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August 24, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Jan 21, 2005
Picking up where he left off
U.S. President George W. Bush is beginning his second term of office (Thursday, Washington time). Having outlined an aggressive agenda for the next four years, he has said he intends to use the political capital accumulated during his first term to accomplish his objectives. That will require spending...
EDITORIALS
Jan 20, 2005
Unfinished tasks for Mr. Koizumi
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, speaking at the Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention Tuesday, again expressed his resolve to privatize postal services, saying that "without constant efforts for reform, possibilities for Japan's development will be closed." Mr. Koizumi defines postal privatization...
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2005
An opportunity for Indonesia
It is an old cliche, but there may be good reason why the Chinese word for "crisis" consists of characters that mean "danger" as well as "opportunity." The earthquake and tsunami that devastated many South Asian communities in the last week of 2004 are truly a "crisis" for Indonesia. The danger is obvious:...
EDITORIALS
Jan 18, 2005
Robbing N. Ireland of its confidence
No one thought that making peace in Northern Ireland would be easy. It is unlikely, however, that anyone put "bank robbery" at the top of the list of obstacles to an enduring settlement. Yet a daring -- although ultimately futile -- bank heist is the latest blow to the stalled Northern Ireland peace...
COMMENTARY
Jan 18, 2005
Same old contrived hysteria
By Gregory Clark
Japan seems headed for yet another bout of emotional confrontation with North Korea and China.
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2005
Research to ameliorate disaster
Jan. 17 marks the 10th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, which took the lives of more than 6,400 people. In the past decade, Japan's earthquake countermeasures have changed enormously. Its earthquake observation system has become more sophisticated. Together with general observation...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jan 17, 2005
Unprecedented migration has EU on edge
By Constantine Pleshakov
MOSCOW -- Barbarian invasions from the east are old news for old Europe. Over the centuries, restless nomads kept rolling through the area -- sometimes to kill, sometimes to plunder, and sometimes to plunder and stay.
COMMENTARY
Jan 17, 2005
Japan seizes the moment
By Brad Glosserman
HONOLULU -- Japan has put itself at the forefront of international relief efforts in the wake of the devastating Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami. Tokyo is acting both out of concern for the victims and to forward its own political-diplomatic strategy. Japan's reaction has demonstrated the role that Tokyo...
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 2005
English as you like it
So, you want to learn English or at least learn it better. Even if you don't, there is sure to be someone -- a teacher, a spouse, a child, a boss -- who thinks your life, your career prospects or even just your vacation options would be greatly enhanced if you did. No problem there, you think; Japan...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2005
New beginning for Malaysia, Singapore
By Eric Teo Chu Cheow
SINGAPORE -- This year promises to usher in a new entente between Malaysia and Singapore, leading to better Asian regional cooperation and development. Singapore-Malaysian bilateral relations hit a new high after Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong made a one-day working visit to Kuala Lumpur on...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2005
Notion of an 'independent' missile defense is snake oil
By Robyn Lim
According to press reports, Japan intends to mount an "independent" missile defense so as not to violate a constitutional interpretation that prohibits Japan from engaging in collective self-defense. Thus Japan would refrain from shooting down missiles that pass over Japan but are targeted at "other...
EDITORIALS
Jan 15, 2005
Bad options in Iraq
With elections scheduled to take place in less than three weeks, the situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate. There are real doubts that a national vote can be held, a prospect that would seriously -- if not fatally -- undermine the legitimacy of the resulting government.
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.
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.
Big burgers and bigger ambitions for Japan's Burger King
Kazuhiro Nomura, president of BK Japan Holdings, which operates Burger King in Japan

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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