Hana Kusumoto

Hana Kusumoto is a reporter/translator who has been covering local authorities in Japan since 2002. She was born in Nagoya, Japan, and lived in Australia and Illinois growing up. She holds a journalism degree from Boston University and previously worked for the Christian Science Monitor’s Tokyo bureau.

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An Air Force F-22 Raptor takes off from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, during Agile Combat Employment training on June 17, 2022.

Noise complaints more than double at Japan air base with arrival of Air Force fighters

Complaints typically fall off in June, when the Navy’s Carrier Air Wing 5 is at sea with the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, an official said.

A woman employs a small electronic fan against the heat in central Tokyo on June 28, 2020.

Japan warns of power shortages as Tokyo swelters

A U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter takes part in First Flight 2022 over Tokyo, Tokyo Bay and Chiba prefecture along with aircraft of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force on Jan. 18, 2022.

Japan told US helicopters observe Tokyo low-altitude limits

Ships with the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike groups steam through the Philippine Sea during the Valiant Shield exercise on June 12, 2022.

US ends naval exercise with target practice as Chinese, Russians cruise off Japan

Ridge Hannemann Alkonis, then a junior-grade lieutenant, works aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald in the Timor Sea, July 9, 2015.

Petition for Navy officer facing prison in Japan alleges mistreatment by police, prosecutors

A petition seeking the release of a U.S. Navy officer convicted of killing two people in a 2021 vehicular accident near Mount Fuji alleges he was mistreated by Japanese police and denied a fair trial.

Navy Lt. Ridge Hanneman Alkonis crashed his car into pedestrians and parked vehicles at a soba restaurant parking lot in Fujinomiya, Japan, May 29, 2021.

Japanese appellate court hears Navy officer’s plea for lower sentence in crash deaths

Lt. Ridge Alkonis expressed remorse in a Japanese courtroom during a short appellate hearing and said he prayed for the victims “every single day.”

An F-16 Flighting Falcon from Misawa Air Base, Japan, lands at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, May 8, 2022.

Panel falls from Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon during air show in Japan

A small panel fell off an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon during an air show Sunday in Japan, according to American and Japanese officials.

Navy officer appeals 3-year Japanese prison term for fatal crash last year

Lt. Ridge Alkonis was driving with his family on May 29, 2021, when he crashed into pedestrians and parked vehicles at a soba restaurant parking lot about two hours from Yokosuka Naval Base.

A sign points the way to an evacuation area in Tokyo's Minato ward, Friday, May 27, 2022.

Tokyo has improved earthquake safety, report says, but thousands of lives still at risk

The next major earthquake to strike Tokyo would likely kill more than 6,000 people, injure another 93,000 and leave 4.5 million without shelter, according to a government report.

An advisory from Japan’s National Police Agency said officers should avoid questioning people in a manner that may be perceived as racial profiling.

Agency urges Japanese police to avoid questioning people based on their race

Police in Japan have been advised to avoid questioning people in a manner that may be perceived as racial profiling.

A child looks out at aircraft at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, April 19, 2019.

Japan’s defense strategy deserves another look amid growing threat from Russia, ex-diplomat says

Japan should carry out an exhaustive review of its defense strategy, a former diplomat said this week.

A worker empties a trash receptacle at Azabujuban Station in central Tokyo, Wednesday, April 27, 2022.

More trash cans will vanish from Tokyo train stations for safety reasons

Another quantity of garbage cans is set to disappear from the city’s subway stations.

Troops from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force defuse a 550-pound bomb, believed to be American-made from World War II, near Nagoya Station on Sunday, April 24, 2022.

Japanese troops disarm unexploded WWII bomb at Nagoya construction site

An unexploded bomb from World War II was defused over the weekend by members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force replenishment ship JS Hamana sails alongside the amphibious assault ship USS America during a replenishment-at-sea in the Pacific Ocean, May 22, 2021.

Japan keeps watch as Russian and Chinese vessels steam near its territory

A combination of military and commercial vessels traveling together near Japan is “very rare,” according to James Brown, an international affairs expert at Temple University’s Japan campus.

A C-130H Hercules pilot with the Japan Self Defense Force taxis before takeoff at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Dec. 7, 2016. The Japan Self Defense Force sent a C-130J to OCD to train with the 36th Airlift Squadron and the Royal Australian Air Force, helping participants understand each other’s techniques and giving them a chance to offer each other insight. Bilateral training improves participants’s abilities to work together during real world scenarios, such as delivering disaster relief supplies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Elizabeth Baker/Released)

Japan amends law to allow military aircraft to evacuate foreigners from trouble spots

Japanese law previously stated that Self-Defense Force aircraft could carry only Japanese citizens from a disaster or disturbance abroad, though foreigners could tag along.

People snap photos of Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo's Ginza district, Tuesday, April 12, 2022.

Nakagin Capsule Tower, a Tokyo landmark, is coming down

Demolition of an iconic apartment tower built 50 years ago in Tokyo’s high-end Ginza district began this week, despite efforts to save it.

President Joe Biden waves before boarding Air Force One at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga., April 29, 2021.

War in Ukraine delays Biden’s first visit to Japan as president, report says

The Japanese government has given up scheduling an April visit by President Joe Biden due to his tightened schedule around the war in Ukraine, Kyodo News reported Wednesday.

Statues of Peace have been erected in South Korea and other countries to honor the victims of sexual slavery, known euphemistically as comfort women, by the Japanese military during World War II.

Japanese lawmakers hope to improve ties with South Korea when new leader takes office

Japanese lawmakers say now is the time to improve ties with South Korea as a new South Korean president prepares to take office next month.

Japan is lowering the age of majority, or adulthood, to 18, to stay in step with other countries, including the United States, France and Turkey.

Japan’s age of adulthood will soon drop to 18, but they still can’t legally smoke or drink

Starting April 1, some teenagers in Japan may sign contracts and rent apartments on their own, but they still can’t legally smoke, drink or gamble, according to a change in Japanese law.

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