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May 17, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Mar 10, 2008
Accelerate antismoking measures
The World Health Organization in early February released a report stating that the global tobacco epidemic is one of the greatest public health threats of modern times. It said that in the 20th century the tobacco epidemic killed 100 million people worldwide.
EDITORIALS
Mar 9, 2008
A contest for new leadership
The Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama competition has gripped the attention of the world. And for good reason. The result is likely to affect the future course of global politics. A clear victor is not yet decided, but whoever ultimately wins, the shift in consciousness both candidates embody is important...
EDITORIALS
Mar 8, 2008
Wanted: more volunteer firefighters
Community-based fire brigades called "shobodan," composed of ordinary citizens, play an important role in firefighting and fire prevention. But the number of shobodan members has been declining. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency in January started a three-month campaign to encourage citizens to...
EDITORIALS
Mar 8, 2008
Making FTC policy more transparent
Under current Fair Trade Commission rules, companies that have grievances over FTC decisions must go before the FTC for redress. This system is likely to be abolished in the near future because of strong voices within business circles and the Liberal Democratic Party that are calling for abolition of...
EDITORIALS
Mar 7, 2008
Anti-money laundering law
The law to prevent diversion of criminal proceeds went into full force March 1. Its primary purpose is to prevent money laundering. Last year the law covered mainly financial institutions. It now applies to real estate agents, precious metal dealers and jewelers as well as judicial scriveners, administrative...
EDITORIALS
Mar 7, 2008
Violence on the high seas
Antiwhaling activists of the Sea Shepherd group hurled more than two dozen bottles containing a liquid and more than 100 envelopes containing a white powder onto the whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru off Antarctica on Monday. A crew member of the ship and two Japan Coast Guard officers suffered eye injuries...
EDITORIALS
Mar 6, 2008
Bureaucrats resisting devolution
Ministry bureaucrats are resisting the government's effort to push devolution — the move to localize more government decision making and taxing authority. The government's devolution panel sent questionnaires to government ministries last fall to solicit their opinions on abolishing or integrating...
EDITORIALS
Mar 6, 2008
Cloud over key appointment
The steering committees of both Diet chambers have laid down a new rule for Diet approval of the appointment of officials for four important organizations — the governor and two deputy governors of the Bank of Japan, the three top-ranking officials of the Board of Audit and the National Personnel Authority,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 5, 2008
More of the same in Russia?
The overwhelming victory of Mr. Dmitri Medvedev in Russia's presidential election shows that the Russian people want the continuation of the basic policy line of President Vladimir Putin, who brought Russia stability and economic growth. Mr. Medvedev, a first deputy prime minister, was handpicked by...
EDITORIALS
Mar 5, 2008
Compromise on tax-code bill
The ruling parties rammed through the Lower House last week the fiscal 2008 budget bill and the tax-code bill, which includes maintaining the provisionally raised gasoline and other road-related tax rates for 10 years. Although the opposition forces controlling the Upper House can kill the tax-code bill,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 4, 2008
Preventing forced confessions
False charges leveled in a 2002 rape and attempted rape in Toyama Prefecture and the acquittal of all defendants of vote-buying allegations in the 2003 Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly election were widely reported in 2007 and caused controversy.
EDITORIALS
Mar 3, 2008
Boosting self-sufficiency in food
Recent incidents caused by tainted gyoza dumplings imported from China have reminded the public not only of the importance of food safety, but also of just how dependent the country is on food imports. While it is important to avoid hysteria about imports from China, it is time to rethink our reliance...
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

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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