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May 18, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2008
A year of changes and dangers
If 2008 cannot be called an "annus horribilis," it is only because 2009 might hold even more shocks and surprises. Even outside the worsening economy, everything in Japan seemed a bit subprime in 2008. A midyear survey found that more than 70 percent of Japanese — the highest percentage ever — were...
EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2008
American capitalism, battered
It was a bruising year for U.S. capitalism. Not only did the world's largest economy plunge into recession, but financial mismanagement and misjudgment triggered a global financial crisis. The question now is whether President-elect Barack Obama has learned lessons of history and can rally domestic and...
EDITORIALS
Dec 29, 2008
An oddly familiar year
Historians like to say that "history doesn't repeat itself, it rhymes." That would explain the feeling of familiarity that many experienced throughout 2008. While there was one truly unprecedented event — the election of Mr. Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States — there was also...
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2008
China's miracle at middle age
It has been 30 years since China embarked on the greatest economic experiment in human history. In that time, the country has emerged from poverty and chaos to become one of the leading economic powers. It is tempting to call China's astounding growth an economic miracle, but the trajectory of the last...
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2008
'Unusual' budget response
The government has approved a record ¥88.548 trillion budget for fiscal 2009. Marking an increase of 6.6 percent from the initial fiscal 2008 budget, it represents an attempt to keep the Japanese economy from suffering the worst effects of the global financial crisis.
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2008
Stick to nonnuclear policy
Newly declassified Japanese diplomatic documents show that the late Prime Minister Eisaku Sato expressed his expectation to then U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara that the United States would immediately retaliate against China with nuclear weapons if war occurred between China and Japan.
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2008
Replacing nuclear reactors
Chubu Electric Power Co. has announced a plan to decommission two aging reactors at its Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station in Shizuoka Prefecture and build a new reactor as a replacement. The decision to decommission the No. 1 and No. 2 boiling water reactors with a combined output of 1.38 million kW is reasonable....
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2008
Reform in the name of revenue
The government has endorsed a medium-term tax reform program designed to secure revenue sources to cover the ballooning costs of social security, which includes pensions plus medical and nursing care services. It mentions raising the consumption tax from fiscal 2011, but equivocates, because the program...
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2008
Populist eyes default
It was only a matter of time, really. President Rafael Correa declared a default on Ecuador's foreign sovereign bonds earlier this month, vowing to fight "monster" debt-holders who had "illegal," "immoral" and "illegitimate" claims against his country. The question now is whether this is a precursor...
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2008
Preventing child pornography
In late November about 3,500 people from some 170 governments and from international and nongovernmental organizations attended the third World Congress Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Rio de Janeiro. The conference declared that accessing, downloading, storing or viewing child...
EDITORIALS
Dec 24, 2008
Worsening economic prospects
The government's economic report for December states that Japanese economic conditions are "worsening," a downgrade from the previous month's assessment that "the economy has weakened further." The term "worsening" was used for the first since February 2002, after the information-technology bubble had...
EDITORIALS
Dec 24, 2008
Climate-change meeting stalls
There is near-unanimous agreement — the few stubborn holdouts will likely never be convinced — that climate change is real and the world must respond aggressively to it. The existing framework for action, the Kyoto Protocol, expires in 2012 and its effectiveness has been limited by the failure of...
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.
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.
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.
Nissan to solicit early retirements while eyeing plant closures in Japan
Nissan's Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, may be closed as part of the struggling carmaker's streamlining efforts.
Closing the gap between what you learn and what you say in Japanese
A few tweaks to the conversations you learn in your Japanese class will help you sound like a native when you step out the door.
In Nintendo’s backyard, foreign indie game devs are thriving
Kyoto's gaming landscape is dominated by Nintendo's headquarters, but a contingent of foreign-born indie developers is also working in the gaming giant's shadow.
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.
Nissan hoping to electrify home crowd as Formula E returns to Tokyo
Nissan's Oliver Rowland drives during qualifying for Miami E-Prix at Homestead Motor Speedway in Homestead, Florida, on April 12.
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.

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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Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after
Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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