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May 17, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Feb 19, 2012
Costly price of expensive education
A recent report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has found a few positives in Japan's educational situation. Japan has generally improved its educational conditions relative to other OECD countries, but the costs of education remain extremely high with little financial...
EDITORIALS
Feb 19, 2012
Sad state of global employment
The employment situation is worsening around the world, according to a report by the United Nations International Labor Organization (ILO). The report highlighted the disastrous effects of the global downturn on workers. Unemployment remains high around the world.
EDITORIALS
Feb 18, 2012
Landmark ruling on lay judge case
In a 5-0 decision, the Supreme Court's No. 1 Petit Bench on Feb. 13 overturned a high court decision that had reversed a lower court's acquittal of Mr. Kikuo Anzai on drug-smuggling charges. This case marked the first time that the top court finalized an acquittal handed down in a lay judge trial since...
EDITORIALS
Feb 18, 2012
BOJ takes aim at deflation
The Bank of Japan on Feb. 14 announced that it would adopt a "price stability goal" of 1 percent for the time being — a virtual introduction of an explicit inflation target of 1 percent. The central bank also decided to increase its financial asset purchase program by ¥10 trillion, raising its total...
EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 2012
Economy at a standstill
in the October-December period of 2011 decreased 0.6 percent from the previous quarter, or an annualized 2.3 percent — the first dip in two quarters. This shows that the Japanese economy, which had been on a path of slow recovery after having been hit by the March 11 disasters and the Fukushima nuclear...
EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 2012
Public servant wage cuts
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the opposition Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito are engaged in a tug of war over wage reductions for national public servants. The Diet has the responsibility to decide on wage levels and working conditions for national public servants.
EDITORIALS
Feb 16, 2012
A new phase in reconstruction
The Reconstruction Agency was established Feb. 10, 11 months after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated the Pacific coastal areas of the Tohoku region. Political confusion has delayed the establishment of the agency that will serve as a command center for reconstruction from the disasters and...
EDITORIALS
Feb 15, 2012
Punish Okinawa poll meddler
A conservative candidate on Sunday won the mayoral election in Okinawa Island's Ginowan City, the site of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. The election was held after the head of the Okinawa Defense Bureau made a controversial pre-election move in connection with the relocation of Futenma's functions...
EDITORIALS
Feb 15, 2012
Develop a manufacturing strategy
Toyota Motor Corp. has revised its group operating profit 35 percent upward from the previous forecast for the business year through March 31. Despite the damage to its supply chains from the March 11, disasters in Tohoku and the floods in Thailand from July to November, Toyota has managed to secure...
EDITORIALS
Feb 14, 2012
Disturbing trend in gang violence
Underworld organizations are stepping up their attacks on enterprises in the wake of efforts by prefectural governments to enforce bylaws that prevent businesses from distributing profits to gangsters and keep gangsters from participating in public works projects. These bylaws are also making it more...
EDITORIALS
Feb 14, 2012
Higher wages for nursing care
The government will increase payments awarded to nursing care services for the elderly by an average 1.2 percent beginning in fiscal 2012 (from April). These payments will go directly to entities providing the services — not to the individual care workers themselves. Still, the main purpose of the...
EDITORIALS
Feb 12, 2012
Japan: failure or success?
A recent spate of articles in The New York Times comparing Japan's overall condition with America's was so welcome in Japan that the gist of the initial article was read out by a questioning lawmaker in the Diet.
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.
Rich Japanese still fear yen crash, wealth manager says
The yen slumped more than 2% on Monday alone, nearing ¥150 to the dollar, after the U.S. and China temporarily lowered tariffs, triggering a reversal of bearish dollar bets.
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.
Irresponsible climbing prompts debate over who should pay for Mount Fuji rescues
Mount Fuji fills the skyline above a bridge connecting stores at a popular outlet shopping center in the city of Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in November 2024.
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.
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.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.

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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