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August 29, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Jan 29, 2004
Defense policy put to test
With Monday's government order to dispatch the main contingent of ground troops to Iraq, the Self-Defense Forces is ready for full deployment in the conflict-torn country. The troops will be sent in stages, starting with a group of engineers, to Samawah in southern Iraq. With air and navy units also...
EDITORIALS
Jan 28, 2004
Come clean on Iraq
Recent admissions by top U.S. officials that Iraq might not have had weapons of mass destruction, or WMD, demand an explanation. Questions must be answered and the damage done to both U.N. and U.S. credibility must be repaired.
EDITORIALS
Jan 27, 2004
Defuse the debt bomb
Japan's public debt continues to swell ominously, yet there is no reassuring long-term scenario for deficit reduction. The government's latest medium-term outlook for economic and fiscal reform amounts to a tacit admission that the balanced budget is, at best, a distant goal.
EDITORIALS
Jan 26, 2004
Respecting a pillar of democracy
The government is apparently trying to restrict media coverage of the Self-Defense Forces' activities in Iraq. Earlier this month, the director general of the Defense Agency, Mr. Shigeru Ishiba, requested that newspapers, news agencies and networks exercise "self-restraint." He said he was only "asking"...
EDITORIALS
Jan 25, 2004
Dealing with the new South Korea
The resignation of Foreign Minister Yoon Young Kwan has raised concerns about South Korea's foreign policy. His replacement by veteran diplomat Ban Ki Moon should help allay some of those fears. There will be no abrupt shifts in Seoul. Nevertheless, the shuffle is an indication of the changes at work...
EDITORIALS
Jan 25, 2004
Mr. Chen's 'peace' referendum
Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian may have defused some of his critics Friday by announcing the wording of two referendum questions that will be put to voters in March. This move should end some speculation about the referendum, but questions about Mr. Chen's long-term intent remain.
EDITORIALS
Jan 24, 2004
The envoy and the artwork
A spark from the Middle East conflict ignited a bonfire in Stockholm last week. The incident -- and the sharply divided reactions to it -- illustrated once again the intractability of the parties involved in the conflict and the near impossibility of imagining a resolution. In the face of such emotion,...
EDITORIALS
Jan 23, 2004
Mr. Bush kicks off his campaign
U.S. President George W. Bush signaled the real beginning of the 2004 election campaign with his State of the Union address Tuesday night in Washington. The speech laid out key themes of the Bush re-election strategy, emphasizing the success in the war against terrorism and the brightening economic outlook....
EDITORIALS
Jan 22, 2004
Don't politicize the BSE issue
A U.S. government representative is scheduled to visit Japan soon for talks on Tokyo's ban on U.S. beef imports, which was imposed in December following the outbreak of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), or mad cow disease, in the United States. Because wide disagreement exists on this issue between...
EDITORIALS
Jan 21, 2004
Reform key to Mr. Koizumi's future
In his policy speech to the Diet on Monday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi spent a considerable amount of time trying to convince a public that is skeptical about sending Self-Defense Force troops to Iraq to provide humanitarian aid and assist with reconstruction. It is not clear whether he succeeded...
EDITORIALS
Jan 20, 2004
A place for 'judicial positivism'
In a representative democracy, the value of one vote is supposed to be more or less equal. In the 2001 Upper House election, however, one vote in rural districts carried much greater weight than it did in urban districts; in an extreme case, one ballot in Tottori Prefecture was worth 5.06 ballots in...
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2004
Cracking down on crime groups
The National Police Agency is going all out to crack down on organized crime groups, or yakuza. The latest drive calls for legislative changes to allow victims who have gotten caught up in a yakuza conflict to sue for damages against yakuza leaders rather than the gangsters directly involved.
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.
Akazawa's trip to Washington for tariff talks abruptly canceled
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, had been set to fly to Washington on Thursday.
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
Confusion over Japan’s ‘hometown’ plan overshadows African development event
First Lady Yoshiko Ishiba (center, in white and blue dress) hosts an event on Japanese culture with the first ladies of African leaders on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on Aug. 21.
Mitsubishi’s wind-power retreat a blow to Japan's alternative-energy goals
Wind turbines in the town of Happo in Akita prefecture. Wind power is a key part of Japan's alternative energy drive.
Virtual singer Kaf's music becomes magic in 'Kamitsubaki City Under Construction'
Virtual singer Kaf got her start in 2018 by posting songs and covers to YouTube. Now, after having performed live shows at major venues including Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan, she is turning to voice acting and starring in the new anime series “Kamitsubaki City Under Construction.”
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
In pictures: Koenji Awa Odori 2025
Japan Times
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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