegations that a cover-up was conducted to hide the politically sensitive activity logs of the Ground Self-Defense Force unit that was deployed for peacekeeping duty in conflict-riven South Sudan. Inada's resignation will deliver ...