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EDITORIALS
Jul 15, 2010
Mr. Kan and the Diet
Prime Minister Naoto Kan, whose Democratic Party of Japan suffered a severe setback in the Upper House election, will have an extremely difficult time managing the Diet. The ruling forces' strength in the chamber is 12 seats short of the majority. Theoretically, no bills will be enacted if the Upper...
EDITORIALS
Jul 14, 2010
A failure to deliver
The new parcel delivery service launched by Japan Post Service Co. of the Japan Post group suffered a setback in its first week of operation. The delivery of more than 340,000 parcels was delayed during the period from July 1, the first day of the new service, to July 7. The company must learn from the...
EDITORIALS
Jul 14, 2010
Aim to expand the middle class
Although the government announced in June a growth strategy that emphasizes the creation of new industries in such fields as environment, nonfossil-fuel energy and health-related services, the big problem for Japan is that its middle class is waning.
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 2010
A setback for Mr. Kan
In Sunday's Upper House election — the first national poll that the ruling Democratic Party of Japan has contested under the leadership of Prime Minister Naoto Kan — voters demonstrated their lack of faith in the DPJ by taking away the ruling coalition's majority in the chamber of the Diet.
EDITORIALS
Jul 12, 2010
Russian games up north
The Russian military carried out a drill July 3-4 on Etorofu Island, off Hokkaido, ignoring a July 2 demand by Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada that it refrain from doing so there. Japan calls Etorofu and three other islands (including one islet group), northeast of Hokkaido, the Northern Territories,...
EDITORIALS
Jul 11, 2010
Motive for clean energy
Up to 9.5 million liters of oil continue to spew daily into the Gulf of Mexico since BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. U.S. President Barack Obama has called the oil spill "the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced."
EDITORIALS
Jul 11, 2010
Tough call on sumo for NHK
The Japan Sumo Association, which has been rocked by the gambling scandal, was dealt more blows last week. On Tuesday, NHK decided not to provide live television coverage of the 15-day Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament. On Wednesday, police raided Onomatsu and other sumo stables for evidence of suspected...
EDITORIALS
Jul 10, 2010
The kindling in Kyrgyzstan
There is blame enough to go around for the hellish situation that has descended on Kyrgyzstan. Forces loyal to former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev are said to have provoked the violence that has affected 8 percent of the country's population. The government's response has been ham-fisted and there are...
EDITORIALS
Jul 9, 2010
Startup to toll-free driving
The government on June 28 started making part of the nation's expressway system toll free. The trial — which is being carried out along 50 sections of 37 routes mainly in the countryside, and covers 1,652 km or about 20 percent of the expressway system — could eventually lead to an entirely toll-free...
EDITORIALS
Jul 9, 2010
'The Cove' screenings on course
Six movie theaters — in Hachinohe (Aomori Prefecture), Sendai, Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka and Kyoto — on July 3 started showing "The Cove," a documentary film about dolphin hunting in the whaling town of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture. There have been no reports of big disturbances.
EDITORIALS
Jul 8, 2010
Scrutinizing party goals
The Upper House election is Sunday. The election represents a chance for voters to give their verdict on the performance of the Democratic Party of Japan-led administration, which began in mid-September 2009 after a historic Lower House election ended decades of Liberal Democratic Party rule.
EDITORIALS
Jul 8, 2010
Flexibility needed on whaling issue
The International Whaling Commission decided June 23 in Agadir, Morocco, to postpone a final decision on a 10-year compromise proposal and to have a one-year cooling-off period before reviving talks. While it is unfortunate that the 88-member body failed to reach a compromise, a cooling-off period is...
Nissan to solicit early retirements while eyeing plant closures in Japan
Nissan's Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, may be closed as part of the struggling carmaker's streamlining efforts.
Australian firm produces heavy rare earth, in first outside China
The Lynas Rare Earths processing plant in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Police arrest Chinese man in Saitama hit-and-run case
Police questioned a man who turned himself in as he closely resembled the driver recorded on the dashcam of another vehicle that happened to pass by the scene of a hit-and-run incident in Saitama Prefecture.
Wholesalers may be behind elevated retail rice prices
Wholesalers added ¥7,593 on average to their selling prices for stockpiled rice, far more than the ¥2,206 to ¥4,689 added for the 2022 rice.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
In Nintendo’s backyard, foreign indie game devs are thriving
Kyoto's gaming landscape is dominated by Nintendo's headquarters, but a contingent of foreign-born indie developers is also working in the gaming giant's shadow.
Akazawa's dilemma: no tariff deal or a half-baked deal
Chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa and his delegation in the Oval Office of the White House in April. Since then, Japan's trade negotiations with the U.S. have produced no tangible results.
Nissan hoping to electrify home crowd as Formula E returns to Tokyo
Nissan's Oliver Rowland drives during qualifying for Miami E-Prix at Homestead Motor Speedway in Homestead, Florida, on April 12.
For his first feature film, director Ryuya Suzuki created a masterpiece
"Jinsei," which follows its protagonist over a century, probes themes of identity and societal issues with a dark comic touch. The director, however, says he created the story without knowing where it would lead.
Historian Rob Fitts discovers earliest ever reference to baseball in Japan
Japan's Shohei Ohtani carries the Japanese flag onto the field before the start of the World Baseball Classic final against the United States in Miami on March 21, 2023.

Podcast

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