Tag - view-from-osaka

 
 

VIEW FROM OSAKA

Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
May 19, 2018
Osaka putting the 'cart before the horse' with 2025 expo bid
In early May, Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura traveled to South Africa to attend a Japan-Africa economic meeting and chat up Osaka's efforts to host the 2025 World Expo. At the gathering were representatives from dozens of African countries, though it is not clear how many actually had earnest talks with him.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Apr 14, 2018
'Safe, secure and stable' mantra a winner at the polls
"The people all said, 'Sit down, sit down, you're rockin' the boat.'"
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / View from Osaka
Mar 17, 2018
Moritomo scandal threatens Osaka leaders too
"A man once thoroughly endued with these three qualities of lying, impudence, and ingratitude will, I believe, scarce want any other titles to preferment and grandeur." — Henry Fielding, from a satirical article on the traits of successful politicians, 1740
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Feb 17, 2018
Kansai executives offer advice on improving nation's diplomacy
'Track II diplomacy" is the official neutral-sounding phrase used to refer to diplomatic efforts by "nonstate" actors. In thriller films and books, it's usually portrayed as a game of shadows between powerful but mysterious groups and individuals who may, or may not, be working to save the world.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Jan 20, 2018
Journalism tied to those in power must be checked
"If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking."
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Dec 16, 2017
20 years on, the Kyoto Protocol initiated awareness
In the midst of serious news about North Korean missiles and constitutional revision, as well as a steady diet of BLT (bright, light and trite) stories and corporate propaganda that clog our intellectual arteries, it's easy to lose track of what developments are critical to life itself.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Nov 18, 2017
Osaka may be facing political headwinds in its quest to host World Expo 2025
"Look and see which way the wind blows before you commit yourself." — "The Bat and the Weasels," Aesop's Fables
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Oct 14, 2017
Osaka-Tokyo regional split seen keeping Koike's, Hashimoto's camps at arm's length
The rise and — so far — fall in popularity of Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike's Kibo no To (Party of Hope) comes as no surprise in Osaka, where her ability to govern effectively, as opposed to deal with the media, has long been in doubt.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Sep 16, 2017
Osaka, Okawa at the forefront of demographic changes altering power structures
On the surface, former Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and Kazuhito Wada, the head of Okawa village, Kochi Prefecture, have little in common. Hashimoto is brash, confrontational and more interested these days in getting rich as a private citizen than in being a politician. Wada is quieter, a team player who comes across as a nice guy who cares deeply about the small village he serves.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Aug 19, 2017
Lessons learned from the failure of the Osaka Foreign Settlement
This year, Osaka is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the opening of its port to the outside world. Numerous events, lectures and symposiums on how Osaka developed from 1868 to the present have taken place or are planned between now and early next year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Jul 15, 2017
Doubt cast over Tomin First's national appeal
"Politics will eventually be replaced by imagery. The politician will be only too happy to abdicate in favor of his image, because the image will be much more powerful than he could ever be."
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Jun 17, 2017
Kansai takes measured view on missile drills
Over the past two months, hardly a week has passed without news of another North Korean missile launch. It's become routine: An early morning South Korean media report, based on government sources, says that "an object has been launched," forcing politicians, bureaucrats, and journalists in Tokyo out of bed. Groggy and red-eyed, they head to their ministries, agencies, offices and press clubs to man their stations and wait for developments. They return home only after confirming the missile has landed somewhere in the Sea of Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
May 20, 2017
For better relations, Tokyo should use Korean residents to open diplomatic channels with new South Korean government
Since the beginning of the year, Japan's official relations with the Korean Peninsula have gone from bad to worse. Not a day goes by without a report about North Korea's latest provocation. Journalists, politicians, and pundits deliberate — one might say "geek out" — over whether the missile just fired by North Korea is of this or that type, what the military response by the United States might be if a nuclear device is tested, and, of course, what China might do.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Apr 15, 2017
The real Moritomo Gakuen story is clear as mud
"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." — Mark Twain
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Mar 18, 2017
Moritomo scandal delivers an education in Japanese politics
"Our subjects ever united in loyalty and filial piety have from generation to generation illustrated the beauty thereof. This is the glory of the fundamental character of Our Empire, and herein also lies the source of Our education."
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Feb 18, 2017
Abe walks a fine line between Trump and Asia
In defending his attempts to bond with U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Diet members last week that however critical other countries, and much of America, might be of Trump, he, and by extension Japan, has no other choice but to forge close relations with the president.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Jan 14, 2017
Kansai sizes up ways to work with a Trump administration
In 3½ weeks, Kansai's business leaders will gather in Kyoto for their annual summit. Some of the world's most recognizable firms will send their top executives to the two-day retreat. There, they will rub shoulders with local politicians, academics, and "business consultant" types who, like fortune tellers, cult leaders and foreign policy wonks, will provide soothing answers to the flock's troubled — and troubling — questions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Dec 17, 2016
Kansai towns gear up for the 'Pork Barrel-ympics'
Aware that voters outside of the capital may lack the degree of anticipation for the 2020 Olympics that can be felt among Tokyo politicians and corporations who will directly profit from the games, and sensitive to rumors that taxpayers elsewhere will get stuck with a post-Olympics tax bill, the government has realized it needs to make the event more popular nationwide.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Nov 19, 2016
Don't rule out a Trump-style revolt against Tokyo
The shock of Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election has people both in that country and overseas trying to figure out what happened. Plenty of praise — and blame — is being directed at individuals in both the Republican and Democratic campaigns, as experts point to a host of social and economic trends inside the United States as the factors for Trump's triumph — or Hillary Clinton's loss.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Oct 15, 2016
Fukui poised to benefit from decision to scrap Monju
Big money pull a million stringsBig money hold the prizeBig money weave a mighty web

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