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May 18, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2008
Serious slump indicated
The results of a Bank of Japan survey released Monday show that business confidence among companies is rapidly worsening as Japanese companies feel the impact of the global economic slowdown. It seems that the Japanese economy is heading into a serious slump, which may last for a long time.
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2008
Afghanistan in trouble
The Taliban, which was ousted from power by U.S.-led coalition forces seven years ago, is stepping up its efforts to regain power in Afghanistan. Coupled with an increase in militant attacks in Pakistan and the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan symbolizes...
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2008
No time to waste in the Diet
The Diet last week enacted a law to continue the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and another law to inject capital into regional financial institutions with second votes in the Lower House where the ruling bloc holds a two-third majority.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2008
A WMD wakeup call
The world is imperiled by a new era of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). That is the conclusion of the Report of the U.S. Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, released this month. Its assessment of the dangers of a world awash in such...
EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2008
Ending the use of cluster bombs
About 100 countries, including Japan, signed a treaty Dec. 3 in Oslo to ban cluster bombs. It goes into effect about six months after 30 countries have ratified it. Japan should start the ratification procedure as soon as possible.
EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2008
Failure of latest round
The latest round of the six-party talks on the denuclearization of North Korea ended Thursday, after the parties failed to agree on a protocol spelling out ways to verify an inventory of North Korea's nuclear programs. The North's refusal to put verification commitments into writing caused the failure....
EDITORIALS
Dec 12, 2008
Responsibility for food safety
A panel of the Cabinet Office on Nov. 25 made public a report on a scandal involving the reselling of contaminated rice for human consumption, which had surfaced in September 2008. The report said officials of the farm ministry lacked a sense of responsibility for their role in ensuring the safety of...
EDITORIALS
Dec 12, 2008
Sony cutting back
Sony Corp. has announced a major restructuring plan. It will be cutting about 16,000 jobs worldwide — 8,000 regular jobs and another 8,000 irregular jobs — by the end of fiscal 2009 (March 31, 2010). The 8,000 regular jobs account for about 5 percent of Sony's 160,000-strong worldwide workforce in...
EDITORIALS
Dec 11, 2008
Retaining nursing-care workers
The government and the ruling bloc have decided to raise the payment for nursing-care services by 3 percent from April 2009. Since the inauguration of the nursing-care insurance system in fiscal 2000, the payment has been reviewed twice — once every three years — and reduced every time. The increase...
EDITORIALS
Dec 11, 2008
Education loan accountability
The Japan Students Services Organization (JASSO), a student loan provider under the wing of the education ministry, is suffering from a high delinquency rate on loan payments. Starting in fiscal 2010, it will tell all new borrowers that it will report long-term delinquent borrowers to an organization...
EDITORIALS
Dec 10, 2008
Precipitous drop in popularity
A Cabinet is said to have entered "dangerous waters" if its public approval rating sinks below 30 percent. Only 2 1/2 months after Mr. Taro Aso came into power, the approval rating for his Cabinet has fallen to 25.5 percent, a drop of 15.4 percentage points from November, according to a Kyodo News poll....
EDITORIALS
Dec 10, 2008
Health net for children
A September survey by the health and welfare ministry has found that about 32,900 children throughout the country were not covered by health insurance because their parents had failed to pay premiums to the National Health Insurance system (Kokumin Kenko Hoken). Irregularly employed workers, unemployed...
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.
Struggling Nissan considers closing two plants in Kanagawa
Automaker Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama
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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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

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