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EDITORIALS

Sep 28, 2007

Death during 'training'

The death of a young sumo wrestler is shaking Japan's sumo world, which is still reeling from the yokozuna Asashoryu scandal. Tokitaizan, a 17-year-old wrestler, died shortly after a practice session, apparently because of exhaustion and a beating he received from his stable mates.

EDITORIALS

Sep 28, 2007

Prioritizing the budget

Moving toward the goal of compiling the government's fiscal 2008 budget by the end of December, government agencies and ministries will be busy with their negotiations with the Finance Ministry. But the work to compile the budget will face difficulty because of the opaque political situation.

EDITORIALS

Sep 27, 2007

Bracing against the opposition

The lineup of the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership and the Cabinet under new Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda testifies to Mr. Fukuda's eagerness to create a whole-party setup that can overcome the offensive from the opposition forces, which now control the Upper House.

EDITORIALS

Sep 26, 2007

Rise of urban populations

The 2006 revision of U.N. population estimates and projections made public earlier this year showed that the world's population, now 6.67 billion, will reach 9.19 billion in 2050. Calling attention to the aging of the world population, the United Nations said that in the more developed regions, the percentage...

EDITORIALS

Sep 25, 2007

Mr. Fukuda at the helm

The Liberal Democratic Party's Diet members and prefectural branch representatives have elected Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, former chief Cabinet secretary of the Koizumi administration, as their new president, ending the political vacuum caused by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's sudden resignation. The greatest task...

EDITORIALS

Sep 24, 2007

More mysteries in Russia

The appointment of Mr. Viktor Zubkov, an obscure official, as the new prime minister of Russia has many analysts yearning for the old days of Kremlinology. Then, at least, it was possible to figure out how powerful someone was by their relative position on the seating chart or the dais.

EDITORIALS

Sep 23, 2007

Beautifying Kyoto, at last

In early September, the Kyoto city government began enforcing regulations against ugliness in the city. Yes, ugliness. The mayor of Kyoto, Yorikane Masumoto, and his municipal government found the political will to think beyond the immediate concerns of day-to-day business demands, and to consider how...

EDITORIALS

Sep 22, 2007

Wise use of maritime resources

The Basic Law of Sea, enacted in April with the support of all political parties except the Social Democratic Party, went into force in July. The sea not only serves as a major thoroughfare for world trade but also provides food, energy and other vital resources. It is hoped that the law, an outgrowth...

EDITORIALS

Sep 22, 2007

Aiming for the moon

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the "Kaguya" (Shining Princess) lunar exploration probe Sept. 14. It is now on its way to the moon, 380,000 km away. Kaguya marks the biggest moon mission since the 1969-72 U.S. Apollo flights. It is hoped that the probe, launched by an H-IIA rocket,...

EDITORIALS

Sep 21, 2007

The Fed wastes no time

Financial markets rejoiced this week after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a half percentage point to calm market turbulence and boost a shaky U.S. economy. The move is the first real test of new Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who took over from Mr. Alan Greenspan in February 2006.

EDITORIALS

Sep 20, 2007

Plans of the LDP candidates

The Liberal Democratic Party will hold its presidential election Sunday under difficult circumstances as a result of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's abrupt decision to resign. His irresponsible behavior of announcing his resignation just two days after his delivery of a policy speech in the Diet has given...

EDITORIALS

Sep 20, 2007

A vital graying society

The nation is now in the midst of the Week of the Aged. As the theme suggests, the government and the people must rack their brains to figure out how to build a graying society full of vitality. The internal affairs ministry's report says there were an estimated 27.44 million people aged 65 or over as...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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

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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