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EDITORIALS

Jun 9, 2007

Energy savings start at home

The white paper on the environment and a recycling-based society approved by the Cabinet expresses serious concern about global warming and stresses the importance of individual citizens taking conscious action to alleviate environmental problems and to help slow global warming. The white paper comes...

EDITORIALS

Jun 8, 2007

Popularity takes a tumble

The approval rating for the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has hit a record low since he came into power last September. A telephone poll at the beginning of this month by Kyodo News shows that the support rate has sunk to 35.8 percent, a drop of 11.8 points from mid-May and a big slide from the...

EDITORIALS

Jun 8, 2007

Defection from the North

Four North Koreans — a married couple and their two adult sons — were spotted in a small boat off Fukaura port in Aomori Prefecture last Saturday and are now in custody. They arrived in a 7.3-meter-long open wooden boat equipped with an old outboard engine. They say they left a port near the northeastern...

EDITORIALS

Jun 7, 2007

Six Day War left mixed legacy

Forty years ago, Israel won one of the most unlikely military victories in history. The Jewish nation's triumph over its Arab neighbors in the Six Day War was a stunning blow from which the world is still reeling. Sadly, four decades have not made Israel more secure, and many Israelis now concede that...

EDITORIALS

Jun 6, 2007

Containing the China market threat

Chinese authorities are increasingly concerned about the sizzling growth in stock markets. They are not alone. Regulators elsewhere worry that a slump in China will spread around the world. Thus last week's decision to increase taxes on share transactions was met with equal amounts of applause and apprehension....

EDITORIALS

Jun 6, 2007

A troubling decision in Thailand

Thailand's constitutional tribunal has disbanded the Thai Rak Thai party and banned its leader, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and 111 other members from contesting elections for five years. The move transforms Thailand's political map, and raises questions about the military government's...

EDITORIALS

Jun 5, 2007

Avoid the security dilemma in Asia

Military modernization is a constant process. Securing the state and protecting its citizens are the first tasks of any government. Militaries are vital to achieving these objectives, even though they are not the only means for doing so. Moreover, wise governments recognize that security is not absolute...

EDITORIALS

Jun 4, 2007

An arsonist is sentenced

The Yamagata District Court has sentenced a 66-year-old man to eight years in prison for setting the house of Liberal Democratic lawmaker Koichi Kato on fire in August 2006. Circumstances show that it was a clear attempt to suppress opinion by means of violence.

EDITORIALS

Jun 4, 2007

Quick patches on pension flaws

Record-keeping blunders at the Social Insurance Agency prompted the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito to write in just one day a bill to remove the five-year limit on retroactive claims for pension benefits. The ruling coalition then rushed the bill through the Lower House after...

EDITORIALS

Jun 3, 2007

Let Japanese film out of the forest

Naomi Kawase's Grand Prix at the 60th Cannes Film festival last week for "Mogari no Mori" put the Japanese film industry once again on the front page. Kawase's honor is another in a series of reminders about how rich and rewarding Japanese films can be. But at the same time, it is a reminder of how little...

EDITORIALS

Jun 2, 2007

More help for abused children

The Diet has unanimously passed a bill to revise the law against child abuse. On the strength of a court-issued writ, staffers of children's welfare centers will be empowered to forcibly investigate households where abuse is suspected. It is hoped that the revised law, due to go into effect in April...

EDITORIALS

Jun 2, 2007

No place for cluster munitions

In February, 46 states joined a declaration at the Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions calling for a ban on cluster bombs by 2008. A second conference was attended by 68 states last week in Lima. Although participating states were divided over treaty details for banning the weapons, they were united...

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

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

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