Toru Hashimoto, celebrity lawyer, gears up for Osaka gov. race

Toru Hashimoto, celebrity lawyer, gears up for Osaka gov. race

OSAKA, Japan - Toru Hashimoto (photo), a 38-year-old lawyer and TV celebrity, releases a 17-point election manifesto on Dec. 29 for the Jan. 27 Osaka gubernatorial race. Backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party, Hashimoto is expected to run primarily against Sadatoshi Kumagai, 62, a professor at the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka University, who is backed by the Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party. Fusae Ota, the two-term incumbent governor, has announced she will not seek another term.

Roh renews calls for constitutional change

Roh renews calls for constitutional change

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun speaks at a news conference at the presidential Blue House in Seoul on March 8. Roh renewed calls for broad support for rewriting the Constitution to adopt a four-year, maximum two-term presidency in place of the current five-year single term.

Nagano Gov. Murai reverses no-dam policy set by predecessor

Nagano Gov. Murai reverses no-dam policy set by predecessor

NAGANO, Japan - Nagano Gov. Jin Murai speaks at a press conference at his office on Feb. 8. He announced the reversal of a high-profile ''no-dam'' policy his predecessor had set. The central Japan prefecture has been working to resume an Asakawa River dam project since Murai beat two-term incumbent Yasuo Tanaka in last August's election.

Nagano Gov. Murai reverses no-dam policy set by predecessor

Nagano Gov. Murai reverses no-dam policy set by predecessor

NAGANO, Japan - Nagano Gov. Jin Murai speaks at a press conference at his office on Feb. 8. He announced the reversal of a high-profile ''no-dam'' policy his predecessor had set. The central Japan prefecture has been working to resume an Asakawa River dam project since Murai beat two-term incumbent Yasuo Tanaka in last August's election. (Kyodo)

Toru Hashimoto, celebrity lawyer, gears up for Osaka gov. race

Toru Hashimoto, celebrity lawyer, gears up for Osaka gov. race

OSAKA, Japan - Toru Hashimoto (photo), a 38-year-old lawyer and TV celebrity, releases a 17-point election manifesto on Dec. 29 for the Jan. 27 Osaka gubernatorial race. Backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party, Hashimoto is expected to run primarily against Sadatoshi Kumagai, 62, a professor at the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka University, who is backed by the Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party. Fusae Ota, the two-term incumbent governor, has announced she will not seek another term. (Kyodo)

Roh renews calls for constitutional change

Roh renews calls for constitutional change

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun speaks at a news conference at the presidential Blue House in Seoul on March 8. Roh renewed calls for broad support for rewriting the Constitution to adopt a four-year, maximum two-term presidency in place of the current five-year single term. (Kyodo)

S. Korea's Moon nominates provincial governor as premier

S. Korea's Moon nominates provincial governor as premier

New South Korean President Moon Jae In (far L) introduces key staff appointments and nomination during a press conference at the Blue House presidential office in Seoul on May 10, 2017. Moon nominated South Jeolla Province Gov. Lee Nak Yon (2nd from L) as prime minister, and appointed Seo Hoon (2nd from R), a former intelligence officer, as head of the National Intelligence Service, and Lim Jong Seok, a former two-term lawmaker, as his chief of staff. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo