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May 19, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Jan 13, 2010
Restoring trust in pensions
The Social Insurance Agency (SIA), criticized for its shoddy handling of pension-related records, has been reinvented as the Japan Pension Service, a corporation with semi-governmental status. It is hoped that workers of the new body will do their best to restore people's trust in the nation's pension...
EDITORIALS
Jan 13, 2010
JAL's layover in bankruptcy court
The government has decided to seek reconstruction of struggling Japan Airlines Corp. through filing for court-backed bankruptcy protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law. Divided opinion within the Hatoyama administration saw its position zigzag before reaching this conclusion. Opting for a reconstruction...
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2010
True grit to be tested
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's leadership and political resilience will be severely tested from this point as his administration deals not only with the upcoming regular Diet session but also with general government operations. The resignation of Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii, for health reasons,...
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2010
Lay judges' burden of anxiety
In 2009, 138 cases involving 142 defendants went to trial in 50 district courts under the lay judge system introduced that year. Of the defendants — all of whom were found guilty — one received a life sentence and 12 others were given prison terms of 15 years or longer. Seventy-two defendants —...
EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2010
Devolution strategy
This year will be an important one for pushing devolution. Increasing the power of local governments was one of the Democratic Party of Japan's campaign promises. Its election manifesto calls for abolishing conditional subsidies to local governments, eliminating in principle the regional bureaus of government...
EDITORIALS
Jan 10, 2010
Squeezing the merchants
On Nov. 30, North Korea redenominated its currency, the won, without prior announcements, and reportedly banned the use and circulation of foreign currencies after Jan. 1.
EDITORIALS
Jan 10, 2010
Money, land and a politician
Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa has agreed to comply with a request from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office's special investigation squad to be questioned voluntarily about dubious points surrounding a 2004 Tokyo land deal. The questioning of Mr. Ozawa, a powerful DPJ...
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2010
The problems of Yemen
There are two important lessons to be learned from the bungled attempt on Christmas Day to cause an explosion on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit: (1) the need to remain vigilant against the threat posed by terrorists, and (2) recognition of the importance of Yemen, a state that...
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2010
Support for rural regions
In 1970 the government introduced a law obliging the central and local governments to take necessary measures to tackle problems faced by depopulated areas. It has since been extended three times, or once every 10 years. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told a meeting of the national association of town...
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2010
An expert and ally resigns
Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii on Wednesday became the first member of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Cabinet to resign. Mr. Hatoyama picked Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan as his successor.
EDITORIALS
Jan 7, 2010
China fights the tide of history
The sentencing of a dissident to 11 years in jail on Christmas Day is the latest brick in the wall that the Chinese government is erecting in an effort to insulate that nation from the tide of history. Mr. Liu Xiaobo's crime? Being one of more than 300 people who signed Charter 08, a direct appeal for...
EDITORIALS
Jan 6, 2010
New challenges for Mr. Matsui
World Series MVP Hideki Matsui's move from the New York Yankees to the Los Angeles Angels sheds light on the harsh realities Major League Baseball players face as they pursue their career. Competition is tough and team front offices coolly calculate what kinds of players they need and how much money...
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.
Agnes b. Japan CEO hopes to evolve the brand with focus on sustainability
Laurent Patouillet, the CEO and president of Agnes b. Japan, says the focus of its business is to remain independent, and evolve and adapt.
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.

Podcast

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

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb
By Alex K.T. Martin

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Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

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