Osaka mayor’s plan to divide up city rejected in referendum

The controversial referendum voted on in Osaka ended up giving a decision of “No” to the outspoken mayor’s plan to divide up the city into five special zones. The almost equally-divided outcome shows Osakans think their city administration should change.

Yamashita calls for withdrawal of Ospreys from Japan

JCP Secretariat Head Yamashita Yoshiki, following the recent crash of a US Osprey in Hawaii that killed 2 marine and injured 20 others on board, demanded that the planned Osprey deployment to Tokyo be cancelled.

Abe Cabinet submits war bills to Diet amid backlash from opposition parties

The Abe government on May 15 submitted a set of war bills to the Diet. The Japanese Communist Party and other opposition parties all expressed opposition to the early start of Diet discussions on the controversial bills.