National Oct 8, 2014
Fukushima No. 1 plant workers kept in the dark over hazard pay
Almost a year after Japan pledged to double hazard pay, workers still don't know how much extra — if anything — they'll get for cleaning up the nuclear disaster.
National Aug 31, 2014
Fukushima fallout: solidarity turns to resentment in city hosting evacuees
Like many of her neighbors, Satomi Inokoshi worries that her gritty hometown is being spoiled by the newcomers and the money that have rolled into Iwaki since the Fukushima nuclear disaster almost 3½ years ago. "Iwaki is changing — and not for the good," said ...
National Aug 28, 2014
A broken man living on dreams pulls Japan into Islamic State hostage drama
When Haruna Yukawa was captured in Syria earlier this month, a video apparently released by his captors showed them pressing the Japanese man to answer questions friends say he had struggled with for years: Who are you? Why are you here? In fact, Yukawa, 42, ...
National Jun 29, 2014
Abe's 'drill bit' buckles on labor reform
When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed at the World Economic Forum in Davos to take a "drill bit" to the "solid rock" of vested interests blocking reforms to Japan's economy, executives at companies such as General Electric and IBM paid attention. In the months that ...
National / Social Issues Jun 12, 2014
Interns abused as labor crisis grows
Wednesday was a regular work day at rusting Burberry factory Kameda Co. in Ishikawa Prefecture, but for three Chinese women, it was a day of escape.
National Apr 16, 2014
'Japanese Only' sign sparks bigotry debate
For nearly two decades, Shunji Usui has been a fixture at Urawa Red Diamonds matches at Saitama Stadium in the suburbs of Tokyo, a face in the crowd among the most avid — and sometimes rabid — fans of any Japanese soccer club. In recent ...
National Apr 2, 2014
Japan moves to expand controversial foreign worker scheme
Japan is considering expanding a controversial program that now offers workers from China and elsewhere permits to work for up to three years, as the world's fastest-aging nation scrambles to plug gaps in a rapidly shrinking workforce. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party on ...
National | ELECTION 2009 Jul 29, 2009
Politicians tap Twitter to tweak profiles
At 6:44 p.m. on July 15, Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Seiji Osaka posed a question on his Twitter profile: "I think bringing the voting age down to 18 years old is OK. What do you think about it?" Within 10 days, 198 users posted ...
Voices | VIEWS FROM THE STREET Jul 14, 2009
What do you think about this summer's round of cuts in bonuses for company workers?
Naotaka Ikura, 24 Administration (Japanese) Cuts in bonuses didn't affect me at all this summer. I'm in administration, so I was lucky. Perhaps other people had their bonuses cut. Sou On, 16 Student (China) Speaking to my Japanese friends, I can tell that Japan has been hit harder by ...
National Jul 8, 2009
Job fair finds slim pickings
A two-day job fair in Tokyo for bilingual Japanese and foreign students is seeing a sharp drop in participating employers this year amid the nation's worst postwar recession, the organizer said Tuesday. The number of companies fell from 184 last year to 89, according to ...