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August 25, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Dec 3, 2012
Crimes by elderly on the rise
The number of elderly people committing crimes has skyrocketed in Japan. A recent white paper on crime finds that those aged 65 or over who became the subject of a criminal investigation hit 48,637 in 2011, accounting for some 16 percent of all those investigated — the highest percentage since 1986...
EDITORIALS
Dec 2, 2012
Bullying and more bullying
Reported incidents of bullying nearly doubled between April and September this year, reaching 144,054 cases, compared with 70,000 cases for the entire previous school year, according to the education ministry.
EDITORIALS
Dec 1, 2012
The elephant in the room
Despite the catastrophe at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the issue of nuclear power has been given lower priority in the runup to the Dec. 16 Lower House election. But the launch of a new party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), by Gov. Yukiko Kada of Shiga Prefecture,...
EDITORIALS
Nov 30, 2012
Mr. Abe's problematic BOJ plan
In his campaign for the Dec. 16 Lower House election, Liberal Democratic Party chief Shinzo Abe has called on the Bank of Japan to set an inflation rate target of 2 to 3 percent, carry out unlimited monetary easing and buy construction bonds directly from the government.
EDITORIALS
Nov 30, 2012
DPJ's weak, confusing platform
In the 2009 Lower House election, the election manifesto of the Democratic Party of Japan played an important role in bringing the party to power. It contained goals expressed in numerical figures and timelines for achieving them.
EDITORIALS
Nov 29, 2012
The Argentine debt mess
Argentina received a Thanksgiving surprise from U.S. Judge Thomas Griesa, who ruled last week that the Buenos Aires government must pay $1.3 billion to holders of defaulted debt. The decision has infuriated the government of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, members of which likened the judge to...
EDITORIALS
Nov 28, 2012
New global energy picture
Anew report hails a crucial shift in the global economy. If current trends continue, the United States will surpass Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer by 2020. This development will not only transform the world's energy picture, but geopolitics as well.
EDITORIALS
Nov 27, 2012
Shoring up domestic business
Semiannual settlement of accounts of listed companies covering the April-September period shows that the slowdown of the world economy, the strong yen and the deterioration of relations between Japan and China due to the dispute over the Senkaku Islands have negatively affected their business performances....
EDITORIALS
Nov 27, 2012
Shed more light on the TPP
Meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Phnom Penh on Nov. 20, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda expressed a desire to accelerate talks to settle certain bilateral trade issues so that Japan can begin negotiations on entering the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade zone.
EDITORIALS
Nov 26, 2012
Rush is on to raise power rates
Moves to raise electricity rates are spreading among the nation's major power companies. In September, Tokyo Electric Power Co. raised fees for electricity used by households. Following this, Kansai Electric Power Co. and Kyushu Electric Power Co. expressed the desire to raise their electricity charges....
EDITORIALS
Nov 25, 2012
Throwaway workers
Recently Japanese workers have been quitting their jobs in larger numbers. At the end of October, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare issued statistics on the percentage of new employees who resigned within three years of being hired. The average for all industries was 28.8 percent.
EDITORIALS
Nov 25, 2012
More platform barriers
Progress on installing protective barriers on Japan's train station platforms have stalled, according to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry. Railway companies have installed platform barriers on only 34, or 14 percent, of the 235 stations (with 100,000 or more passengers per day)...
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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