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August 23, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2012
Court warning to prosecution
In the trial of former Democratic Party of Japan leader Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, who is accused of violating the Political Funds Control Law, the Tokyo District Court on Feb. 17 rejected as evidence the prosecution's record of certain oral statements made by his former secretary concerning Mr. Ozawa's alleged...
EDITORIALS
Feb 20, 2012
Mr. Xi goes to Washington
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping has completed his second visit to the United States. Mr. Xi's trip reciprocated last year's visit to China by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. That trip launched a "get acquainted" effort with Mr. Xi, the man set to become China's president next year.
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...
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.
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.
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.
Demystifying the manufacturing success of China
China’s massive scale, strong education system and competitive local governance have enabled it to reach the technological frontier and dominate high-tech manufacturing despite its low per capita gross domestic product.
Infectious diseases to watch for in Japan this summer amid surge of cases
An illustration of a colony of the Bordetella pertussis bacterium that causes pertussis, or whooping cough. As of Aug. 10, there were 64,467 cases reported this year, according to the latest data from the Japan Institute for Health Security.
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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