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May 17, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY
Sep 12, 2009
DPP scoring political points at Taiwan's expense
By Ralph Cossa
What's going on in Taiwan? A year ago, there were serious concerns about the viability of Taiwan democracy. The Nationalist Party (KMT) had achieved an overwhelming majority with a sweeping victory in Legislative Yuan elections and had regained the presidency as a result of a landslide victory by its...
EDITORIALS
Sep 11, 2009
Impetus for a low-carbon world
Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, head of the Democratic Party of Japan and the prime minister-in-waiting, has announced that Japan will seek a 25 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2020. This is an ambitious target that could put Japan on the path to a low-carbon society. It could also give...
COMMENTARY
Sep 11, 2009
Shifting balances of power
By Hugh Cortazzi
The hope was that the League of Nations before World War II and the United Nations, its postwar successor, would provide a more effective way of ensuring world peace than the "Balance of Power" that Britain, in particular, had tried to maintain in Europe for centuries. This hope has not been fulfilled....
EDITORIALS
Sep 11, 2009
Tight race for Olympic rights
The International Olympic Committee has released an evaluation report on four cities — Tokyo, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid — competing to win the right to host the 2016 summer Olympic Games. Although there does not appear to be a clear front-runner, conspicuous is the fact that the IOC has...
COMMENTARY
Sep 10, 2009
Politics and people colliding
By David Howell
The Japanese people have just voted decisively for change. For what kind of change should they now be asking?
COMMENTARY
Sep 10, 2009
Words of wisdom from Hatoyama
By Tom Plate
It was just this side of comical. The leader of the new ruling party of Japan barely finishes acknowledging his Democratic Party of Japan's landslide win and a public relations disaster strikes. The result: an ignominious international climb-down.
EDITORIALS
Sep 10, 2009
Some progress from the G20
The global recession may have found its floor, but efforts to ensure that the crisis does not repeat itself continue to be frustrated. That was the message from last weekend's meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers. There is consensus on the need to stop the obscene payments to...
EDITORIALS
Sep 9, 2009
Shape of DPJ rule emerging
Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama, the prime minister-in-waiting, has moved to fill key party posts and the next Cabinet with political heavyweights. He wants his party as a unit, rather than individual politicians, to play the leading role in developing policy, thus taking the initiative...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2009
In Hatoyama's 'fraternity,' people the end, not means
By Yukio Hatoyama
An opinion piece by Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama that was originally published in the September edition of the Japanese monthly journal Voice has triggered controversy in the United States for appearing to have an antiglobalization bent.
COMMENTARY
Sep 9, 2009
A Spanish medical doctor's African epiphany
By Cesar Chelala
I was visiting Rio Muni, the continental half of Equatorial Guinea with some medical colleagues. We were assessing the health situation in the country and we had arrived at Niefang, a small, sparsely populated, neglected town in the interior. The high humidity made the heat even more oppressive.
EDITORIALS
Sep 8, 2009
Inauspicious start for consumers
The Consumer Agency, which was inaugurated Sept. 1, is in a state of confusion — for which Prime Minister Taro Aso is solely to blame. He was obsessed with the idea of starting the agency on Sept. 1, about a month earlier than planned. Now, the lack of sufficient preparation is apparent.
EDITORIALS
Sep 8, 2009
Rising unemployment rate
Japan's unemployment rate climbed to an all-time high of 5.7 percent for July, 0.3 percentage point higher than for June and topping the former record high of 5.5 percent in April 2003. The fact that Japan's unemployment rate remains the lowest among the Group of Seven industrialized countries is small...
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.
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.
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.
Irresponsible climbing prompts debate over who should pay for Mount Fuji rescues
Mount Fuji fills the skyline above a bridge connecting stores at a popular outlet shopping center in the city of Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in November 2024.
Akazawa's dilemma: no tariff deal or a half-baked deal
Chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa and his delegation in the Oval Office of the White House in April. Since then, Japan's trade negotiations with the U.S. have produced no tangible results.
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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