Latest news with #Ibaraki
Japan Times
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
CDP leader criticizes ‘Japanese First' policy and calls for inclusive society
The leader of Japan's largest opposition party has criticized the concept of 'Japanese First' policy — advocated by small, right-wing party Sanseito — saying foreign residents are critical to maintaining Japan's economy and calling for a multicultural society that respects minorities. Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda made the remarks while campaigning in Sendai and in Ibaraki Prefecture earlier this week ahead of Sunday's Upper House election. Noda warned that division and conflict were growing around the world, sowing the seeds of war. 'Unfortunately, in Japan as well, political forces have emerged that are stoking division and conflict through their rhetoric. If there are political forces seeking to gain political points by excluding foreigners, I will firmly oppose them,' Noda said during his Sunday appearance in Sendai. The issue of foreign residents in Japan, rarely a topic in election campaigning, has now become a hot topic of debate as Japan's foreign population continues to grow. Sanseito has adopted 'Japanese First' as its main slogan and the party's Upper House election platform. The platform includes a promise to implement immigration restrictions limiting the number of foreign residents to 5% of the population in each municipality. As of the end of 2024, the number of foreign residents in Japan stood at a record 3.77 million — up 10.5% from the year before, but still only about 3% of the total population. It was obvious, Noda added, that Japanese society could not function without the help of foreign workers in manufacturing, health care, construction and public transportation. 'For example, in the field of nursing care, it's estimated that 2.7 million workers will be needed by 2040. That's 15 years from now. Currently, there are about 2.1 million workers. But due to harsh working conditions, new people are not entering the field, and some are leaving. Closing this gap of 600,000 workers will be extremely difficult,' Noda said. While Noda did not specifically name Sanseito in his speeches, he criticized the concept of placing restrictions on foreign residents just to prioritize Japanese people, especially at a time when such residents are already contributing to Japanese society. 'Japanese first. Japan first. If that's the case, isn't (accepting foreign residents) for the greater good of our country?' he said during a separate rally in the city of Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Wednesday. 'When you go to a convenience store, isn't the person selling you rice balls a foreign employee? Aren't there a lot of foreign workers in manufacturing plants? Aren't there a lot of foreign workers in construction sites and public transportation right now? Aren't we relying on foreign workers because of the shortage of caregivers?' Noda said. The CDP leader suggested that the idea foreign residents receive preferential treatment is a misconception that may be rooted in the fact that many Japanese are feeling hardship in their daily lives, rather than an indication of such residents actually being treated favorably. If the reason for their discontent is because wages aren't increasing as much as price hikes, resolving those issues is what needs to be done, he said. 'That's why we, the opposition parties, including the CDP, need to unite and overthrow the LDP-led administration.'
Japan Times
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Japan adopts target of reducing death toll by 80% in Nankai Trough quake
The government announced Tuesday that over the next decade, it will seek to reduce the estimated number of deaths from a possible megaquake in the Nankai Trough off the country's Pacific coast by 80%. The target is included in a revised basic plan to promote disaster prevention measures, which was adopted at the day's Central Disaster Prevention Council meeting, marking the first full revision of the original plan drawn up in 2014. According to the latest estimate disclosed in March, the death toll is expected to reach up to about 298,000. At the meeting, the government shared a proposal to designate 16 additional municipalities as "promotion areas" where intensive measures will be implemented. This will bring the total to 723 municipalities in 30 prefectures, mainly on the Pacific coast from Ibaraki Prefecture to Okinawa Prefecture. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba later approved the addition, which is in response to new topographical data and other information based on new damage estimates. Such promotion areas are designated by the prime minister among municipalities that are expected to experience an earthquake of lower 6 or higher on the Japanese seismic intensity scale or tsunami of at least 3 meters, based mainly on requests from prefectural governments. The revised basic plan also aims to halve the estimated number of buildings destroyed or burned in the wake of the Nankai Trough earthquake from about 2.35 million. Before the revision, the basic plan also sought to slash the death toll by 80% and the number of destroyed houses by 50%. Under the updated plan, the government will promote efforts to reinforce houses with insufficient earthquake resistance in the promotion areas by fiscal 2035. It will also support efforts by all municipalities in the promotion areas with tsunami disaster warning districts to prepare and publish hazard maps and conduct evacuation drills by fiscal 2030. To prevent disaster-related deaths, the government will promote stockpiling disaster supplies and equipment, such as toilets and beds, and improve the shelter environment. Municipalities and logistics business associations will also be encouraged to conclude agreements to ensure an emergency transportation system in the event of a disaster.
South China Morning Post
20-06-2025
- South China Morning Post
Not cool: Japanese police sweat over surge in theft of air conditioners
A surge in theft of outdoor air-conditioning units in Japan , especially in the suburban areas of the country's eastern Kanto region, has left authorities struggling to track down the perpetrators. Last year, the country saw 3,397 cases, a dramatic 13-fold jump from just 255 in 2020, the Asahi newspaper reported, citing the National Police Agency (NPA). The number has doubled annually since 2020, rising from 442 in 2021 to 819 in 2022 and 1,717 in 2023, according to NPA data. Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, reported the highest number of stolen outdoor air-conditioning units last year with 594 cases, followed closely by Saitama at 563 and Chiba at 402. In comparison, metropolitan cities such as Tokyo and Osaka saw only 60 and 101 theft cases, respectively, which police said meant that thieves tended to avoid urban areas given the higher risk of detection. Air conditioners in a multi-story building in Chiba City. There were 402 cases of stolen air-conditioning units in Chiba prefecture last year, according to the National Police Agency. Photo: Shutterstock According to the NPA, rising copper prices could have fuelled the surge in crimes, as outdoor air-conditioning units often have copper pipes.
Japan Times
18-06-2025
- Health
- Japan Times
Government ordered to compensate overstayers who got sick in detention
A court order has been issued to the government to pay ¥1.2 million ($8,300) in damages to two overstayers who got sick while they were held at a detention center. In their filed lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court, an Iranian and a Turkish, both men, sought ¥30 million in state compensation, claiming that their sufferings, including a deterioration of their health, had been brought upon them by their prolonged detention. The fact that the plaintiffs' health worsened markedly at a detention facility of the Immigration Services Agency led to the conclusion that their confinement ran counter to a U.N. treaty ensuring individual rights, such as that to self-determination, as well as to the immigration control and refugee recognition law, presiding Judge Tomoko Honda said in her ruling Tuesday. According to the ruling and other records, the two men had been placed in the agency's immigration control center in the city of Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, several times between 2016 and 2020 and suffered depression. Both have been granted temporary release and are now applying for refugee status. Stressing that the authorities should abide by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights when treating overstayers, the judge said immigration officials "neglected the U.N. treaty and violated the law by arbitrarily detaining the plaintiffs, an act that is impermissible." "The ruling is epoch-making" because it interpreted the law's clauses in the context of the international treaty, said Ryutaro Ogawa, the lawyer for the plaintiffs.
Japan Times
17-06-2025
- Japan Times
Saitama man arrested for alleged murder of woman in 2018
Police arrested a 31-year-old man in the city of Saitama on Monday on suspicion of murdering a then-21-year-old woman from Ibaraki Prefecture seven years ago. The suspect, Jun Saito, admitted killing the woman, Kaho Miyamoto, saying that he had had a desire to kill people since childhood, according to investigative sources. Saito also said that his motive for the murder was a "simple killing intent itself, and nothing else," the sources said. The woman's skull was found in Saito's home after he was arrested last month on suspicion of stealing a smartphone from a woman walking in Saitama in August 2024. Saito is suspected of killing Miyamoto by wringing her neck in his apartment on Jan. 4, 2018. Saito, who allegedly dismembered her body in his apartment using a knife and saw, was quoted as saying that he had been interested in doing this since childhood and so had some related knowledge. Two skulls were found in his home, with one identified as Miyamoto's and the other found to have been purchased online by Saito. Other bones were also found, and police are working to identify them. It has been learned that Miyamoto took a train from Tsuchiura Station in Ibaraki to Omiya Station in Saitama on Jan. 4, 2018, and met Saito. She had suggested suicidal feelings, investigative sources said. After losing contact with her, her family reported her missing to police in Ibaraki. Saito and Miyamoto came to know each other through social media, and he had her leave a note, the sources said.
