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May 04, 2024
 

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Jiro Yamaguchi
For Jiro Yamaguchi's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 27, 2014
Nationalistic sentiment keeps Abe's popularity ratings high
The Abe Cabinet continues to enjoy an approval rating of more than 50 percent, according to a recent survey, because of the knock-on effect of 'Abenomics,' the dearth of other viable leaders and, like it or not, nationalist sentiment.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 27, 2014
Politicians running in place
Today, there's not so much political competition in Japan between the ruling and opposition camps as there is among opposition parties seeking to ally themselves with the ruling camp. Have individual lawmakers become less willing to take risks by speaking up?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 27, 2014
Abe's pace on two right legs
The current Abe administration finds itself with two right legs — one composed of traditional conservative forces that favor strong ties with the U.S. and another that takes anti-U.S. postures. Both jockey for influence within Abe' Liberal Democratic Party.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 27, 2014
Japan's strange narcissism
In today's Japan, the government's affected show of adapting to globalization and the rise of exclusionist nationalism are two sides of the same coin.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 23, 2014
Abe's way of thinking merits scrutiny before Tokyo's poll
Rational questions raised by Morihiro Hosokawa and Junichiro Koizumi ahead of the Feb. 9 Tokyo gubernatorial election could exert a big influence on the direction of the Abe administration.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2013
Dictatorship of the majority
Japanese civic movements conspicuously picked up steam to oppose the state secrets bill just before its enactment into law, illustrating that many Japanese voters become critical of the Abe administration when it takes up issues other than the economy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 22, 2013
Parliamentary democracy without a viable opposition
The lack of a viable opposition party is causing a serious crisis of democracy in Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 22, 2013
Japan's 'helplessness' crisis
The biggest crisis in Japan's democracy today is that people know the prime minister is telling lies — intentionally or not — but they've given up even imagining alternative ways of politics.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2008
Japan stumbles its way toward a two-party system
2007 was a politically significant year. It is stirring to see how much the political terrain has changed from the beginning of the year to now.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2006
LDP landslide buries two-party system
The result of the Sept. 11 general election was a runaway victory for the Liberal Democratic Party, and political chaos. But from the fog of uncertainty that is enveloping Japan there may emerge a new political structure that could some day be called the "2005 order."
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Yen swings stir talk that Japan is in the FX market once again
An electronic screen in Tokyo displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and the graph showing its recent swings, on Thursday.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

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