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August 29, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Jul 6, 2005

A bittersweet victory for Mr. Koizumi

With the Lower House's passage of the postal privatization bills Tuesday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi overcame an important hurdle in pushing the "centerpiece" of his reform agenda. The victory was bittersweet for Mr. Koizumi, however, as many members of his Liberal Democratic Party -- including...

EDITORIALS

Jul 5, 2005

Japan wins by withdrawing ITER bid

France has won the competition to host the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the world's first nuclear-fusion reactor. Japan fought hard to win the project, but in the end the projected cost and the promise of playing a significant role in subsequent research gave Tokyo ample reason...

EDITORIALS

Jul 4, 2005

The increasing threat of AIDS

The Seventh International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP), which opened in Kobe on Friday, comes at a time when the HIV/AIDS epidemic is spreading rapidly from Africa to Asia. The message is loud and clear: Without stepped-up efforts to combat the crisis, it could reach serious proportions...

EDITORIALS

Jul 3, 2005

A victory for Pakistan's women

I n a victory for human rights, Pakistan's Supreme Court has suspended the acquittals of men accused of gang-raping a villager. The victim has become an international cause celebre for her refusal to accept humiliation by her attackers and Pakistan's legal system. Those who dare claim that such behavior...

EDITORIALS

Jul 2, 2005

Protection in a modern economy

The recent theft of data from some 40 million credit-card accounts in the United States is another reminder of the insecurities of the digital world. Electronic commerce continues to rise in volume but consumers, retailers, financial institutions and other parts of the business chain have not yet adjusted...

EDITORIALS

Jul 1, 2005

Rescuing an ancient heritage

When colorful paintings were found on the ceiling and walls of the stone chamber of the Takamatsuzuka ancient mound in Asuka, Nara Prefecture, in March 1972, it caused a national sensation. The paintings, believed to date back about 1,300 years, stimulated intense public interest, creating an "archaeology...

EDITORIALS

Jun 30, 2005

Scheduling a withdrawal from Iraq

Iraq on Tuesday marked the first anniversary since the military coalition led by U.S. forces transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi provisional government. During this period, a free election was held in January and a transitional government headed by Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari made its debut in...

EDITORIALS

Jun 29, 2005

Imperial prayers for war victims

Japanese got another chance to ponder war and peace following the June 23 commemoration of those killed in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945 -- this was the recollection of the battle for Saipan, now part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 61 years ago.

EDITORIALS

Jun 28, 2005

New president faces old problems

The victory of Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran's presidential election last week is only somewhat of a surprise. While relatively unknown, Mr. Ahmadinejad is a religious conservative who enjoyed the backing of powerful like-minded groups within the country and, equally important, the support of many...

EDITORIALS

Jun 27, 2005

More of the same with the Koreas

Three days of high-level talks between North and South Korea yielded little that could be called progress toward resolving the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula. That is not surprising. The North has maintained all along that the nuclear issue is a question to be settled between itself and the United...

EDITORIALS

Jun 26, 2005

Filipinos lose a moral force

The death of Cardinal Jaime Sin is a grievous loss to the Philippines. Cardinal Sin was a spiritual and moral force in a country that often seemed to lack that authority. He provided comfort and wisdom to the Philippine people, and legitimacy to the popular movements that toppled two governments. He...

EDITORIALS

Jun 26, 2005

A taxing matter

The nation's income tax revenue, which stood at about 27 trillion yen in 1991, is expected to dwindle to slightly more than 14 trillion, yen according to a fiscal 2005 budget estimate. The drop is due to a series of tax-reduction schemes put into place over the past decade to revive the sagging economy....

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.

From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

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