More Editorials Articles - The Japan Times

Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

EDITORIALS

Sep 3, 2006

Lessons from a paper chase

by Oji Paper Co., Japan's largest paper producer, for Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd., the nation's sixth-largest paper maker, was Japan's first-ever hostile TOB mounted by a major company against a domestic rival. The bid eventually failed as Oji President Kazuhisa Shinoda admitted Aug. 29 that the deal was...

EDITORIALS

Sep 2, 2006

Pyongyang taking it to the brink?

There is a growing concern that North Korea might be preparing to test a nuclear bomb. On July 5, the country test-fired seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, prompting a United Nations Security Council resolution, which condemned the country and banned U.N. member states from transferring missile-related...

EDITORIALS

Sep 1, 2006

Arrest, detention, trial for this?

On the afternoon of Dec. 23, 2004, Mr. Yosei Arakawa, a 58-year-old Buddhist monk, entered a seven-story condominium building in Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, to drop political flyers of the Japan Communist Party into the door mailboxes of residents. He had done this before, but this time an angry resident...

EDITORIALS

Aug 31, 2006

A planet by any other name

One dark night 20 years ago, a small boy we knew was taken outside to view Halley's Comet as it flashed fuzzily by on its once-in-a-lifetime visit to the inner solar system. He gazed skyward through his grandfather's binoculars for a long time, then lowered them solemnly and pronounced in tones of awe:...

EDITORIALS

Aug 30, 2006

Simplifying disaster communications

Since Japan lies in the path of typhoons, wide areas of the nation suffer from floods and landslides every year. Cloudbursts also wreak havoc in limited areas. Accurate information is crucial in preventing injuries, deaths and property damage when disasters strike. In a welcome move, the Ministry of...

EDITORIALS

Aug 29, 2006

Pay that keeps morale up

Salaries of central government workers have been criticized for exceeding those of workers performing related duties in the private sector, which has undergone drastic restructuring in recent years. So, the National Personnel Authority, in its report to the Cabinet and the Diet, recommends no change...

EDITORIALS

Aug 28, 2006

Strictures of job flexibility

The 2006 white paper on labor and the economy focuses on the rising number of irregularly employed workers, such as part-timers and temporary workers from agencies, and the widening gap in income between regularly and irregularly employed workers. If this gap grows and becomes fixed, society as a whole...

EDITORIALS

Aug 27, 2006

Secret prefectural ledgers

The Gifu Prefectural Government in central Japan has been rocked by a scandal involving, in a sense, all of the prefectural government and its workers. It came to light earlier this month that the prefecture had systematically generated, hid and used a large amount of off-the-book funds over many years....

EDITORIALS

Aug 26, 2006

Yet another test for the U.N.

As promised, Iran has delivered its response to the U.N. ultimatum that it resume negotiations over its nuclear-energy program. And, as expected, the response was sufficiently ambiguous to offer something to everyone. If Tehran is serious about talks and is truly seeking a negotiated solution to stave...

EDITORIALS

Aug 25, 2006

Cuba contemplates life after Fidel

Even though Cuban President Fidel Castro appears to be recovering from intestinal surgery, his illness has forced the Cuban people to face the fact of his mortality. While the strongman's younger brother, Defense Minister Raul Castro, has assumed power in his absence, there is little likelihood of a...

EDITORIALS

Aug 24, 2006

Plenty of room for other ideas

Foreign Minister Taro Aso became the second person to announce his candidacy for the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election next month, following Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki. Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, the front-runner in the race, is expected to throw his hat into the ring Sept....

EDITORIALS

Aug 23, 2006

Child abuse crisis

Child abuse in this nation has reached a crisis level. Child welfare centers across the nation dealt with a record 34,451 cases of child abuse in fiscal 2005, a thousand more than in the previous year and a 31.3-fold increase since fiscal 1990.

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

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports