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May 16, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Nov 26, 2007
GDP raises warning flags
The nation's gross domestic product in the July-September period grew an annualized 2.6 percent from the previous quarter — more than economists expected. This was a rebound from the 1.6 percent contraction in the previous quarter.
EDITORIALS
Nov 26, 2007
Breakthrough in stem-cell research
Scientists from Kyoto University and the University of Wisconsin have announced that they have succeeded in producing equivalents to embryonic stem cells by reprogramming human skin cells. The new findings represent a breakthrough in regenerative medicine research. Behaving like embryonic stem cells,...
EDITORIALS
Nov 25, 2007
Higher consumption tax on the table
For the first time in three years, the Tax Commission has proposed raising the consumption tax (now at 5 percent) in its tax-reform recommendations for fiscal 2008. It regards the consumption tax as a stable core revenue source to cover growing social security costs. But the commission, an advisory body...
EDITORIALS
Nov 25, 2007
What's pushing up the oil?
Prevailing high prices for crude oil show that efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, which drive most production activities and power our daily lives, are imperative. West Texas Intermediate, a benchmark in oil pricing, went above $98 per barrel on New York's oil futures market Nov. 7 and hit an...
EDITORIALS
Nov 24, 2007
North-South progress in Seoul
The governments of both North and South Korea are firmly focused on the latter's December presidential elections. With conservative opposition candidates leading in South Korean opinion polls, Mr. Roh Moo Hyun, the incumbent in Seoul, and Mr. Kim Jong Il, his counterpart in Pyongyang, are eager to alter...
EDITORIALS
Nov 23, 2007
Mr. Fukuda makes progress in Asia
This week Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda stepped up efforts to recalibrate Japan's foreign policy. His visit to the ASEAN summit and its associated meetings were designed to focus attention on the Asia component of Japan's foreign relations. Key to that effort are his meetings with Chinese Prime Minister...
EDITORIALS
Nov 22, 2007
ASEAN's broken heart
It was supposed to be a landmark event. To celebrate its 40th anniversary this week, heads of state from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed a charter that was intended to push the region toward more complete integration and more coherence. The final product — ASEAN's new charter...
EDITORIALS
Nov 21, 2007
Admission of a medical crisis
Medical services are collapsing in many parts of the nation. Doctor shortages are especially acute in obstetric-gynecological, pediatric and emergency care departments. It is high time that the government, lawmakers and the public seriously start discussing how to increase the number of doctors and nurses...
EDITORIALS
Nov 21, 2007
Reformatory crowd may get younger
The revised Juvenile Law has taken effect, providing for harsher treatment of juvenile offenders. Under the revision, the youngest age at which one can be sent to a juvenile reformatory has been lowered to "around 12" from 14. While juvenile offenders under 14 cannot be held criminally responsible, the...
EDITORIALS
Nov 20, 2007
A symbolic summit
The trip had to be made. It is traditional for a Japanese prime minister to make his first overseas trip to the United States, to affirm relations with the country's only ally. With reports of tensions growing in the bilateral security relationship, Mr. Yasuo Fukuda's visit to Washington last week took...
EDITORIALS
Nov 19, 2007
Expansion of asset-backed loans
Financial assistance to smaller enterprises will be effective in narrowing the economic gaps between urban and rural regions, because it will help strengthen local economies. Hopefully the government's policy measures for such assistance will prove helpful.
EDITORIALS
Nov 19, 2007
Fallout from an indictment
Public prosecutors have indicted a family court-appointed psychiatrist for leaking secret investigative materials on a teenager who set fire to his house in Tawaramoto, Nara Prefecture, in June 2006, killing his stepmother and two siblings. But they have decided not to indict the freelance journalist...
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.
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.
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.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
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.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.

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