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August 25, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2012
LDP back in the saddle again
The Liberal Democratic Party, which was badly defeated in the Lower House election in August 2009 and had to give up power to the Democratic Party of Japan after ruling the nation almost without interruption since 1955, made a comeback in Sunday's general election. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the...
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2012
They do it, but hate it
Japanese students are less interested in mathematics and science than ever before even while continuing to perform relatively well, according to the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, a survey conducted every four years in 42 nations by the International Association for the Evaluation...
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2012
Choices in South Korea
As the campaign for next Wednesday's South Korean presidential election enters its final stage, the feud between Ms. Park Geun Hye of the ruling New Frontier Party and Mr. Moon Jae In of the opposition Democratic Unity Party is heating up.
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2012
An election that really matters
The results of the Lower House election to be held on Sunday will have a great impact on the future and general posture of Japan as well as Japan's standing in the international community. Voters cannot be too careful in deciding which party to support.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2012
Public servants' political activities
In two cases related to the National Civil Service Law provision that prohibits national public servants from engaging in political activities, the Supreme Court's Second Petit Bench ruled Nov. 7 that national public servants' political activities should be banned only when such activities substantively...
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2012
Detecting active faults near reactors
A five-member team of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority decided Nov. 10 that there is a strong possibility that a "crush zone" of small rocks and sediment running beneath the No. 2 reactor of Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tsuruga nuclear power plant is an active fault. The team's conclusion is based on a two-day...
EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2012
North Korea remains defiant
North Korea on Wednesday morning launched a long-range multistage rocket and claims to have put a satellite into orbit. In a preliminary assessment, the United States also said that an object carried by the rocket went into orbit. Pyongyang's action must be condemned in the strongest terms. It ignored...
EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2012
Changing how Japan is governed
One reason for the Democratic Party of Japan's victory in the 2009 Lower House election was its call for stronger devolution. Apparently taking a cue from the DPJ's gains three years ago, many political parties now call for establishing a doshu system, which would divide Japan into several administrative...
EDITORIALS
Dec 12, 2012
Getting off the deflationary path
Political parties that are competing in the Dec. 16 Lower House election should present convincing proposals to prevent Japan from continuing down the deflationary path. But they must be careful to ensure that their efforts to end deflation will not lead to price rises that are not supported by enlivened...
EDITORIALS
Dec 12, 2012
Footing for social welfare
Anational conference for social welfare reform, an advisory body based on a law enacted in August with the support of the Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, was inaugurated Nov. 30 with 15 scholars and experts serving as its members.
EDITORIALS
Dec 11, 2012
Hawkish approach won't help
One major issue in the campaign for the Dec. 16 Lower House election is the diplomatic dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Some politicians and others on the Japanese side are taking a hawkish stance, but such an approach will only harden attitudes on the Chinese side,...
EDITORIALS
Dec 11, 2012
Accident probes in full swing
The seven-member Consumer Safety Investigation Commission, which was inaugurated in October, has chosen five accidents as initial targets for investigation.
Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is recommending replacing the government’s long-standing Kunrei system with more widely used Hepburn-style spellings.
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
At meeting rich in symbolism, Ishiba and South Korea's Lee agree to steadily build ties
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shake hands at joint press announcement after summit talks in Tokyo on Saturday.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
Japan to boost support for joint ride-hailing services
Tatsuaki Igarashi, mayor of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, exits a ride-sharing vehicle at Tsukuba Station in January.
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Is the LDP’s catch-all approach to politics still effective?
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15. Political commentator Toru Hashimoto has suggested that Takaichi ought to lead a group of like-minded hawkish politicians out of the Liberal Democratic Party and form their own party.
Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.
As farm minister, Koizumi is held ‘hostage’ by Ishiba
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi (center) attends a Lower House session on Aug. 1. Locking Koizumi into the Cabinet is Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s way of turning a potential rival into a team player, according to one expert.

Podcast

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

Longform

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

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