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 Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2009
Slowly, secret U.S. nuke deals come to light
Decades since Washington and Tokyo reportedly crafted secret agreements to allow U.S. nuclear weapons in Japanese territory, declassified documents from the U.S. detailing its nuclear presence in Okinawa and elsewhere in Japan during the postwar period are slowly coming to light.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2009
Base relocation remains thorn in side of Japan-U.S. ties
OSAKA — On April 12, 1996, Okinawa Gov. Masahide Ota was meeting with prefectural officials when Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto telephoned with big news.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2009
Minamata victim seeks meeting with Obama
OSAKA — A 53-year-old Minamata disease victim who appeared in a magazine article that deeply moved a young Barack Obama has written to the U.S. president, requesting a meeting when he visits Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2009
Obama may press Japan on child abductions
OSAKA — U.S. President Barack Obama may take up Japan’s refusal to sign the 1980 Hague Convention on parental child abductions when he meets with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Friday, two Americans involved with the issue said.
JAPAN / HOT BUTTON HENOKO
Oct 20, 2009
Clock ticking on base, its delicate environment
Second of two parts
JAPAN / HOT BUTTON HENOKO
Oct 19, 2009
Opposition to Futenma move won’t go away
First of Two Parts
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2009
Murdoch: Japan newspapers will have to charge for online content
KYOTO — Japanese newspapers are eventually going to have to charge users to read general news stories online, media mogul Rupert Murdoch said Sunday at a conference here of scientists and engineers.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2009
70% of Japanese back Hatoyama’s CO 2 pledge: survey
OSAKA — Seventy percent of Japanese people support a midterm greenhouse gas reduction target of between 25 percent and 40 percent for developed countries, a survey on global warming conducted by a Danish government-backed organization says.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2009
Mercury danger in dolphin meat
SAPPORO — The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, as documented in the film “The Cove” has sparked an emotional international debate, with animal rights activists decrying the capture and slaughter as unnecessary and cruel, and those in Japan who defend the slaughter as both legally...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 22, 2009
Small group making waves
About two months before the Aug. 30 election, a small group of political leaders made big news by forming a new group. Though it consists of only half a dozen politicians at the local level, Shucho Rengo (the Local Leaders Federation) grabbed headlines nationwide and created concern among senior Diet...
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2009
Hatoyama tries to tread line between change, status quo
OSAKA — When Yukio Hatoyama makes his international debut as the new prime minister later this month at the United Nations and in Pittsburgh at the Group of 20 Leaders’ Summit, he’ll be discussing Japan’s new policies on everything from the environment to the global economy with President Barack Obama...
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2009
Target CO2 cut draws business ire
OSAKA — Yukio Hatoyama’s reaffirmation Monday that his incoming government will stick to the Democratic Party of Japan’s campaign pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels has drawn fire from local businesses but also praise from the international community.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2009
Activist against dolphin slaughter visits Taiji to show its nice side
OSAKA — The central figure in “The Cove,” a controversial and shocking documentary about the annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, is back in Taiji on the first day of the annual dolphin hunt with a film crew.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2009
Komeito, LDP crash in Kansai
OSAKA — The Kansai region’s most prominent members in the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito lost their seats to younger challengers Sunday, part of the overwhelming national trend in favor of the Democratic Party of Japan and the other opposition parties.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 28, 2009
LDP heavyweight Koga running for his life
OMUTA, Fukuoka Pref. — For decades, voters in the Fukuoka No. 7 district, which encompasses the southern part of the prefecture, have always said, “Makoto ni arigato gozaimasu” come election time.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 28, 2009
Even Aso can’t rely on shoo-in notion
IIZUKA, Fukuoka Pref. — Given his nationwide unpopularity, not a few candidates from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party would prefer that their leader, Prime Minister Taro Aso, not visit them during the election campaign lest this worsens their chances.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2009
Nova boss handed 3 1/2 years
OSAKA — Former Nova President Nozomu Sahashi was sentenced Wednesday to 3 1/2 years in prison by the Osaka District Court for his role in skimming off employee funds in 2007, just before the foreign language school giant’s bankruptcy that October.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 25, 2009
Tanaka battling in New Komeito heartland
AMAGASAKI, Hyogo Pref. — Yasuo Tanaka, the leader of New Party Nippon and former governor of Nagano, is attempting to unseat New Komeito heavyweight Tetsuzo Fuyushiba in a race widely seen as a test of Tanaka’s popularity in a region where his volunteer activities after the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake...
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 21, 2009
Decentralization picking up steam?
OSAKA — Imagine, if you will, Japan in 2018. Following the historic Lower House election in 2009, the country passed legislation that abolished the 47 prefectures and thousands of smaller local governments.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2009
Scientists laud DPJ emissions vow
OSAKA — The Democratic Party of Japan’s promise to pursue a 25 percent cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020 compared with 1990 levels is what scientific experts recommend.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival