This Week in Japan is your source for news and information about politics and other happenings in this East Asian island country. This episode covers the Top Five stories of the second week of August 2017.
Americans and Japanese protest in Tokyo against white supremacists shortly after Charlottesville tragedy.
Haruo Ozaki, Chairman of the Tokyo Medical Association, calls for local governments to act against tobacco even if the national government continues to drag its feet.
The Shingetsu News Agency profiles Tokyo Cheapo, a rising start-up in Japan’s travel and media world, for a video report.
The International Islamia School Otsuka opens in Tokyo, offering children trilingual education in English, Japanese, and Arabic
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga have repeatedly been warning this particularly gaffe-prone set of Cabinet ministers to exercise caution and to be very careful about what they say in public. Reconstruction Minister Masahiro Imamura, however, didn’t seem to get the memo, and after a fresh gaffe he is swiftly out.
Populism can indeed win elections in Japan, but the problem is that there are so few politicians in this country who seem to have the personal political talents to tap into it.
Americans march in Tokyo to demand the release of Donald Trump’s tax returns and transparency in US policymaking. One of the key organizers, Jesse Glickstein, speaks to the Shingetsu News Agency.
Another prominent Democratic Party conservative offered a resignation today, and defections are ongoing among Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members. In the near term, these are heavy blows to the party leadership of President Renho and Secretary-General Yoshihiko Noda which might bring them down in the late summer months.
Japan Arab Day 2017 at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. Guests included Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, and Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi.
