Japan

On 1 April, Chief Cabinet Secretary (i.e. head of the executive body under the Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, showed journalists two kanji characters, written in calligraphy, that represent the name of the country’s new epoch. They have been adopted from ancient Japanese poetry, and in Latin alphabet...

On February 24th the residents of Okinawa voted in a "symbolic referendum", i.e. one which is purely an expression of opinion, with no obligation on anyone to take any notice of its outcome. In this, they voted heavily against the relocation of the Futenma base, despite the fact...

On 24 February a referendum was staged on the issue of relocating the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the center of Ginowan (with approximately 100,000 residents to Okinawa Island’s bay area near the scarcely populated village of Henoko. The decision to hold the referendum...