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CARTOONS / DAHL'S JAPAN

Jan 14, 2010

DPJ's Adult Day

COMMENTARY

Jan 13, 2010

Asia's changing dynamics

By Brahma Chellaney

With Asia in transition and the specter of a power imbalance looming large, it has become imperative to invest in institutionalized cooperation to reinforce the region's strategic stability. After all, not only is Asia becoming the pivot of global geopolitical change, but Asian challenges are also playing...

EDITORIALS

Jan 13, 2010

Restoring trust in pensions

The Social Insurance Agency (SIA), criticized for its shoddy handling of pension-related records, has been reinvented as the Japan Pension Service, a corporation with semi-governmental status. It is hoped that workers of the new body will do their best to restore people's trust in the nation's pension...

EDITORIALS

Jan 13, 2010

JAL's layover in bankruptcy court

The government has decided to seek reconstruction of struggling Japan Airlines Corp. through filing for court-backed bankruptcy protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law. Divided opinion within the Hatoyama administration saw its position zigzag before reaching this conclusion. Opting for a reconstruction...

EDITORIALS

Jan 12, 2010

True grit to be tested

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's leadership and political resilience will be severely tested from this point as his administration deals not only with the upcoming regular Diet session but also with general government operations. The resignation of Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii, for health reasons,...

COMMENTARY

Jan 12, 2010

Push begins to clear electric-car obstacles

By Michael Richardson

SINGAPORE — Does 2010 mark the start of a new era in road transport as electricity increasingly takes over from petrol and diesel engines as the source of power for vehicles?

EDITORIALS

Jan 12, 2010

Lay judges' burden of anxiety

In 2009, 138 cases involving 142 defendants went to trial in 50 district courts under the lay judge system introduced that year. Of the defendants — all of whom were found guilty — one received a life sentence and 12 others were given prison terms of 15 years or longer. Seventy-two defendants —...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 11, 2010

Latin America holds more clout, less doubt

By Pamela Cox

WASHINGTON — What a difference a decade can make. Ten years ago, Latin America and the Caribbean received the new century in the midst of tremendous uncertainty. The Asian financial crisis and the Russian default had thrown the region into a tailspin with countries facing recessions in varying degrees....

COMMENTARY

Jan 11, 2010

Incredible shrinking media

By Ramzy Baroud

SEATTLE — As you flip through a range of channels on your TV or browse through a stack of newspapers and magazines at a newsstand, you may feel lucky to live in a world where such a plethora of viewpoints is available. It might also seem that the apparent increase in media choices also increases the...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 11, 2010

Spain could lead way for Roma

By George Soros

NEW YORK — Continued discrimination against Roma in Europe not only violates human dignity but also is a major social problem crippling the development of Eastern European countries with large Roma populations.

EDITORIALS

Jan 11, 2010

Devolution strategy

This year will be an important one for pushing devolution. Increasing the power of local governments was one of the Democratic Party of Japan's campaign promises. Its election manifesto calls for abolishing conditional subsidies to local governments, eliminating in principle the regional bureaus of government...

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 10, 2010

Kremlin two-step: modernize or marginalize

By Dmitri Trenin

MOSCOW — Westerners often see Russian politics in terms of a high-level struggle between liberals and conservatives: Ligachev and Yakovlev under Mikhail Gorbachev; reformers and nationalists under Boris Yeltsin; siloviki and economic liberals under Vladimir Putin.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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