Alex K.T. Martin - The Japan Times

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Alex K.T. Martin

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Alex K.T. Martin

Alex K.T. Martin is a Tokyo-based journalist and senior writer at The Japan Times. He was previously a reporter at The Wall Street Journal’s Tokyo bureau. He has earned honors from the Society of Publishers in Asia and the World Association of News Publishers for stories on the Japanese wolf and the impact of the Fukushima nuclear disaster on wildlife.

JAPAN

Nov 6, 2009

Hatoyama plays down prospects for drafting foreigner suffrage bill

Enacting laws to allow permanent foreign residents to vote in local-level elections may be difficult in the near future and more debate is needed to form a nonpartisan consensus in the Diet, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Thursday.

JAPAN

Oct 30, 2009

Japan-U.S. ties need revamp: Hatoyama

In light of next year marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Thursday it’s time the overall defense alliance is reviewed.

JAPAN

Oct 27, 2009

By-election wins keep DPJ sails full

The Democratic Party of Japan’s victories Sunday in two Upper House by-elections indicate Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s new administration is still on its honeymoon since the DPJ’s landslide victory in the Aug. 30 general election.

JAPAN

Oct 21, 2009

DPJ wants Cabinet to call policy shots, not juniors

It all began with a single notice handed out last month to Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers.

JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW

Oct 9, 2009

LDP exec mulls novel notion: fielding opinions

Ryotaro Tanose, new chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party’s General Council, says good policies can only come from heated discussions among lawmakers, adding he will work to promote precisely such an environment.

JAPAN

Oct 8, 2009

LDP off the policy autopilot: Ishiba

Now that they find themselves in the opposition camp, Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers will have to undertake policymaking with far greater vigor than in the days when the party was in power, the newly appointed LDP Policy Research Council chairman said.

JAPAN

Oct 8, 2009

DPJ musn’t lose reform momentum: Okada

Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada cast a positive light Thursday on the pace of reform in the Democratic Party of Japan’s first three weeks in power and said he expected the party to continue implementing change right up to the next general election.

JAPAN

Oct 3, 2009

Oshima lays out LDP’s comeback fundamentals

Tadamori Oshima, the newly appointed secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, said Friday that regaining the public’s trust will require concrete policies and a clear, new vision of what the party stands for.

JAPAN

Sep 30, 2009

Tanigaki opts for old guard to round out LDP leadership posts

Sadakazu Tanigaki, fresh off his election as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, chose veteran lawmakers Tuesday for the party’s top posts, including former agriculture minister Tadamori Oshima as his No. 2 man.

Japan Times

JAPAN / EXPLAINER

Sep 29, 2009

Murakami: Titan of postwar literature

Haruki Murakami is probably the most internationally acclaimed and influential contemporary Japanese author alive today. Over a career spanning 30 years, he has illustrated the apathy and ennui enveloping postwar Japan through sometimes wildly fantastic storytelling with surreal twists and turns, sprinkled...

Japan Times

JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW

Sep 28, 2009

Fukushima faces major consumer affairs challenge

Mizuho Fukushima, the new state minister in charge of consumer affairs and reversing the low birthrate, said her job is to prioritize policies that directly affect the public’s livelihood and to make sure the new Consumer Affairs Agency is effective.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Sep 17, 2009

Bureaucratic reform first hurdle

After a historic landslide victory in the Aug. 30 election, a new Cabinet was launched Wednesday, led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s Democratic Party of Japan.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Sep 8, 2009

DPJ seeks coalition balancing act

With a little more than a week to go before Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama is elected prime minister, media attention is focused on whether the DPJ will be able to create a unified policymaking system while building a stable relationship with two smaller allies.

JAPAN

Sep 5, 2009

Hirano not known as high profile

Hirofumi Hirano, a close aide to Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama and the likely chief Cabinet secretary in the incoming DPJ administration, is known as a man of few words who would rather work behind-the-scenes than in the spotlight.

JAPAN

Sep 2, 2009

‘Distorted’ in translation?

An opinion piece by Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama published in The New York Times has drawn flak in America over its apparent antiglobalization bent, prompting the presumptive prime minister to argue portions of his essay were “distorted” in translation.

Japan Times

JAPAN / ANALYSIS

Aug 31, 2009

Historic sea change at polls product of frustrated public

For better or worse, history has been made.

JAPAN / Q&A

Aug 19, 2009

Ultimately, it all comes down to numbers

All signs seem to indicate Prime Minister Taro Aso and his Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling coalition face a tough battle in trying to hold onto their Lower House majority in the Aug. 30 election.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Aug 18, 2009

Classics’ artsy paperback jacket makeovers a hit

A young “idol” with paperback in hand standing in a high school classroom isn’t what one would expect to see on the cover of Natsume Soseki’s literary classic “Botchan.”

JAPAN / ELECTION 2009

Aug 15, 2009

Civil servants uneasy as DPJ plots change in power game

When vice farm minister Michio Ide in June criticized the Democratic Party of Japan’s plans to subsidize farmers’ income as unrealistic, DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama quickly fired back.

JAPAN

Aug 8, 2009

New Party Nippon pledges ‘basic income’ for all

Minor opposition party New Party Nippon unveiled its campaign platform Friday, promising several major policies, including the enactment of a monthly “basic income” allowance for all citizens and a re-examination of all public-works projects to cut down on wasteful spending.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.

What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival

By Alex K.T. Martin

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