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May 16, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Sep 14, 2009
To build a dam, or not
The Democratic Party of Japan's election manifesto calls for a complete review of large public works projects that fail to respond to the needs of the day, specifically calling for a halt to construction of Kawabe Dam in Kumamoto Prefecture and Yanba Dam in Nagano Prefecture.
EDITORIALS
Sep 14, 2009
Investing in Japan's posterity
Japan's rapidly graying population and shrinking population is casting a shadow on Japan's future. After hitting a low of 1.26 in 2005, the total fertility rate (TFR) has risen for three consecutive years and stood at 1.37 in 2008, a rise of 0.03 from 2007. Nonetheless, deaths still exceed births and...
COMMENTARY
Sep 14, 2009
An advantageous U.S. exit
By Brahma Chellaney
NEW DELHI — America's war in Afghanistan is approaching a tipping point, with doubts about President Barack Obama's strategy rising. Yet, after dispatching 21,000 additional U.S. forces to Afghanistan, Obama is considering sending another 14,000 combat troops there. Let's be clear: America's Afghan...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 13, 2009
Tanikawa: A master of foreign ways and Japan's most accessible poet
By Roger Pulvers
"We must try to explain everything we think to children. . . . Words that are really rooted in the bones of the Japanese people: Those words are accessible."
COMMENTARY
Sep 13, 2009
Political fancies at the Venice Film Festival
By Gautaman Bhaskaran
VENICE — Often great films tell great political stories. Or, at least they unfold against the backdrop of tumultuous political events. "Gone with a Wind" would never let us forget the American Civil War. "Casablanca" was set against the exodus of hundreds of people fleeing Nazi tyranny to the New World....
EDITORIALS
Sep 13, 2009
A vain concealment
There has been a new development in a lawsuit filed by a group of citizens calling on the government to disclose diplomatic documents related to the 1972 reversion of Okinawa from U.S. to Japanese rule. One of the documents concerns an alleged secret financial concession to Washington — a payment by...
COMMENTARY
Sep 13, 2009
Real 'fraternity' with U.S.
By Kazuo Ogoura
Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama's article on the "Banner of Fraternity" — particularly the part that deals with globalization, Americanism and Japan's relations with her Asian neighbors — has drawn many comments both in Japan and the United States.
EDITORIALS
Sep 13, 2009
DPJ battles the budget
Budget compilation is a big challenge for the new administration of Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama. The administration has to carry out the task with speed and painstaking care to prevent the economy from plunging into another downturn.
COMMENTARY
Sep 13, 2009
Consequences of fuzzy targets
By Gwynne Dyer
LONDON — Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, is a "soft" fascist who does not rant in the 1930s style. But he came pretty close to the old style two months ago when, newly elected to the European Parliament, he called for "very tough" measures to stop illegal African migrants from...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 13, 2009
'Settlement freeze' a running joke in Israel
By Daoud Kuttab
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to approve new Jewish settlements on the eve of a possible settlement freeze is the latest round in a cycle that has been repeated so many times over the past 40 years that it would seem mundane if it were not so dangerous....
EDITORIALS
Sep 12, 2009
Coalition on delicate foundations
The leaders of the Democratic Party of Japan, Social Democratic Party and New People's Party (Kokumin Shinto) agreed Wednesday to form a coalition government. It will ensure that the DPJ, which holds fewer than half of the Upper House seats, has smooth sailing in the Diet. However, the parties appear...
EDITORIALS
Sep 12, 2009
Komeito must return to its roots
Komeito, the junior partner of the LDP-led coalition government that was ousted from power in the Aug. 30 Lower House election, has chosen policy chief Mr. Natsuo Yamaguchi as its new leader and election campaign chief Mr. Yoshihisa Inoue as secretary general.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
Japan to recognize Taiwan as place of origin in family registration system
Masataka Yuhara, secretary-general of the Friends of Lee Teng Hui Association in Japan, which has been calling for "Taiwan" to be permitted as a place of origin in family registers.
Rich Japanese still fear yen crash, wealth manager says
The yen slumped more than 2% on Monday alone, nearing ¥150 to the dollar, after the U.S. and China temporarily lowered tariffs, triggering a reversal of bearish dollar bets.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
For his first feature film, director Ryuya Suzuki created a masterpiece
"Jinsei," which follows its protagonist over a century, probes themes of identity and societal issues with a dark comic touch. The director, however, says he created the story without knowing where it would lead.
Historian Rob Fitts discovers earliest ever reference to baseball in Japan
Japan's Shohei Ohtani carries the Japanese flag onto the field before the start of the World Baseball Classic final against the United States in Miami on March 21, 2023.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

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

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