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May 18, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2008
Scoring the ability to think
The education ministry says that a halt to the recent slide in Japanese children's scholastic ability is indicated by the relatively high scores of Japanese fourth and eighth graders who took international achievement tests in 2007 for math and science. But it should not be proud.
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2008
Cross-strait ties leap ahead
Cross-strait rapprochement leaped forward last week as Taiwan and China launched direct flights and cargo shipping services. These new links reflect the economic reality that binds the two sides of the strait: Annual trade between the island and the mainland is about $100 billion. Political issues have...
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2008
What did the ASDF do there?
A unit of the Air-Self Defense Force has withdrawn from Iraq after completing its five-year-long transportation mission. Fortunately the ASDF unit suffered no casualties despite constant danger. Still, the Diet should examine whether the ASDF's activities in Iraq were proper from the viewpoint of the...
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2008
BOJ matches U.S. rate cut
The Bank of Japan's move and a government report last week point to the rapid deterioration of Japan's economy. The central bank cut the target rate for unsecured overnight call money from 0.3 percent to 0.1 percent. This followed a cut on Oct. 31 — which was the first in roughly 7 1/2 years — from...
EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 2008
Walking the body electric
At long last, scientific researchers in Tokyo are looking into the city's greatest surplus — pedestrians. Panels installed at Tokyo station and in Shibuya have started to generate electricity from human steps, enough energy in its research phase to illuminate Christmas lights and display boards. These...
EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 2008
Does a cell-phone ban educate?
A newly proposed regulation from the Osaka prefectural government would ban students from using cell phones at primary, middle and high schools. The draft proposal of the government's Education Resuscitation Council, established by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, also recommends banning cell phones,...
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 2008
Zimbabwe's nightmare worsens
In the last few years, Zimbabwe has suffered through an economic crisis that has impoverished the entire nation, the destruction of its agriculture sector, and the theft of elections that its citizens had hoped would end the country's mismanagement. Incredibly, however, the situation continues to deteriorate....
EDITORIALS
Dec 19, 2008
An ex-president heads for trial
Taiwan's former president, Mr. Chen Shui-bian, was indicted on corruption charges last week. This is a shocking development in the career of a man who campaigned on a pledge to clean up Taiwan's politics. In the supercharged atmosphere of Taiwan politics, all sides will be tempted to intervene in or...
EDITORIALS
Dec 19, 2008
What more can the Fed do?
The further reduction of the federal funds rate — which banks charge each other for overnight loans — points to the dire straits of the U.S. economy. The U.S. Federal Reserve cut the target from 1 percent to a range between zero and 0.25 percent.
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2008
The dilution of devolution
The government's devolution panel has submitted to Prime Minister Taro Aso a second set of recommendations calling for the consolidation of regional offices of central government ministries and a reduction in the number of national servants working at such offices.
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2008
First three-way summit
While Japan, China and South Korea are neighbors in East Asia, Japan's ties with these nations have not been smooth because of such factors as Japan's wartime behavior in the 1930s and '40s and territorial rows over the Senkaku islets with China, and the Takeshima islets with South Korea. In a welcome...
EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2008
Trade talks run out of steam
Last month, world leaders met to plot a response to the global financial crisis. As part of their package of recommendations, they called for progress in trade talks to jump-start the faltering economy. Apparently, that was just empty rhetoric. Last week, Mr. Pascal Lamy, director general of the World...
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.
Japan to recognize Taiwan as place of origin in family registration system
Masataka Yuhara, secretary-general of the Friends of Lee Teng Hui Association in Japan, which has been calling for "Taiwan" to be permitted as a place of origin in family registers.
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 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.
Closing the gap between what you learn and what you say in Japanese
A few tweaks to the conversations you learn in your Japanese class will help you sound like a native when you step out the door.
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.

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