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July 13, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY
Apr 16, 2008
What China and the world must do now
LOS ANGELES — Absolutely no one in the Western media is showing any sympathy at all for China in the current roiling mess over Tibet and the Olympic Games. But somebody has to do it, if only to try to achieve some balance and maturity of perspective. So we might as well make the effort here and now....
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 16, 2008
Change sweeping North Korea
Drastic changes appear to be taking place in North Korea as its Korean Workers' Party (KWP) further strengthens its grip and its strongman Kim Jong Il tackles three major tasks: to pave the way for announcing his successor, to minimize whatever damage may result from the birth of a new conservative government...
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2008
G7's dim view of global economy
When financial chiefs from the world's leading economic powers met in Washington last week, they painted a dimmer view of the global economy than they did at their February meeting in Tokyo and endorsed a plan aimed at stabilizing the financial markets hit by the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.
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.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Nissan clinches $4.5 billion bond deal after orders soar
Nissan Motor has raised $4.5 billion through a junk bond sale in U.S. dollars and euros, part of which carries a record-high coupon rate.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
An emoji used to say it all. Now it might say too much.
Apple’s Craig Federighi shows off a set of emoji at a conference on June 13, 2016. While the small pictures have proved helpful in conveying nuance in our texts, younger people are using them less often.
‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’
After nearly shuttering earlier this year, the Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society continues its work to save the early history of Japanese gaming.
Rare vintage shots and first-time shows at TOP’s 30th anniversary
The museum's curators selected a wide array of works from the archives for the milestone exhibitions. Among other photos, Nobuyoshi Araki's work from the series "Winter Journey" (1990) was included in the "Continuity and Change" exhibition that concluded in June.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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