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August 26, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2008
Will Europe rise to the Obama opportunity?
By Dominique Moisi
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Will 2009 and the beginning of Barack Obama's U.S. presidency mark the beginning of a new era in trans-Atlantic relations, or will the old divisions linger, nurtured by the depth and gravity of the economic crisis? Will the crisis lead to nationalistic and selfish attitudes on both...
COMMENTARY
Dec 28, 2008
China destined to be America's best friend
By Tom Plate
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — When the holiday season ends and Barack Obama takes the U.S. presidential oath of office next month, will he notice that life has become less merry and more naughty and un-nice? This brilliant American politician will soon become aware that suddenly everyone wants to be his...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2008
Hope for Thai democracy
By Kevin Rafferty
HONG KONG — Abhisit Vejjajiva seems the least likely person to rescue Thailand from what commentators claim are the death throes of democracy. He is boyish-looking, physically slight, has no commanding military or police connections, no reputation for wheeling and dealing, and was foreign born and...
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2008
China's miracle at middle age
It has been 30 years since China embarked on the greatest economic experiment in human history. In that time, the country has emerged from poverty and chaos to become one of the leading economic powers. It is tempting to call China's astounding growth an economic miracle, but the trajectory of the last...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 28, 2008
'The noise of time' ensures that art's unbowed spirit is heard
By Roger Pulvers
We live apart from our land Our words dying at 10 paces And anything put edgewise Concerns the Kremlin backwoodsman His coarse fingers are thick, like worms His statements trusty, like the weights on a scale Cockroaches smile on his upper lip And the rims of his shoes blind He is surrounded by a flock...
COMMENTARY
Dec 27, 2008
Is the end of oil in sight?
By Gwynne Dyer
Worried about "peak oil?" The International Energy Agency's annual report, "The World Energy Outlook 2008," admits for the first time that "although global oil production in total is not expected to peak before 2030, production of conventional oil . . . is projected to level off toward the end of the...
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2008
'Unusual' budget response
The government has approved a record ¥88.548 trillion budget for fiscal 2009. Marking an increase of 6.6 percent from the initial fiscal 2008 budget, it represents an attempt to keep the Japanese economy from suffering the worst effects of the global financial crisis.
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2008
Stick to nonnuclear policy
Newly declassified Japanese diplomatic documents show that the late Prime Minister Eisaku Sato expressed his expectation to then U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara that the United States would immediately retaliate against China with nuclear weapons if war occurred between China and Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2008
China and India diverging
By Harsh V. Pant
LONDON — This year is ending with some troubling signs of future instability in Asia, as two of the most powerful states are increasingly at odds with each other.
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2008
Replacing nuclear reactors
Chubu Electric Power Co. has announced a plan to decommission two aging reactors at its Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station in Shizuoka Prefecture and build a new reactor as a replacement. The decision to decommission the No. 1 and No. 2 boiling water reactors with a combined output of 1.38 million kW is reasonable....
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2008
Reform in the name of revenue
The government has endorsed a medium-term tax reform program designed to secure revenue sources to cover the ballooning costs of social security, which includes pensions plus medical and nursing care services. It mentions raising the consumption tax from fiscal 2011, but equivocates, because the program...
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2008
Doctors held for talking with the 'enemy'
By Cesar Chelala
NEW YORK — Cyrus the Great, the first Achaemenid emperor and founder of Persia, would be ashamed of the actions of the Iranian government with regard to the uncalled for detention in June of two Iranian doctors, who are experts on AIDS. The flagrant abuse of their basic human rights would have been...
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
JICA to designate four Japanese cities as 'hometowns' for African nations
The Japanese flag (left) with the flag of the African Union
Man arrested in Kobe stabbing had been staying at hotel near victim’s home
Masashi Tanimoto arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a woman in Kobe, is sent to prosecutors on Sunday.
Japanese prefectures break with labor ministry on minimum wage
The ministry of labor has suggested a 6% minimum wage increase, but most prefectures reporting so far are opting to go slightly higher.
Japanese prefectures break with labor ministry on minimum wage
The ministry of labor has suggested a 6% minimum wage increase, but most prefectures reporting so far are opting to go slightly higher.
Philippines quietly deepening ‘unofficial’ defense ties with Taiwan
Filipino soldiers take part in a flag-raising ceremony on Mavulis Island during a visit by the Philippines' Armed Forces chief of staff, in Batanes, the Philippines, in June 2023. Batanes, a group of idyllic islands at the country’s northernmost tip, sits about 160 kilometers from Taiwan.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
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.

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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