Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Editorial Aug 8, 2013
Helicopter crash stirs resentment
The U.S. Air Force helicopter crash Monday in Okinawa is likely to deepen residents' fear of aircraft operations, especially those of the tilt-roter MV-22 Osprey.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Aug 5, 2013
SOFA: an unequal treaty that trumps the Constitution?
by Colin P.A. Jones
The prime minister's dogged focus on amending the American-tainted Constitution might reflect an uncomfortable unspoken truth — that it may be easier to change the Constitution than revise another document of potentially greater importance: the Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the United ...
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Jun 4, 2013
As evidence of Agent Orange in Okinawa stacks up, U.S. sticks with blanket denial
by Jon Mitchell
In April 2011, these Community pages published the first accounts of sick U.S. veterans who believe their illnesses were caused by exposure to Agent Orange on Okinawa during the Vietnam War era.
Editorial Feb 10, 2011
National sport on its knees
The Japan Sumo Association, rocked by a match-rigging scandal, has decided to cancel Spring Grand Sumo Tournament, which would have started March 13 in Osaka. This is the first time that a grand sumo tournament known as hon-basho has been canceled since the summer ...