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Ichiro Asahina
For Ichiro Asahina's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 23, 2019
How to make politics a creative and attractive vocation
Most Japanese people don't want to become politicians because the job lacks creativity.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 23, 2019
Reform education to produce true leaders
Greater involvement by families and local communities can stimulate the curiosity of young potential leaders and cultivate their spirit of adventure.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 25, 2018
Japan can excel at 'intermediary' diplomacy
Japan has what it takes to serve as an intermediary state on the world's diplomatic stage.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 21, 2018
Clear strategy needed for inviting foreign labor
Japan's gradual approach to welcoming unskilled labor from abroad helps ensure the maintenance of social harmony.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 17, 2018
What's needed for regional revitalization
It will be essential for the next LDP president to aggressively promote decentralization, in particular in transferring tax revenue sources to municipalities.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 19, 2018
A new tax to fix Japan's dire fiscal straits
There's a better way to increase tax revenue than raising the consumption tax.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 19, 2018
Reversing Japan's demographic nosedive
Many steps can be taken to boost the shrinking population.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 22, 2018
Time to reform Japan's political parties
Lawmakers must place priority on national interests, not partisan politics.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 13, 2018
Preventing another Moritomo scandal
The Moritomo Gakuen scandal — concerning the sale of an 8,770-square-meter government-owned property in Osaka Prefecture for ¥134 million, or a mere 14 percent of its appraisal value, for the construction of a new elementary school for which the first lady, Akie Abe, was an honorary principal — has once again rocked the nation. The issue has been the central topic of deliberation in the Diet, with opposition lawmakers grilling national government officials.

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree