Whenever American and Japanese officials meet, they engage in a ritual. Their joint statements, invariably invoking a “free and open Indo-Pacific” and “rules-based maritime order,” always swear that their “ironclad alliance” is stronger than ever.
Yumi Ishikawa, an actress and model, launched #KuToo about sexist workplace rules in Japan requiring women to wear high heels. A campaign collected over 23,000 signatures against the women’s high heel dress code.
Given that Japan is likely to host more foreign residents and tourists in the future, it is necessary for such residents and visitors to the country to remain respectful and mindful of the fact that they are not under the jurisdiction of their home country’s more familiar legal system.
Japan has the second highest plastic pollution per capita. G20 energy and environment ministers met in Karuizawa, Japan June 15-16, 2019 hoping to address this issue.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the second week of June 2019.
Instead of the open discord over tariffs and trade that many had been bracing for, the main headline story from this weekend’s G20 finance ministers meeting in Fukuoka was the broad agreement on the need for more effective taxation of the global technology firms.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on June 8, 2019.
Mark Karpeles, former CEO of the now-bankrupt Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange, expressed his belief in the potential of cryptocurrency as a viable method of payment while recognizing that there is still serious work to be done regarding security.
Bar Gold Finger in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Nichome has stood as a notable hub for Japan’s LGBT community for decades, but a late April incident has subjected the bar and its owner, Chiga Ogawa, to accusations that it discriminates against transgender people.
The mesmerizing sight of the aki-akane, meaning ‘autumn red’ dragonfly, is a traditional symbol of autumn in Japan’s rice farming landscape. However, the species has been rapidly disappearing in recent years and has now nearly vanished over most of Japan. The reason, according to scientists, is the increased use in rice farming of a class of broad-spectrum insecticides that have been the subject of bans in the European Union and China.