World
G-8 disappoints Syrian rebels, makes progress on corporate tax evasion
Leaders of the G-8 agree on a plan to clamp down on money launderers, illegal tax evaders and corporate tax avoiders, while pushing for immediate peace talks on Syria.
National Mar 5, 2013
'Obachan' group aims to jolt politics
by Michiko Munakata
Osaka, the epicenter of a political movement bent on change that has shaken the status quo, is home to another initiative to trumpet the unheard voices of women. Since last fall, more than 1,000 middle-aged and older women, mainly from Osaka, have joined an ...
Commentary | COUNTERPOINT Feb 24, 2013
Osaka: Japan's latterday second city forever breaks the national mold
by Roger Pulvers
They're funny, finicky and feisty, not to mention being full of wicked mischief, with their own way of talking, too. Outside of Japan, think of Liverpool, not London; or Munich, not Berlin; or Mumbai, not Delhi. I'm talking about the people of Osaka.
Events Outside Tokyo Feb 15, 2013
Osaka restaurants revisit award-winning dishes
by Eriko Arita
Over the next month, Osaka restaurants will start preparing some award-winning dishes to serve up to lucky diners. The event is called Delice Restaurant Week, but the use of the word “week” is a bit of a misnomer. The event runs from Feb. 22 ...
Music Feb 14, 2013
Colo brings tribes together in Osaka
by Erik Luebs
It’s December and small flocks of young, creative-looking types are making their way to a shipyard in Osaka’s Namura district. Tucked among an expanse of otherwise drab warehouses there is Creative Center Osaka, and tonight is “Hot Docks 2,” an art and music spectacle. ...
National Feb 4, 2013
Osaka votes down health-damages ordinance
by Eric Johnston
Members of Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto’s local party, Osaka Ishin no Kai, and New Komeito, which form the ruling coalition in the municipal assembly, voted against an ordinance proposal Monday that would have clarified the city’s financial responsibilities in the event of health problems ...
Editorial Jan 29, 2013
Odd response to student's suicide
The Osaka City Board of Education is more intent on engaging in political gimmicks than on enacting meaningful reform in the wake of a student's suicide.
Voices | VIEWS FROM THE STREET Jan 28, 2013
Tokyo: Do you think teachers should be allowed to dish out corporal punishment?
by Mark Buckton
"I don't see any benefit in corporal punishment, whether at the hands of teachers or parents."
National Jan 23, 2013
School's special phys ed slots axed
Special slots for physical education majors will no longer be offered at Osaka’s Sakuranomiya Senior High School, based on a recomendation Mayor Toru Hashimoto made after it was revealed that the captain of the school’s basketball team hanged himself after he was repeatedly beaten ...
Media | MEDIA MIX Jan 19, 2013
Beating kids to create 'fighting spirit' in sport doesn't translate
by Philip Brasor
In a recent interview on the Barnes & Noble Review website promoting his latest book, historian Jared Diamond mentions how treatment of the young “varies among traditional societies just as it varies among industrial societies,” and gives examples of how some of the former ...
Our Lives | WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST Jan 19, 2013
Signs of Kansai
by Thomas Dillon
At the end of lunch with an old friend, I point out yet another hole in my Swiss cheese knowledge of Japan. “I’ve never really understood this whole ‘Kansai/Kanto’ thing. I mean, sure, I’ve traveled to Kyoto, Osaka and so on. But I’ve never ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jan 18, 2013
Hashimoto to colead Nippon Ishin in bid to heal rift over Ishihara
by Eric Johnston
Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) founder Toru Hashimoto will be appointed coleader of the party in a move designed to heal the rift between the Osaka faction and Shintaro Ishihara that is threatening the party’s prospects in this summer’s ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jan 1, 2013
The year for non-Japanese in '12: a top 10
by Debito Arudou
Back by popular demand, here is JBC’s roundup of the top 10 human rights events that most affected non-Japanese (NJ) residents of Japan in 2012, in ascending order. Bubbling under • China’s anti-Japan riots (September) and Senkaku-area maneuvers (October to now). • North Korea’s ...