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June 03, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Mar 4, 2009
Hope for ending the Iraq War
By declaring that "By Aug. 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," U.S. President Barack Obama has set in motion his strategy to end the Iraq war, which was started by the Bush administration on March 20, 2003. Of the more than 140,000 troops in Iraq, about 100,000 will be withdrawn by that date....
EDITORIALS
Mar 3, 2009
Mexico's war on drug cartels
Mexican President Felipe Calderon has his hands full. The fight against powerful drug cartels has become increasingly bloody and exposed the weaknesses of his government. A turf struggle among rival gangs has escalated into a frontal assault on the government. In a subtle twist, gangs are now enlisting...
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 2009
Mr. Obama's vision
Technically speaking, U.S. President Barack Obama's address to a joint meeting of Congress on Tuesday was not a state of the union speech. The president has been in office a little more than a month and he felt that was not enough time to render a judgment on the state of the nation. In fact, the speech...
EDITORIALS
Feb 24, 2009
Breaking the U.S.-Iran deadlock
In his attempt to find a new U.S. policy toward Iran, U.S. President Barack Obama is trying to engage the nation through direct dialogue, a move that Iran appears to have responded to rather positively. The Iraq war provided Iran with an opportunity to increase its influence on Arab nations and Mr. Obama...
EDITORIALS
Feb 23, 2009
State of the world's children
With the media paying so much attention to the casualties of the economic slowdown, it would be easy to overlook a vital report on the grave situation faced by the world's two most vulnerable classes of citizens — women and children in impoverished countries.
EDITORIALS
Feb 20, 2009
Israel's resurgent right
It still is not clear who will be Israel's next prime minister, but the winner of last week's vote is plain: Israel's right will now pace the country's politics. The violence and insecurity of daily life pushed Israeli voters toward hardline solutions to national security. They have tired of promises...
Reader Mail
Feb 19, 2009
Harvard has yet to sell itself
Regarding the Feb. 5 article "Why can't Japanese kids get into Harvard?": The answer is that they are not interested. Harvard is difficult, expensive and far from Japan. Although there are many promising Japanese candidates for Harvard, they usually go to medical schools or to Tokyo University. Therefore,...
EDITORIALS
Feb 16, 2009
Untying 'postretirement' jobs
Prime Minister Taro Aso has come out rather harsh against the job-placement practices of bureaucrats in postretiretment. But it is unclear whether this change of mind will lead to effective control of the practices criticized for giving unfair advantages to bureaucrats.
EDITORIALS
Feb 15, 2009
EU-China relations back on track
Europe's relations with China appear to be back on track. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's recent tour of Europe was by all accounts a success, with both sides eager to put behind them last year's unpleasantness — a high-level China-EU meeting was canceled because of China's objections to French President...
EDITORIALS
Feb 13, 2009
Slush funds and tax evasion
Special investigators of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office have arrested the president of the Oita-based consulting firm Daiko and 11 others on allegations of tax evasion. It is suspected that a Daiko-affiliated interior-work company evaded ¥292 million in corporate taxes by not declaring...
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2009
Volcano watch on a budget
Two volcanoes — Mount Asama on the Nagano-Gunma border and Mount Sakurajima in Kagoshima — have become active although no large-scale eruptions have occurred. Japan is a volcanic country with 108 active volcanoes. The government should strengthen observation and research on volcanoes, and it is especially...
EDITORIALS
Feb 7, 2009
American dream endangered
"The American dream in reverse." That is how U.S. President Barack Obama responded to news about the sinking American economy. His remarks are no exaggeration. One major U.S. company after another has announced job cuts and layoffs. And the evidence is more than anecdotal: According to the Commerce Department,...
EDITORIALS
Feb 6, 2009
Suffer the Rohingya
About 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar. They are a Muslim group in a Buddhist state. They are not recognized as one of Myanmar's official minorities, which means they are subject to persecution and worse in that army-run dictatorship. Not surprisingly, thousands of Rohingya have fled their homeland....
EDITORIALS
Feb 5, 2009
Act independently on IRENA
The world took a step forward in its efforts to fight climate change with the Jan. 26 inauguration of the International Renewable Energy Agency in Bonn, Germany. Member states hope that IRENA, the first global organization dedicated to renewable energy, will become the world's "new mouthpiece for renewable...
EDITORIALS
Feb 3, 2009
For a stronger safety net
As economic conditions worsen and an increasing number of workers, especially irregularly employed workers, lose their jobs, it is becoming urgent that the government strengthen the social safety net.
Reader Mail
Jan 22, 2009
Efforts of activists misguided
Although bombastically titled, Gregory Clark's Jan. 15 article was a welcome riposte to the chorus of criticism originally inspired by Paul de Vries' Dec. 2 Zeit Gist article, "Back to the baths: Otaru revisited."
Reader Mail
Jan 11, 2009
Digital won't make it better
In the Dec. 28 Media Mix article, "Critics switched off over digital-TV plans," media critic Yukichi Amano made a very good point — namely, that switching to digital TV will be a waste of time if there is nothing new on offer in terms of programming. I would like to add that I think Japanese TV is...
Reader Mail
Jan 11, 2009
Education methods don't work
Regarding the Jan. 7 editorial "New high school guidelines": While it is refreshing to see the education ministry finally emphasize English education in a way that promotes actual communication in the language, it is incredibly frustrating as a teacher "in the trenches" to know that the application of...
Reader Mail
Jan 11, 2009
A vacuum was filled in Gaza
The Jan. 4 editorial, "A bloody new year in Gaza," refers twice to the "Tel Aviv" government. The Israeli Parliament and government are in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.
EDITORIALS
Jan 10, 2009
Rescuing duped consumers
The Cabinet Office has made public its 2008 white paper on people's lifestyles, which features consumer-related issues. This is the 51st such white paper since the then Economic Planning Agency issued the first one in 1956. The latest white paper calls for establishing an effective plan to help consumers...
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
Western businesses will not return to Russia
A McDonald's restaurant sits shuttered in Moscow in May 2022 as a result of Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
China is challenging Japan's LNG dominance. What does that mean for Japanese buyers?
Tugboats assist a liquified natural gas tanker as it docks at a port in Yantai, China, in February. In 2021, China became the largest importer of LNG, and as of this year, China now has the most long-term LNG contracts.
Ukraine drone strikes hit nuclear bombers deep inside Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and head of the country's Security Service, Vasyl Maliuk, attend a meeting in Kyiv in this image released Sunday.
Lessons from India-Pakistan war: Were China's arms overrated?
A Chinese J-10B fighter jet is put on display at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, China, in October 2016. The short May conflict between India and Pakistan became a live trial for Chinese arms, exposing vulnerabilities in its fighter aircraft and air defense systems.
‘A garden is a grand teacher’: The Kamakura Gardener nurtures and soothes via YouTube
American Robert Jefferson runs a YouTube channel called The Kamakura Gardener that invites viewers to enjoy the pleasures of gardening, cooking and slow living.
Waves of umami: Awaji Island's culinary trove
Silversea Cruises' culinary program takes guests on a rich gourmet experience at wellness retreat Zenbo Seinei, where the local produce is presented in an eight-course meal.
Hegseth to prioritize China and more allied spending in Asia — but questions remain
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives for a trilateral meeting between Japan, the U.S. and Australia at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
'Godzilla The Art Exhibition' reimagines film icon as monstrous muse for modern art
Artists offer their own interpretations of Japan's most famous monster at "Godzilla The Art Exhibition."
Atsuko Okatsuka brings big 'dad' energy to new special
Atsuko Okatsuka tries out some of the jokes from her new special, “Father,” at the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya in January.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
By Alex K.T. Martin

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