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August 25, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Aug 7, 2010
Faded bonds with the oldest
There are more than 40,000 people aged 100 or over in Japan and this number is expected to increase. In 2009, Japanese women had the world's longest life expectancy of 86.44 years and men the world's fifth longest life expectancy of 79.59 years. Japan is certainly a country of long life expectancy. But...
EDITORIALS
Aug 6, 2010
Accelerate nuclear disarmament
This year Hiroshima and Nagasaki hold their peace memorial services to mark the 65th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of them as the world feels the "global momentum toward a nuclear weapons-free world," as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon observes. It is important that every nation and citizens...
EDITORIALS
Aug 5, 2010
Roiling the South China Sea
The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Asia's only regional security mechanism, is often derided as a mere "talk shop," where diplomats gather to discuss security concerns but never actually do anything about them. At this year's annual foreign ministers' meeting, which convened late last month in Hanoi, words...
EDITORIALS
Aug 4, 2010
BOJ's plan to boost business
The Bank of Japan has announced a new lending plan to back up the government's economic growth strategy. It will lend a total of ¥3 trillion at an annual interesting rate of 0.1 percent — the same rate as the central bank's key interest rate — to banks, which will then lend the money to enterprises...
EDITORIALS
Aug 4, 2010
Mr. Kan addresses budget panel
As deliberations in an extraordinary session of the Diet started, Prime Minister Naoto Kan for the first time spoke as prime minister in the Lower House Budget Committee, the most important and powerful committee in the Diet. He said Cabinet members, members of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and...
EDITORIALS
Aug 3, 2010
Facing criticism from within
The divided Diet is the biggest hurdle for Prime Minister Naoto Kan and the Democratic Party of Japan. Mr. Kan and the DPJ leadership also face criticism from DPJ Diet members for the party's defeat in the July 11 Upper House election. The leaders face a tough job solidifying the party.
EDITORIALS
Aug 3, 2010
Executive remuneration
From this year the Financial Services Agency has made it mandatory for listed companies to disclose in their financial statements the names of executives who receive annual remuneration of ¥100 million or more and the actual amount of remuneration each executive receives. According to Kyodo News, some...
EDITORIALS
Aug 2, 2010
Can Kosovo redraw the map?
Tiny Kosovo, a province of the former state of Yugoslavia, has been the spark that has ignited Balkan fires. In the battle of Kosovo, fought in 1389, Ottoman forces defeated a coalition of Serbs, Albanians and Bosnians to claim the territory. That scar burned in the Serbian heart.
EDITORIALS
Aug 1, 2010
Globalization of crime
Japanese criminals, too, are becoming more internationally minded. According to a white paper released by the National Police Agency on July 23, domestic criminal organizations are forming partnerships with overseas crime syndicates to smuggle drugs and launder money, and foreign groups are increasingly...
EDITORIALS
Aug 1, 2010
The changing book world
In a time of major uncertainty for the Japanese book world, the latest winners of two major book awards have been announced. The Akutagawa Prize for promising newcomers went to Ms. Akiko Akazome, and the Naoki Prize for more established writers of popular fiction to Ms. Kyoko Nakajima.
EDITORIALS
Jul 31, 2010
Miyazaki crisis almost over
The Miyazaki Prefectural Government on July 22 lifted its last ban on the shipment of livestock. This is a sign that the foot-and-mouth disease crisis in the prefecture, which lasted more than three months, is nearing an end. But it must be kept in mind that the eradication of the virus that causes foot-and-mouth...
EDITORIALS
Jul 31, 2010
A call for death penalty debate
Until July 28, no executions had been carried out for a year in Japan, with death row convicts numbering a record 109. On that day, two inmates were hanged in the Tokyo Detention House.
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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