The top or most interesting stories from Japan for January 9
– Japan’s General Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga has defended the government’s decision to cancel the passport of a freelance journalist who planned to travel to Syria. Suga said the government respects a free press but also had to defend its citizens, as the government steps up measures to protect its citizens abroad in the wake of the failed hostage negotiations.
The journalist, Yuichi Sugimoto, has told the press he still wishes to travel to Syria but stresses he would take the necessary safety precautions and avoid ISIS controlled areas.
– A poll from The Yomiuri Shimbun indicates a recent rise in the popularity of the current administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
63% of respondents supported Abe’s decision to send humanitarian aid overseas, with 44% supporting Abe’s Liberal Democrat Party and only 11% supporting the major opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan.
– A Bank of Japan board member has warned the government’s latest round of easing –part of Abe’s ‘Abenomics’ strategy– will be damaging to the Japanese economy.
– The Asahi Shimbun has profiled Fukushima residents who have taken it upon themselves to measure radiation levels in the area.
– Kenji Eukua, the designer of the famous Kikkoman soy sauce dispenser, has died at 85.
