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October 14, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2009
Are the finance sector's halcyon days over?
By Howard Davies
LONDON — For at least a quarter-century, the financial sector has grown far more rapidly than the economy as a whole, both in developed and in most developing countries. The ratio of total financial assets (stocks, bonds, and bank deposits) to gross domestic product (GDP) in the United Kingdom was...
COMMENTARY
Jul 22, 2009
Protectionist trend on the rise
By David Howell
In the English language the word "Protection" sounds warm and friendly. Everyone needs protection against the storms of life and it is nice to give protection and be protected. But lift this innocent word into the international sphere and it becomes a sinister and ominous concept, a harbinger of narrow...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2009
Finance firms letting the good times roll again?
By Lucian Bebchuk
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Goldman Sachs announced this month plans to provide bonuses at record levels, and there are widespread expectations that bonuses and pay in many other firms will rise substantially this year. Should the good times start rolling again so soon?
EDITORIALS
Jul 20, 2009
Gubernatorial influence
In the past, an important job of prefectural governors was lodging petitions with the central government to get funds and projects for their prefectures. But the nation's 47 governors seem to have become aware of the political potential they can exert if they act in concert. People like Gov. Toru Hashimoto...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 20, 2009
Two brothers competing on Japan's political ladder
One of the major topics of speculation among political observers nowadays is what course of action former internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama will take following his revolt against Prime Minister Taro Aso. He will have to make up his mind soon now that the date of the next general election has just...
EDITORIALS
Jul 20, 2009
H1N1 flu still spreading
The H1N1 flu pandemic is spreading not only in the Southern Hemisphere but also in such countries as the United States, China and Britain. The World Health Organization announced that as of July 10, the number of confirmed cases of infection in the world topped 100,000 in 142 countries. As of July 6,...
EDITORIALS
Jul 19, 2009
NEETs on the rise
The number of NEETs (people Not in Employment, Education or Training) now totals 640,000 people in Japan, according to a government white paper released in July. At the current rate of increase, NEETs may approach a million within five years, becoming a significant social problem that the government...
EDITORIALS
Jul 19, 2009
Temp worker casualties
A new report by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry revealed that 5,631 dispatch workers were injured or killed in work-related accidents in 2008. Most of these were injured after being sent to temporary jobs in the manufacturing industry, which accounted for two-thirds of the accidents. The transportation...
COMMENTARY
Jul 19, 2009
Like it or not, China is not about to go away
By Tom Plate
KUALA LUMPUR — There was never the slightest doubt in the mind of a single reputable expert anywhere in the world that China was a caldron of ethnic unrest ready to boil over. Nor was there the slightest possibility that the masters of the People's Republic of China would be able to escape, within...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 19, 2009
To be human in today's Japan, is it best to be 'no longer human'?
By Roger Pulvers
On June 22, playwright and novelist Hisashi Inoue appeared on national broadcaster NHK's television program, "Close Up Gendai." The occasion was the centenary of the birth of the novelist Osamu Dazai.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2009
Out of step over failed price deal
By Alan Goodall
SYDNEY — Australia is having to rethink its dealings with China following the bizarre jailing in Shanghai of an Australian businessman and a flurry of undercover diplomatic requests for explanations from Canberra to Beijing.
CARTOONS / ZERO GRAVITY
Jul 19, 2009
OL rumors
As the Osaka Expo comes to a close, what will its legacy be?
After a run-up marked by apathy, organizers soon found they had the opposite problem as crowd control became a concern.
Hypothermia in the land of the rising Sanae
Amid the election of Sanae Takaichi as Liberal Democratic Party president, and possibly the next prime minister, Japan's economy shows signs of recovery, but weak wages, a conservative corporate culture and currency issues raise doubts about a true economic thaw.
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
After ruling bloc collapses, LDP and opposition scramble to find needed votes for PM
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday after leaving the ruling coalition earlier in the day.
What if everything we think about obesity is wrong?
Recent research shows obesity may be driven by ultraprocessed and hyperpalatable foods that disrupt fullness signals and lead to overeating.
A frenetic diplomatic schedule looms for Japan’s next leader — whomever that may be
As horse-trading and speculation surge over who will be elected the next prime minister in parliament — the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Sanae Takaichi or a possible candidate put forward by a unified opposition — Japan’s next leader will be confronted with a quick succession of key diplomatic events.
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
At Osaka Expo, gas giants promote a greener future. But is it a lot of hot air?
The Gas Pavilion had welcomed around 500,000 visitors by the end of August, making it one of the most popular exhibits at the Osaka Expo.
‘Takaichi trade’ starts unwinding as political calculus upended by Komeito exit
Less than a week ago, Sanae Takaichi seemed set to become Japan's first female prime minister.
‘Save the Ring’ calls intensify as Osaka Expo’s end nears
Visitors lounge on the grassy hill on the top of the Grand Ring during the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka in May.

Podcast

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

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building
By Patrick St. Michel

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Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

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