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Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2007
‘Japan’s Condi Rice’ known for courting controversy
OSAKA — New Defense Minister Yuriko Koike, 54, is a world traveler fluent in Arabic and English and considered one of the Diet’s leading experts on the Middle East.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2007
Study the school before studying English
OSAKA — Thinking about studying English at a private school chain? If so, proceed with caution and know what you’re getting into, say university English professors, teachers union representatives and the English-language schools themselves.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 26, 2007
Prison reforms seen as too little, and way too late
In May 2006, the government revised the prison law in the first attempt at broad reform since 1908. The Law Concerning Penal Institutions and the Treatment of Sentenced Inmates, as the legislation is formally known, went into effect June 7.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2007
Four Stories rises in Osaka’s ‘cultural desert’
OSAKA — For the Kansai region’s foreign residents, a night out in Osaka has not usually meant a literary experience. Unlike neighboring Kyoto, with its reputation as a mecca for foreign artists, writers and poets, one did not usually walk into an Osaka bar or restaurant expecting to hear quality short...
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2007
Nuclear industry gears up for global push
KYOTO — Japan’s nuclear power industry is pushing to get atomic energy on next year’s agenda when this nation hosts the Group of Eight summit meetings, saying it is time world leaders recognize the power source as a practical way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2007
Competing foreign-worker plans face off
OSAKA — If the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) have their way, it’s possible you’ll see this help-wanted ad in your English-language newspaper:
BUSINESS
May 25, 2007
Kankeiren chief leaves a booming Kansai in debt
OSAKA — When Yoshihisa Akiyama steps down as head of the Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren) next Monday, he will leave behind a booming Kansai economy thanks to the federation’s focus on greater trade with China.
JAPAN
May 9, 2007
Revision risks freedoms, U.S. academic warns
Constitution is an outlandish idea, and amending it is simple common sense,” Lummis, a former professor at Tsuda College in Tokyo and a staunch supporter of the current Constitution, said via e-mail. “But a large portion of the public is not buying that, as opinion polls show the percentage of people...
JAPAN
May 8, 2007
Large-scale ADB projects draw criticism
KYOTO — The Asian Development Bank talks about spending trillions of dollars to eliminate poverty, promote sustainable economic development and reduce the global threat of greenhouse gases.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2007
Corruption issue gets short shrift
KYOTO — The four-day Asian Development Bank meeting addressed a host of general issues related to the bank’s future. But one that got little in the way of detailed discussion is also one of the most politically contentious: corruption.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2007
Aiding middle-income Asia ADB’s future role?
KYOTO — The Asian Development Bank wrapped up its 40th annual meeting Monday with a broad agreement that the bank needs to reorganize but continue to financially assist the region.
BUSINESS
May 6, 2007
Asia finance chiefs agree on foreign reserves pool
KYOTO — Finance ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations along with Japan, China, and South Korea on Saturday hammered out a basic agreement to pool some of the region’s $2.7 trillion in foreign reserves to prevent the kind of currency runs that led to the Asian financial crisis a...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 5, 2007
ADB meet looks beyond poverty to energy
KYOTO — Stressing “clean and green” development projects and vowing greater efforts to reduce poverty, the Asian Development Bank kicked off its 40th annual meeting Friday in Kyoto.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 10, 2007
Nuclear power vital but fiasco-prone
Just how much does Japan rely on nuclear reactors? For nearly four decades, atomic power has, after oil and coal, played a key role in meeting Japan’s energy needs. Today, 55 nuclear plants provide a third of the nation’s electricity.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2007
Urban Kyoto tries on an old look
KYOTO -- First-time visitors to the ancient capital of Kyoto usually arrive expecting to see quiet temples and rock gardens or an abundance of old wooden buildings set against the backdrop of the surrounding mountains.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2007
Osaka day-laborers lose registrations
OSAKA -- The Osaka Municipal Government purged the residence registrations of nearly 2,100 day-laborers Thursday, after concluding through a monthlong investigation that the men did not really live at the three welfare centers where they were registered.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2007
Osaka homeless in residency registry limbo ahead of polls
OSAKA -- As the Osaka Municipal Government’s deadline looms for thousands of the city’s homeless to change their residence registrations or be struck from the books, the two sides are still far apart about establishing bona-fide addresses for them to be able to vote in next month’s local polls.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2007
Foreign labor need exposes dearth of rights
OSAKA -- As the debate intensifies over allowing more foreign workers into Japan to make up for the coming labor shortage, human rights groups have recently stepped up efforts to push for a law against discrimination.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2007
Kansai Time Out: 30 years without a breather
KOBE -- On the cover of the December 1979 issue of Kansai Time Out magazine, an Osaka-based foreign aikido instructor, sporting an Afro, is seen executing a throw that puts his Japanese opponent on the floor.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2007
U.N. special rapporteur challenges Ibuki’s ‘homogenous’ claim
The U.N. special rapporteur on racism countered Education Minister Bunmei Ibuki’s claim over the weekend that Japan is a homogenous country.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Trump says ‘Japan’ instead of Iran at meeting in Ankara
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
World’s first fully sealed vertical-farming facility opens in Tokyo
Fully sealed units are stacked on top of each other at Plantx's vertical-farming facility in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Wednesday.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.

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