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May 18, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2008
Health concerns of the elderly
Government leaders appear to be flip-flopping on their views of the unpopular health insurance system for people aged 75 or over. People have difficulty discerning leaders' true intentions. Unless clear explanations follow soon, the views may be taken as a ruse to soothe voters ahead of a Lower House...
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2008
U.S. bailout is a start
The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a revised bill to rescue ailing financial institutions following the Senate's approval Thursday. (The House had defeated the original bill Monday.) U.S. President George W. Bush quickly signed the bill into law. It allows the U.S. government to spend...
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2008
Rekindling trust in pensions
At a time when people's trust in the nation's pension system has practically vanished due to pension records scandals, a panel of the Social Welfare Council, an advisory body to the welfare minister, is discussing problems related to the government's 2004 decision on dealing with pension issues.
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2008
Fire at a video parlor
The fire at a Nanba video parlor in Osaka's Naniwa Ward, which killed 15 customers and injured 10 other people, highlights a potential danger at similar facilities with small private rooms. It is outrageous that a customer is suspected of deliberately starting the fire — on the very day that a revision...
EDITORIALS
Oct 3, 2008
Talking past each other
Questions raised in a Lower House plenary session by Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa seemed as extraordinary as Prime Minister Taro Aso's first policy speech was unusual. In his speech Monday, Mr. Aso had posed several questions to the DPJ. On Wednesday, Mr. Ozawa hardly tried to corner...
EDITORIALS
Oct 3, 2008
Brighter lure for tourists
The Tourism Agency was inaugurated Oct. 1 with the main aim of making Japan more attractive to tourists from abroad and improving tourism assets in local areas. Establishment of the new agency grew out of the government's June 2007 plan to promote tourism as an important pillar of government policy for...
EDITORIALS
Oct 2, 2008
No more time to lose
Uncertainty over the global economy has deepened as the U.S. House of Representatives voted down a $700 billion bailout bill Monday to rescue the ailing financial industry. Since the bill was regarded as means of mitigating the current financial crisis and had been expected to be passed by the House,...
EDITORIALS
Oct 2, 2008
Slide in land prices
Commercial land prices fell an average 0.8 percent in the year ended June 30 — following their first upturn in 16 years the year before — while the 1.2 percent average decline in residential land prices for the same period marked the 17th straight yearly dip and was steeper than the previous year...
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2008
Mr. Aso throws down the gauntlet
Prime Minister Taro Aso's first policy speech to the Diet on Monday was unusual. Aiming to win in the next Lower House election, Mr. Aso turned a considerable part of his speech into a challenge to the Democratic Party of Japan, the No. 1 opposition party. Mr. Aso's target was DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa....
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2008
Unprepared for the post
The verbal gaffes by transport minister Nariaki Nakayama, which led to his resignation after only five days in the post, show that he lacked qualifications both as a politician and Cabinet minister. Prime Minister Taro Aso admitted that he was responsible for Mr. Nakayama's appointment. His responsibility...
EDITORIALS
Sep 30, 2008
Election promises
With the next general elections expected to be held soon, both Prime Minister Taro Aso and the Democratic Party of Japan led by Mr. Ichiro Ozawa are making policy proposals designed to appeal to as many voters as possible. Given the nation's past experiences and its financial conditions, both need to...
EDITORIALS
Sep 30, 2008
Mr. Koizumi leaves the arena
Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's announcement that he will not run for the next Lower House election means the departure of a decisive, bold and charismatic politician from the nation's political scene. It is symbolic that his announcement came just after Mr. Taro Aso took power. Prime Minister...
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.
Struggling Nissan considers closing two plants in Kanagawa
Automaker Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama
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.

Podcast

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

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?
By Tomoko Otake

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Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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