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EDITORIALS

Nov 24, 2009

The state of criminal affairs

According to the National Police Agency's 2009 white paper on crime, the police recognized 1,818,374 crimes, excluding traffic accidents, in 2008. The figure is 4.8 percent less than in 2007, and has fallen six years in a row.

EDITORIALS

Nov 23, 2009

Overhaul the privacy law

The intentions behind the Personal Information Protection Law, which went into effect in April 2005, are good, but it has contributed to a tendency for organizations to withhold benign information that has significantly useful social value. Ms. Mizuho Fukushima, state minister in charge of consumer affairs,...

EDITORIALS

Nov 23, 2009

Increase the tobacco tax

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama recently told the Diet that an increase in the tobacco tax should be considered from the viewpoint of improving people's health. He has instructed the government's Tax System Council to study the matter. A tobacco tax increase is long overdue; we hope Mr. Hatoyama's effort...

EDITORIALS

Nov 22, 2009

Saving millions of children

Almost 9 million children die every year before the age of 5 — or nearly one child every three seconds. Just under 4 million of these children die within their first month, nearly 3 million of them die within the first week and nearly 2 million of them die on their first day of life.

EDITORIALS

Nov 21, 2009

Same old perk of the ruling party

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan Thursday rushed a bill through the Lower House Financial Affairs Committee on Thursday to help small and midsize enterprises overcome cash flow problems. The opposition Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito refused to join the vote. Later the Lower House approved the...

EDITORIALS

Nov 21, 2009

Breaking the Pyongyang pattern

U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak reaffirmed in Seoul on Thursday that they will seek a "definite and comprehensive resolution" to the North Korean nuclear issue. Mr. Obama urged the North to return to the six-party nuclear talks, adding that he will send special representative...

EDITORIALS

Nov 20, 2009

Expanding peacekeeping role

To rectify Japan's impractical limits on joining U.N. peacekeeping operations (PKO), Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada has called for a review of Japan's five-point principle on PKO participation.

EDITORIALS

Nov 20, 2009

Solid foundation for U.S., China

U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao held a summit in Beijing earlier this week and agreed to push cooperation on such issues as the fight against global warming, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and efforts to realize a world without nuclear weapons. The two leaders refrained...

EDITORIALS

Nov 19, 2009

Tempered economic optimism

Japan's economy has expanded for the second straight quarter, but optimism may not be warranted. Although real gross domestic product for July-September grew 1.2 percent from the previous quarter or at an annualized rate of 4.8 percent — the largest rise since the 5.7 percent annualized growth for...

EDITORIALS

Nov 19, 2009

Preventing child abuse

Since 2004, November has been designated the month when central and local governments and nongovernmental organizations campaign for prevention of child abuse. Extending support at the local community level will be important to help parents as well as children.

EDITORIALS

Nov 18, 2009

APEC goes through the motions

The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is roundly dismissed — like so many other top-level multilateral meetings — as a glorified photo-op. But there was more hope than usual that this year's meeting would break the pattern and even produce concrete results. The positive role...

EDITORIALS

Nov 17, 2009

Enhancing the Diet's performance

Aprivate sector group known as Niju-isseiki Rincho (21st Century Ad-Hoc Study Group) has handed Democratic Party of Japan secretary general Ichiro Ozawa a set of proposals to enhance the performance of the Diet. Mr. Ozawa also has his own ideas and prepared a bill.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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