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May 17, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Jan 13, 2012
21st-century U.S. defense strategy
Two basic principles guide the United States National Defense Strategy unveiled Jan. 5. The first is the rising significance of the Asia-Pacific region to U.S. national interests. The second is a new fiscal environment: Washington just does not have the resources to fund a defense wish list as it did...
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2012
A way out of the debt crisis
Loss of confidence in the financial conditions of eurozone countries with mounting debts has destabilized financial markets, and the uncertainty now threatens to put the global economy in jeopardy. Amid the crisis, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France met in Berlin...
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2012
Bureaucratic cling
In December 2010, the government adopted an action plan to transfer regional bureaus of central government ministries to local governments to help the latter carry out "comprehensive" administrative work for local residents. But it is unclear whether the proposal made in late December by the government's...
EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2012
Pension cuts coming
The government plans to reduce public pensions over three years starting in fiscal 2012, saying that it has overpaid by 2.5 percent. The overpayment has resulted from the Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito government's decision.
EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2012
Residents' say over tax rates
In a report to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in mid-December, an advisory panel on local autonomy recommended that local governments be allowed to hold assembly sessions throughout the year so that a wide range of local residents can serve as local assembly members. But the panel opted to postpone the...
EDITORIALS
Jan 10, 2012
Improving medical services
The government decided on Dec. 21 to raise fees for medical services by 0.004 percent and those for nursing care services for elderly people by 1.2 percent in fiscal 2012. Medical fees are revised every second year and nursing care fees every third year. The government hopes that the fee raises will...
EDITORIALS
Jan 10, 2012
Recycling of electronic devices
Japan already has a system to recycle TV sets, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines and wrapping materials. On top of this, the government plans to introduce a system to recycle small electronic apparatuses such as personal computers, mobile phones, IC recorders, minidisk players and games...
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2012
Variable economic winds
As the Japanese economy greets the new year, overcoming the long period of deflation that has suffocated consumer spending and corporate investment should be the main goal of the government and the private sector. Firms can expect tailwinds from a rise in demand due to stepped-up efforts in reconstruction...
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2012
Prepare for decontamination
Decontamination — financed with government money — of areas contaminated with radioactive substances released by Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will start this year. As a preparatory step, the government has designated 102 municipalities in Fukushima and seven...
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2012
Cash in hand
The Bank of Japan announced a record ¥84 trillion was left undeposited at yearend. The total amount of cash kept at home or in offices, rather than deposited in banks, is up 2 percent from last year.
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2012
Thinner and thinner
Japanese girls weigh less than ever, according to an Education Ministry survey of 650,000 Japanese children aged 5 to 17. The average weight of girls in Japan was at its lowest since data started being compiled in 1948, even though average height has increased by five to eight centimeters. These worrisome...
EDITORIALS
Jan 7, 2012
Bumpy road ahead for Mr. Noda
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, at a new year news conference Jan. 4, expressed his determination to push a two-stage raise of the consumption tax as well as to reform the social welfare system, and called for the opposition forces to join consultations with his Democratic Party of Japan over the issue....
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

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What comes after 100?
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