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August 24, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Apr 27, 2012
Mr. Ozawa's bittersweet court victory
The Tokyo District Court on Thursday acquitted former Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa of charges he violated the Political Funds Control Law. But the ruling shows that it is a bittersweet victory for Ozawa. He needs to pay careful attention to his behavior as a politician, and make every...
EDITORIALS
Apr 26, 2012
Stalemate in the Upper House
The Upper House on Friday passed censure motions against Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka and infrastructure and transport Minister Takeshi Maeda. The nonbinding motions were submitted by the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and two smaller parties.
EDITORIALS
Apr 26, 2012
Changing Tepco from the inside
The government on April 19 picked Mr. Kazuhiko Shimokobe, a bankruptcy lawyer with vast experience in corporate restructuring, as chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co. He headed the decision-making body of the Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund, a public entity that injects funds into Tepco to...
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2012
Shielding kids from parental abuse
A revised civil law came into force on April 1 with a provision for suspending parental prerogatives for up to two years to protect children from parental violence or neglect. The revised civil law also makes clear that parental protection and education of children must be done for the sake of the children's...
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2012
Progress on Hague Convention
The Noda administration on March 9 submitted a bill related to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Abduction to the Diet. Once Japan joins the convention, Japanese married or formerly married to foreigners and living abroad must keep in mind that the often-employed method of removing...
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2012
Driving eligibility for epileptics
A minivan driven by an epileptic man crashed into pedestrians on a street in Kyoto's popular Gion tourist district April 12, killing two men and five women, and injuring 11 others. The 30-year-old driver also died. He apparently suffered an epileptic attack while he was driving.
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2012
A sad Summit of the Americas
It is a sad commentary on the Sixth Summit of the Americas, the triennial gathering of 34 heads of state from North, South and Central America, when the outcomes of the summit are overshadowed by the misbehavior of U.S. President Barack Obama's advance team and security detail.
EDITORIALS
Apr 23, 2012
Tepco should accept woodchips
After a disaster, most Japanese companies apologize, make reparations and make changes to ensure the same problem does not recur. Tokyo Electric Power Co. appears to be the exception. Most recently, Tepco has declined a request from the timber industry in Fukushima Prefecture to accept 25,000 tons of...
EDITORIALS
Apr 23, 2012
Neglect of nuclear regulation
The Nuclear Regulatory Agency was originally scheduled to be set up on April 1. Although the Noda Cabinet endorsed a bill to establish the agency on Jan. 31 and send it to the Diet that day, the Diet has yet to start deliberating on it. The legislature should be strongly censured for its neglect.
EDITORIALS
Apr 22, 2012
Cutting CO₂ without reactors
An Environment Ministry draft report states that Japan can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent without relying on nuclear power. This news is most welcome after the dangers of nuclear power were starkly exposed by the Fukushima nuclear fiasco.
EDITORIALS
Apr 22, 2012
India extends its nuclear reach
While international attention has been focused on North Korea's failed "satellite launch," India last week successfully test-fired a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead 5,000 km. This development has the potential to shift the regional strategic balance and introduce new uncertainties into...
EDITORIALS
Apr 21, 2012
Mr. Ishihara's ill-considered plan
Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced in Washington last Monday that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is in the final stage of negotiations to buy most of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea from the landowner Mr. Kunioki Kurihara, a resident of Saitama. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda reacted...
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.
Women-only communities flourish in China
Chen Yani (right), nicknamed "Keke," eats lunch with friends and guests in a female co-living space she founded called "Keke's Imaginative Space" in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province, on July 14.
JR East cancels luxury train run over crew's boozing
East Japan Railway said Thursday that it will cancel one trip of a luxury overnight sleeper service, which was originally scheduled to depart from Ueno Station in Tokyo on Aug. 30, after crew members were found to have been drinking alcohol on duty.
Man arrested over deadly stabbing of woman in Kobe
Masashi Tanimoto, 35, the suspect in the deadly stabbing a 24-year-old woman, is taken into custody in Kobe on Friday night.
Japanese city proposes two-hour daily limit for smartphone use
The Toyoake Municipal Government in Aichi Prefecture is planning to enact an ordinance to urge all smartphone users in the city to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school.
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.
Big burgers and bigger ambitions for Japan's Burger King
Kazuhiro Nomura, president of BK Japan Holdings, which operates Burger King in Japan

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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