Japanese nationalism

A Natsu Matsuri summer festival occurred late last week in Athens' public Japanese Park, in the Pangrati neighborhood. The event, which brought together Athenian locals, tourists, and Japanese people, is rooted in the Shinto tradition and is meant to honor the spirits of the people's ancestors.  

Japanese went to the polls on July 10 in the shadow of the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, gunned down while making a campaign speech for the governing party that cruises to a likely major victory.

Abe (67) was taken to the hospital unconscious and in cardiac arrest, according to the media. The attacker was arrested.
Videos and photos of the moment of the wounding and of the weapon from which Abe was shot appeared on social networks. The suspect for the attempted assassination of Shinzo Abe is, according to the media, a former member of the Japanese navy.

83-year-old Emperor of Japan Akihito will abdicate on March 31, 2019, the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun said today, quoting government sources.

In Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his government move decisively to fight against the tradition of self-sacrificing work, after a study has shown that one-fifth of Japanese are in danger of dying from too much work.

Five Japanese journalists accused Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government on March 24 of pressuring broadcasters to reduce criticism of its policies, but also lamented what they called a failure by media to live up to their convictions.

Japan's economy minister Akira Amari said on Jan. 28 he was stepping down over graft allegations, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who faces a key leadership vote later this year.

Not one Japanese company applied for a subsidy program aimed at promoting more women to senior jobs, an official said Sept. 28, an embarrassing blow for Tokyo's push to boost the economy with female workers.

Hundreds of firms had been expected to apply for cash rewards in exchange for reaching targets to place women in high-ranking jobs and train female workers for senior positions.

Punches flew in the Japanese parliament when a brawl broke out over legislation that changed the nation’s post WW2 pacifist foreign policy.

Japan?s economy shrank at an annualized pace of 1.6 percent in April-June as exports slumped and consumers cut back spending, adding pressure on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to step up his policy drive to lift the economy out of decades of deflation.