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July 24, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY
Oct 22, 2009
Does Japan really want to stay competitive?
By Hugh Cortazzi
LONDON — The reported remarks to members of the foreign press in Tokyo on Oct. 14 by Shizuka Kamei, Japan's minister for financial issues, made me wonder whether he was living in the real world — where nations are interdependent and must compete to survive.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2009
Conflicting strategies Islamicizing Malaysia
By Maznah Mohamad
SINGAPORE — In Malaysia's current political climate, it is no longer possible to distinguish Islamic radicals from Islamic moderates. Despite official boasting about the country's diverse population and commitment to pluralism, Islam and the government have essentially merged.
COMMENTARY
Oct 21, 2009
Fading trust in the political class
By David Howell
LONDON — The world is clearly passing through a crisis of political legitimacy. People in growing numbers do not trust their governments or their governing classes. In many cases they despise them.
COMMENTARY
Oct 21, 2009
Another twist and shout from North Korea
By Tom Plate
LOS ANGELES — Like the baby that hurls its rattle out of the crib to grab attention, North Korea has never been known for a subtle diplomatic style. Right now, though, it appears to have abandoned, temporarily at least, the crude infantile approach for a more adult turn.
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2009
A question of accountability
Any report on alleged war crimes is going to be controversial. An investigation that focuses on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians will be even more sensitive. Thus the uproar surrounding the Goldstone report, an investigation into the behavior of the Israeli Army and Hamas militants during...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2009
Political horse trading and climate change
By Noreena Hertz
AMSTERDAM — When the panda smiles, the world applauds. Or so it seemed after Chinese President Hu Jintao's recent speech at the United Nations. Judging by the way much of the media reported his words, it seemed as if China had actually made an important announcement on cutting greenhouse-gas emissions....
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2009
Western media stoking conflict
By Gregory Clark
A little more than a year ago, Russia and Georgia were at war over Georgia's small autonomous republic of South Ossetia. We now have two authoritative reports — one from late 2008 by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE ) and the other just released by the European Union —...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2009
Mistrust carries economic consequences
By Howard Davies
LONDON — Public trust in financial institutions, and in the authorities that are supposed to regulate them, was an early casualty of the financial crisis. That is hardly surprising, as previously revered firms revealed that they did not fully understand the very instruments they dealt in or the risks...
EDITORIALS
Oct 20, 2009
An important step forward
Armenia and Turkey took important steps toward overcoming a long bitter history this month. The two governments' agreement to establish diplomatic ties will help reduce the enmity that has dominated their relationship for nearly a century. It could also help transform relations in southeastern Europe...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Oct 19, 2009
Kremlin cajoling Hatoyama
Russia seems to be stepping up efforts to build closer ties with Japan through cracks in Tokyo's alliance with the United States, even as it tries to resolve the thorny Northern Territories issue on terms favorable to Moscow.
EDITORIALS
Oct 19, 2009
New look at Japanese taxes
The government has started the new Tax System Council. Headed by Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii, it consists only of Cabinet ministers and senior vice ministers — a sharp contrast to the days of the Liberal Democratic Party's rule, when the council was composed mainly of scholars and business leaders....
EDITORIALS
Oct 19, 2009
A court tape people should hear
A defense attorney has made public part of a tape recording of confessions made by Mr. Toshikazu Sugaya, who was released on the strength of a new DNA test in June after he had served 17 years of a life sentence for the 1990 murder of a 4-year-old girl in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture. A retrial of Mr....
Japan and U.S. reach tariff deal with ‘reciprocal’ rate at 15%
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan on Tuesday, saying the agreement would create "hundreds of thousands of jobs."
Foreign residents closely follow Japan's election and party pledges
A police officer walks past posters of Liberal Democratic Party candidates, as well as one showing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, outside the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday. As Japan’s foreign population continues to rise, one of the talking points during Sunday’s election was how the country should deal with the increase of international residents.
‘Japanese First’ Sanseito emerges as powerful force after Upper House poll
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya in Tokyo on Sunday night
Ishiba denies reports he will resign next month, leaving his fate unclear
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba looks on after meeting with the Liberal Democratic Party executives at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan
In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
Japan leans into homegrown AI amid rising competition
McKinsey’s 2025 Technology Trends Outlook, published Wednesday, says that the use of “sovereign AI” is a trend gaining significant global traction, including in Japan.
Induction of Ichiro has Cooperstown fretfully preparing
Ichiro Suzuki will soon become the first Japanese player to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
JT picks: What not to miss at Fuji Rock 2025
Fuji Rock Festival turns the green slopes of Niigata Prefecture’s Naeba Ski Resort into a summer escape that offers soundtracks for every mood.
Japan’s top brands get tied up in the great sunscreen debate
A coral reef in Okinawa in July 2022. Some jurisdictions around the world have moved to ban certain sunscreens in a bid to protect coral reefs, but some say the impact on reefs is far from clear.
Pentagon looks to unleash ‘military drone dominance’
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hosts a drone demonstration at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on July 10.

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

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In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan
By Alex K.T. Martin

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