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August 24, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Aug 20, 2007
Downturn in economic recovery
The Cabinet Office has announced that Japan's gross domestic product for the April-June period grew 0.1 percent, or an annualized 0.5 percent, in real terms from the previous quarter. This points to slowing economic growth in Japan, although economic activities as a whole continue to expand.
EDITORIALS
Aug 19, 2007
Another confectionary food scandal
A Sapporo-based confectionary company has joined the list of food manufacturers accused of unethical practices, by falsifying expiration dates on its main product and shipping other products contaminated with colon bacilli or staphylococci, both of which can cause food poisoning.
EDITORIALS
Aug 19, 2007
More important than gold medals
In less than a year — before the 2008 Summer Olympics opens in Beijing on Aug. 8 — China will have to overcome problems related to the world sports event, which the country hopes will showcase its rapid development and its status as a leading power in Asia. The 17-day Beijing Games will be the third...
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2007
Nuclear safety at stake
The Nuclear Safety Commission made public its 2006 white paper on the safety of nuclear power last week. The fact that its publication came after two postponements shows that the safety of the nation's nuclear power plants cannot be taken for granted. It will take tremendous efforts on the part of the...
EDITORIALS
Aug 17, 2007
Calming global jitters
World stock markets have been on a roller-coaster ride in recent weeks. Defaults in the U.S. subprime mortgage market have rippled through the global economy, forcing central banks to inject liquidity into their banking systems as credit tightened. The jitters are another reminder of the interconnectedness...
EDITORIALS
Aug 16, 2007
Subdued hopes for a Korean summit
The leaders of South and North Korea have agreed to hold a summit, the second ever between presidents of the two countries. Any dialogue among Korean heads of state is to be welcomed, but the timing of this meeting is suspicious. It is tempting to dismiss the summit as a political stunt to shore up the...
EDITORIALS
Aug 15, 2007
A day to remember
As the nation marks the 62nd anniversary of its defeat in World War II, the Japanese people should strive to reflect upon the conflict's epic costs and consequences.
EDITORIALS
Aug 15, 2007
Relief for A-bomb victims
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to review contentious government criteria to determine if survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are suffering from illnesses caused by radiation from the bombings. As survivors are aged, the government should start the review process...
EDITORIALS
Aug 14, 2007
A force for change in the Diet
The first tangible effect of the Democratic Party of Japan's victory in the July 29 Upper House election has come in the selection of veteran DPJ councilor Mr. Satsuki Eda as president of the chamber. For the first time since 1956, the Liberal Democratic Party has given up the post to an opposition party....
EDITORIALS
Aug 14, 2007
IAEA team's visit to nuclear plant
A six-member team from the International Atomic Energy Agency's Nuclear Installation Safety Division has finished a four-day inspection of Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear-power station, which was damaged by a major earthquake July 16. The IAEA team's task was to find out what actually...
EDITORIALS
Aug 12, 2007
Summer recuperation
The famous psychologist William James once said, "We learn to swim in winter and skate in summer." What he meant was that relaxing downtime is essential for unconsciously processing the lessons from busier times. James never experienced the heat and humidity of a Japanese summer, but if he had, he might...
EDITORIALS
Aug 11, 2007
ASEAN turns 40
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) celebrated its 40th anniversary this week. It has grown considerably since its birth: It has doubled in size and taken on new tasks. While there is justifiable pride in its progress, there is also recognition that ASEAN must evolve significantly more...
Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is recommending replacing the government’s long-standing Kunrei system with more widely used Hepburn-style spellings.
Women-only communities flourish in China
Chen Yani (right), nicknamed "Keke," eats lunch with friends and guests in a female co-living space she founded called "Keke's Imaginative Space" in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province, on July 14.
JR East cancels luxury train run over crew's boozing
East Japan Railway said Thursday that it will cancel one trip of a luxury overnight sleeper service, which was originally scheduled to depart from Ueno Station in Tokyo on Aug. 30, after crew members were found to have been drinking alcohol on duty.
Man arrested over deadly stabbing of woman in Kobe
Masashi Tanimoto, 35, the suspect in the deadly stabbing a 24-year-old woman, is taken into custody in Kobe on Friday night.
Japanese city proposes two-hour daily limit for smartphone use
The Toyoake Municipal Government in Aichi Prefecture is planning to enact an ordinance to urge all smartphone users in the city to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school.
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Is the LDP’s catch-all approach to politics still effective?
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15. Political commentator Toru Hashimoto has suggested that Takaichi ought to lead a group of like-minded hawkish politicians out of the Liberal Democratic Party and form their own party.
Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.
As farm minister, Koizumi is held ‘hostage’ by Ishiba
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi (center) attends a Lower House session on Aug. 1. Locking Koizumi into the Cabinet is Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s way of turning a potential rival into a team player, according to one expert.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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