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May 16, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Oct 31, 2007
A deal in Manila
As an action film star, Mr. Joseph Estrada was constantly dodging perils. Last week, he made another escape; this time for real. The former president of the Philippines walked out of jail after being amnestied by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. This act of clemency may be more than it seems: It looks...
EDITORIALS
Oct 30, 2007
What was Damascus building?
Sept. 6, Israeli warplanes bombed a Syrian complex that may have been the site for a nuclear reactor. Both governments have been close-mouthed about the attack, Syria denies that the site was a nuclear complex — Israel refuses to say anything, and other governments that might know what was there have...
EDITORIALS
Oct 30, 2007
Skewed attitudes in sports
A teenage sumo wrestler just embarking on his career is bullied and hazed to death, yet nothing is done about it for months by either the Japan Sumo Association or the police — even after flags are raised. A sumo grand champion is banned for a perceived infraction, and then comes down with a stress...
EDITORIALS
Oct 29, 2007
China and Japan
Despite recent statistics, China may not ever dominate Japan in the way many alarmists fear, but the balance of power between the two countries will undoubtedly continue to shift in the near future. The readjustment in relations, though, may occur in unexpected ways that are less obvious than government...
EDITORIALS
Oct 28, 2007
A fresh defense scandal
The credibility of the nation's defense administration is at stake in the wake of a fresh scandal embroiling a former top bureaucrat of the Defense Ministry and a defense contractor. We welcome the nonpartisan decision, reached at a Lower House select committee last week, to summon former administrative...
EDITORIALS
Oct 28, 2007
Cabdrivers could get a lift
The government has given the green light to a hike in taxi fares in Tokyo, although it allowed a lower rate of increase than the industry sought because of concern that national price trends could be inflated. The rise will take effect in December and be followed by similar increases nationwide. Aimed...
EDITORIALS
Oct 27, 2007
Japanese men going belly up
Japanese men are suddenly overweight. The latest criticism of health, diet and fitness — "metabolic syndrome" — is aimed at men and their bulging waistlines. According to some reports, metabolic syndrome is found in a larger and larger proportion of middle-aged and young people, especially men. Their...
EDITORIALS
Oct 27, 2007
Part-time all the time
Some days, it seems as if all of Japan is being run by part-timers. Every service job, from store clerks to ticket vendors to front-desk help, seems to be handled by nonregular employees. The enthusiasm of many freshly hired workers is matched by their lack of experience. One hardly knows what to expect...
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2007
A ceiling on extended power
The Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly has enacted a bylaw limiting a governor to three consecutive terms in office, or 12 years. It will not take effect, though, until the central government places a limit on the number of times a person can be elected as governor or mayor, by revising the Local Autonomy...
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2007
Deadbeat life insurers
The nation's 38 life insurance companies have failed to pay ¥91 billion of insurance money and other due payments in about 1.2 million cases over five years since the 2001 fiscal year. This backlog will surely increase public worry following the reported nonpayment problem at nonlife-insurance companies...
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2007
Mr. Sarkozy's first real test
A fter a whirlwind start, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is facing his first real head winds. Having taken the initiative since moving into the Elysee Palace in May, Mr. Sarkozy is being buffeted by public worker strikes and a high-profile divorce. Neither should be fatal to his presidency, but both...
EDITORIALS
Oct 24, 2007
Libya comes out of the cold
Libya has won a nonpermanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Tripoli's victory is the clearest sign of its international rehabilitation and a possible lesson for other so-called rogue states: Returning and respecting international norms can pay real dividends.
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.
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.
Two crew feared dead after ASDF training jet crashes in Aichi
Self-Defense Forces personnel collect apparent parts of an Air Self-Defense Force T-4 training jet from a reservoir in Inuyama, Aichi Prefeture, on Thursday. The jet crashed shortly after takeoff a day earlier.
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.
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.
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.

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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Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones
Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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