Morearticles

 
Menu
Search
 
September 16, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

More Opinion stories

EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 2007
Candidates out of the gate
The watershed Upper House election is a few months away. But local-level battles are in full swing. Election campaigns kicked off March 22 for gubernatorial elections scheduled April 8 in Tokyo and 12 other prefectures. Mayoral elections also are set that day in Sapporo, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu and Hiroshima,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 29, 2007
Tamiflu decision too late?
The health ministry has banned in principle the prescription of the influenza drug Tamiflu to people aged 10 to 19 in the wake of a series of cases in which young patients exhibited abnormal and dangerous behavior after taking the drug. This represents a turnabout from the ministry's earlier negative...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2007
Getting to 'yes' with Iran
By Christoph Bertram
BERLIN -- There is a wise American saying: "If you are in a hole, stop digging." The six governments that are considering the next steps to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb -- the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany -- should heed that advice. Otherwise, they could...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2007
Abe needlessly fans the flames
By Francis Fukuyama and William A. Masters
WASHINGTON -- Barely half a year into his premiership, Shinzo Abe is provoking anger across Asia and mixed feelings in his country's key ally, the United States. But will the Bush administration use its influence to nudge Abe away from inflammatory behavior?
EDITORIALS
Mar 29, 2007
Rising land prices highlight gap
In 2006, both nationwide average residential and commercial land prices rose for the first time in 16 years. The rises reflect the overall effect of the nation's longest postwar economic expansion, but it is clear that land-price increases in megalopolis areas are driving up national averages. In short,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 28, 2007
Don't bet on a quake-free area
The major earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture on Sunday serves as a reminder that a large earthquake can happen anytime, anywhere in Japan. The magnitude-6.9 quake with a seismic intensity of up to 6-plus on the Japanese scale of 7 happened at 9:42 a.m., killing one person,...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2007
From out of the shadows steps France's 'third man'
By Dominique Moisi
WARSAW -- The French presidential election is a great "show" with all the ingredients of a Hollywood blockbuster, including a surprising plot twist: the emergence of a "third man," Francois Bayrou.
EDITORIALS
Mar 28, 2007
Europe's greatest endeavor
The European Union celebrated its 50th anniversary Sunday. On March 25, 1957, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg signed the Treaties of Rome, creating the European Atomic Energy Community and the European Economic Community. The six countries' aspiration to form a common...
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2007
U.N. steps up pressure on Iran
The United Nations Security Council agreed last weekend to sanction Iran for refusing to suspend its uranium enrichment program. The unanimous vote is designed to encourage Tehran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and eliminate suspicions about its nuclear intentions. The...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2007
Road map to fighting drug-resistant TB
By Tim France and Bobby John
GENEVA-- A much larger tuberculosis drug-resistance problem exists than researchers previously thought. New global data on TB, published this month by the World Health Organization (WHO), highlight serious weaknesses in many national TB programs, increasing the potential for widespread TB drug resistance....
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2007
A Japanese sense of humor?
By Hugh Cortazzi
Japanese and Germans are thought by some "Anglo-Saxons" to have many similar qualities, including a lack of a sense of humor and a tendency to take themselves too seriously. I don't think the former is fair; the latter is closer to the mark.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2007
Turn Japan-South Korean ties into a real partnership
By Yuka Tsukagoshi and Junbeom Pyon
HONOLULU -- We are dismayed by the current state of Japan-South Korean relations. The two countries are natural partners. Both are U.S. allies, democratic societies, and share similar values and security concerns. During the Cold War, both Japan and South Korea feared expansion of communism from the...
SDF spots China’s biggest aircraft carrier for first time
The Fujian aircraft carrier is seen in Shanghai in May 2024 as it leaves for its first sea trial.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
Is America ready for Japanese-style 7-Elevens?
Convenience stores are a fixture of Japanese life and 7-Eleven, a chain that began in the U.S. in 1927, opened its first store in Japan in 1974 — and then became wholly Japanese-owned in 2005 through parent company Seven & I Holdings.
Final weeks of World Expo in Osaka likely to see large crowds
With one month left to go, crowds are expected to swell at the World Expo in Osaka during its final weeks.
Japan's elderly population down at around 36.2 million
The estimated number of people age 65 or older in Japan stands at 36.19 million as of Monday, accounting for record 29.4% of the country's total population, according to the internal affairs ministry.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
Between traditional examples of fine art and sleek, modern exhibitions that blend with nature, Hakone offers a unique escape from Tokyo's urban sprawl.
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.
As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo
A Brahmos missile system is displayed during a rehearsal for a military parade in New Delhi in January. The Philippines will soon receive its second batch of the supersonic cruise missiles from India.
Shizuoka farmers fight to preserve sustainable tea method that’s steeped in tradition
As of August 2024, the number of confirmed chagusaba farmers had fallen to 302, just over half the 582 reported in 2015, according to the Shizuoka Chagusaba Farming Method Promotion Council.

Podcast

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

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER