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September 18, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2008
Halting ODA's downward trend
Japan was the world's top foreign aid donor from 1991 to 2000, topping the United States. But faced with budget shortages, Japan has been reducing its official development assistance in recent years. A report of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says that in 2007 Japan slipped...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2008
Hope for Taiwan's future
By Hisahiko Okazaki
Even in democracies, if one party holds power for long enough, scandals can occur and popular support can fade. Nevertheless, the result of the Taiwanese presidential election was a landslide victory for the Nationalist Party (KMT) that far exceeded expectations. I felt, though conscious of the heartbreaking...
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2008
Funding for U.S. military facilities
The Lower House passed a new special-measures agreement for financial burden-sharing to maintain U.S. military facilities in Japan and sent it to the opposition-controlled Upper House on April 3. Even if the Upper House does not pass the agreement, it will become effective 30 days after the Lower House...
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2008
No need for nationwide fitness test
The education ministry has decided to carry out a nationwide test of physical strength covering all fifth graders and middle school second-year students from this month to late July. The test will cover about 2.4 million children at both public and private schools, and cost ¥335 million. The ministry...
EDITORIALS
Apr 13, 2008
The ball's in China's court
Apprehension has been long expressed about the Beijing Olympic Games in August due to several issues. Two of them — air pollution in the Chinese capital and food safety — focus on the Games themselves. A third one involves criticism of China's human rights records and its close ties with Sudan, whose...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 13, 2008
Landmark case spotlights 'Japanese-style nationalism'
By Roger Pulvers
"The most critical thing for us Japanese in the 21st century is to free ourselves from Japanese-style nationalism, both politically and culturally." So said author Kenzaburo Oe to me in the autumn of 1995, a year after he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
EDITORIALS
Apr 13, 2008
At last, a meaningful debate
For the first time in the current Diet session, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and the Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa had a one-on-one debate last week. Compared with their low-key debate in January, last week's debate was heated and came closer to what such a debate ought to be. Both Mr....
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2008
Gambari's battle in Burma
By Michael Richardson
SINGAPORE — The United Nations special envoy to Burma is coming under fire for failing to nudge the country's military rulers in the direction of real political reform. But it is wrong to blame the envoy, Ibrahim Gambari. After all, his mandate is from the United Nations and he reports to the U.N....
COMMENTARY
Apr 12, 2008
Games failing to meet Olympian ideals
LONDON — The Chinese government sought the 2008 Games for Beijing to promote Chinese national interests. There is nothing new or exceptional about Chinese motives. Britain sought the 2012 Games for London for political purposes as well.
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2008
Conservatives win again in South Korea
South Korean President Lee Myung Bak got a boost this week from parliamentary elections that gave fellow conservatives a majority in the National Assembly. The results provide a modicum of relief for "the bulldozer" but he is still going to have to struggle to implement his policy agenda. Ironically,...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2008
Regional role for China's yuan
By Mamoru Ishida
It is likely that a renminbi (RMB) area emerges in East Asia.
EDITORIALS
Apr 11, 2008
What lies behind murderous intent?
It is always difficult to determine why anyone would develop an urge to kill. However, the behavior and the background of the suspects in two murders in late March indicates that along with other cautionary measures, better social and familial help might have prevented the tragedies.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
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.
China says Philippine ship ‘deliberately rammed’ coast guard vessel in South China Sea
A China Coast Guard ship navigates near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in August.
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
Pole vault rivals in awe after Duplantis has another historic night in Tokyo
Sweden's Armand Duplantis competes in the men's pole fault final during the World Athletics Championships at National Stadium in Tokyo on Monday.
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.
Tara Davis-Woodhall leaps to gold and finds redemption at world championships
Tara Davis-Woodhall celebrates after winning the women's long jump final at the World Athletics Championships at Tokyo's National Stadium on Sunday night.
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.

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

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Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo

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