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August 25, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Mar 28, 2009
Overhaul archaic election law
Even if Prime Minister Taro Aso decides not to dissolve the chamber for a snap election, the current term of Lower House members ends in September. So, an election will be held this year. With the Japanese economy in crisis and the nation facing political stagnation, the upcoming election will be very...
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2009
The lessons from Iraq
It has been six years since the United States led a coalition of forces into Iraq. The euphoria that followed the easy defeat of the Iraq Army gave way to dismay and disgust as "Phase 4" of the operation — the postconflict stage — fell apart and Iraq disintegrated. A misreading of the situation along...
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2009
Mr. Ozawa stands his ground
Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa decided to remain in his post after his chief secretary was indicted Tuesday on a charge of violating the Political Funds Control Law. The party endorsed his decision.
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2009
A little lift from baseball
Team Japan, dubbed Samurai Japan, beat Team Korea (South Korea) 5-3 in the final game Monday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles to win its second consecutive title in the triennial World Baseball Classic.
EDITORIALS
Mar 25, 2009
Dialogue about defense
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada met with his Chinese counterpart Mr. Liang Guanglie in Beijing on March 20 and talked about bilateral issues and the security situation in Northeast Asia. They agreed on some points and disagreed on others. Despite differences on some issues, it is important...
EDITORIALS
Mar 25, 2009
Protecting music copyrights
For many young people, ordinary cell-phone ring tones and alarms are monotonous and boring. So they replace those tones with chaku-uta (literally "arriving music"), or musical ring tones downloaded from the Internet. But there is a problem: A large number of these ring tones are downloaded for free from...
EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 2009
Pay-hike demands shot down
Bad business conditions because of the global recession triggered by the financial crisis that originated in the United States took a toll on Japanese labor in this year's spring wage negotiations. Major carmakers and electronics companies told labor that they will not increase base pay and that bonuses...
EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 2009
For the sake of consumers
The Diet has started deliberating bills to create a government organization to promote consumers' rights. It was Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, as prime minister, who first proposed establishing a Consumer Agency. Related bills submitted to the Diet have languished for 5 1/2 months. Clearly they were pushed aside...
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2009
Stay out of the classroom
The Tokyo District Court earlier this month ruled that three metropolitan assembly members in 2003 unduly interfered with sex education at a school for students with special needs. It also ruled that the punishment the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education meted out to teachers at the school for conducting...
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2009
Getting the record straight
The resignation March 16 of Mr. Shintaro Kubo as president of Nippon Television Network Corp., who took responsibility for an erroneous news report, underlines the importance of mass media people following the basics of journalism — obtaining evidence to support remarks made by news sources. The report...
EDITORIALS
Mar 22, 2009
Economic crisis deepens
The economic news continues to worsen. A new World Bank report forecasts a crisis that will spare no country and threatens to roll back decades of progress in the war against poverty. In one of the more sickening ironies of the moment, developing nations may be hurt the worst, even though they are bystanders...
EDITORIALS
Mar 21, 2009
Boost reactors' quake resistance
The Kanazawa District Court in March 2006 ordered Hokuriku Electric Power Co. to shut down the No. 2 reactor at its Shika nuclear power station in Ishikawa Prefecture — the nation's second largest power reactor. The unprecedented ruling said the reactor lacked sufficient earthquake resistance and could...
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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