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August 26, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Jul 30, 2010
Mr. Kan and the DPJ under watch
The Kan administration and the Democratic Party of Japan, which was beaten in the July 11 Upper House election, will be on the defensive during an extraordinary Diet session from Friday. Opposition forces, which now have 132 seats against the ruling coalition's 110 seats, control the Upper House in the...
EDITORIALS
Jul 30, 2010
Ferment within the SDP
Ms. Kiyomi Tsujimoto, a Social Democratic Party stalwart and a star politician as much as party chief Mizuho Fukushima is, announced her departure from the party Tuesday. This could seriously damage the SDP unless it makes strenuous efforts to pursue idealism based on political realism — a difficult...
EDITORIALS
Jul 29, 2010
Limiting budget requests
The government has adopted guidelines for fiscal 2011 budget requests. Government spending and bond issuance will be at the same levels as in fiscal 2010. For the sake of long-term financial reconstruction, Cabinet ministers must refrain from bloating their budget requests. Since money will be tight,...
EDITORIALS
Jul 29, 2010
A year left on analog TV
Less than a year remains before the total switch to terrestrial digital TV broadcasts in Japan. Analog TV broadcasts are scheduled to end July 24, 2011. While preparations for the transition are being pushed, many problems must be solved to ensure a smooth transition.
EDITORIALS
Jul 28, 2010
A new era for U.S. finance
The U.S. Congress on July 15 approved the most substantial reform of the country's financial system since the Great Depression. The measures, put into place to prevent another crisis like the one that slammed the global economy in 2008, have been hailed by supporters as a virtual overhaul of the financial...
EDITORIALS
Jul 27, 2010
The tragedy in North Korea
With the sinking of the South Korean Navy vessel Cheonan, the missile and nuclear tests and the fire-breathing rhetoric, it is easy to forget that North Korea is also an economic basket case. A nation that once outpaced its southern neighbor in economic development has been teetering on the brink of...
EDITORIALS
Jul 26, 2010
Foundation of science crumbling
In 1995, Japan enacted the science and technology basic law with the idea that, owing to scarce natural resources, Japan should promote science and technology as the foundation for its development. Under the law, the government has so far prepared three basic plans for science and technology — each...
EDITORIALS
Jul 26, 2010
No reason not to intervene
The Child Abuse Prevention Law went into force in November 2000. Under a 2004 revision, people are obliged to report to the authorities concerned whenever they come across children with bruises or a feeble build that suggests physical abuse. A 2007 revision enables a court to issue a permit for children's...
EDITORIALS
Jul 25, 2010
Cooking the planet, not the books
Last year, controversy swirled around British climate researchers after leaked e-mails suggested that they had "cooked the books" on climate research by manipulating evidence, harassing opponents and suppressing dissenting opinions. The uproar triggered several investigations, all of which exonerated...
EDITORIALS
Jul 24, 2010
Why the investigative secrecy?
The Democratic Party of Japan's election manifesto for the 2009 Lower House election called for videotaping entire interrogations of criminal suspects to prevent false charges. It is extremely regrettable that the government has decided to postpone the submission of a related bill to the Diet. Justice...
EDITORIALS
Jul 24, 2010
Farm policy needs more scrutiny
Income compensation for individual farmers is an important policy of the Democratic Party of Japan. By the end of June, 1,319,277 farming units applied to join the system, meeting the farm ministry's goal of enrolling 1.2 million of Japan's 1.8 farming households in the system.
EDITORIALS
Jul 23, 2010
Keeping devolution in focus
The divided Diet caused by the ruling coalition's failure to maintain a majority in the Upper House is worrying the nation's 47 governors that bills to boost the power of local governments will not be enacted. Amid a sense of crisis, the National Governors' Association held a convention July 15-16 in...
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
JICA to designate four Japanese cities as 'hometowns' for African nations
The Japanese flag (left) with the flag of the African Union
Man arrested in Kobe stabbing had been staying at hotel near victim’s home
Masashi Tanimoto arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a woman in Kobe, is sent to prosecutors on Sunday.
Tokyo releases AI-generated video of Mount Fuji erupting
A screenshot from an AI-generated video showing what could happen to Tokyo if Mount Fuji erupted
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Is the LDP’s catch-all approach to politics still effective?
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15. Political commentator Toru Hashimoto has suggested that Takaichi ought to lead a group of like-minded hawkish politicians out of the Liberal Democratic Party and form their own party.
Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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