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July 10, 2025
 

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COMMENTARY
Aug 19, 2006
Struggling for transparency in China
By Frank Ching
HONG KONG -- Following the Chinese press, one sometimes gets totally depressed and feels that there is no hope for the country, with its myriad problems. At other times, the opposite is true. This week, it is a mix. On different fronts, one sees a host of problems but, at the same time, it is clear that...
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2006
Threat to confidentiality
As part of international efforts to stop money laundering by criminal organizations and money transfers by terrorist groups, the government is preparing a new bill that it hopes to submit to a regular Diet session next year.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2006
Kishi's diplomacy overdue
By Yukihisa Fujita
In a recent book Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was dubbed "The Man Who Turned Diplomacy into Fighting." Even after a diary by a former head of the Imperial Household Agency was revealed, describing Emperor Showa's displeasure over Yasukuni Shrine's decision in 1978 to honor Class-A war criminals,...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2006
The rules of Lebanon's reconstruction
By Graciana Del Castillo
PRAGUE -- Lebanon's reconstruction, so painstakingly carried out in the 1990s, is now at risk of being undone. But Lebanon is not alone in that respect: According to the United Nations and several independent studies, countries in transition from war to peace face roughly a 50 percent chance of sliding...
EDITORIALS
Aug 17, 2006
A legacy of callousness
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the 61st anniversary of the end of World War II, points to his failure to understand that such visits have a historical dimension that overshadows Japan's relations with neighboring countries.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2006
Gauging proportionate force
By George P. Fletcher
LONDON -- The war in Lebanon has prompted the term "disproportionate force" to be bandied about as if some crystal-clear principle of international law lay behind it, telling us when force is disproportionate and why it is illegal. But combat-related civilian deaths are not enough to say that "disproportionate...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2006
Intelligence works better than bullets
By Ramesh Thakur
The British police, acting closely with intelligence agencies in the United States, Pakistan and perhaps elsewhere over many months, have foiled a major terrorist plot of blowing up numerous planes between Britain and America.
COMMENTARY
Aug 16, 2006
Japan far too vulnerable to Pyongyang's missiles
By Robyn Lim
After North Korea's July 5 missile tests, Japan, for the first time since 1945, is asking America to beef up its military presence in Japan. Why? Because Japan's hedging and tardiness in relation to missile defense has left its cities more vulnerable than they need be. That risks encouraging Pyongyang...
EDITORIALS
Aug 16, 2006
The U.N. acts, at last
One month after fighting began in southern Lebanon, the United Nations Security Council last week passed a resolution calling for an end to the conflict. The resolution, which passed unanimously, was the subject of protracted negotiations and the compromises are evident in the final product. Both Israel...
EDITORIALS
Aug 15, 2006
A time to learn from the past
Japan marks the 61st anniversary of the end of World War II even as its politicians send signals that lead other peoples in the world to question its true inclinations. One such signal was the prediction that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi would visit Yasukuni Shrine on Tuesday, the very day of the...
EDITORIALS
Aug 15, 2006
Heroic save in a long war
The good news is that British authorities thwarted a plot to blow up in midair around 10 airliners en route to the United States from Britain. The bad news is that the incident shows that the threat of an indiscriminate terrorist attack remains, reminding us that no nation or community can let up on...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2006
Children died as Western leaders stared
By Cesar Chelala
NEW YORK -- The failure to reach a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon for nearly a month was, in itself, a severe in- dictment against Western political leaders. They were the only ones who could stop a war that has caused tremendous suffering. The most vulnerable victims are hundreds of thousands of children....
Japan stands its ground after Trump letter delivers 25% U.S. tariff shock
U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at Morristown Airport, New Jersey, on Sunday. Trump on Monday sent letters to 12 countries notifying them of new "reciprocal" tariff rates effective Aug. 1.
Japan to set up 'control tower' for crimes by foreign residents
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
China’s housing crisis is worse than it seems
Residential buildings under construction in Shanghai in July 2022. The Chinese government risks long-term decline by repeating Japan’s policy mistakes in handling its real estate and demographic crises.
Over 800 people found to be involved in TOEIC cheating scheme
An English conversation test paper and bubble answer sheet. A Chinese graduate student from Kyoto University is suspected of having attempted to use a small microphone under a mask to tell other takers of a popular English-language proficiency test the correct answers.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
From the Abes to the Ohtanis: How siblings shape athletic development
Olympic judoka Uta Abe (second from left) and Hifumi Abe (second from right) with their brother Yuichiro (center) and their parents. “I’m always consciously trying to be a good older brother,” Yuichiro said.
Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
Scams involving police impersonation surge
A video by the National Police Agency warns about fake scams.
Lawson to let visitors use larger parking lots as paid car campsites
A Lawson convenience store in Yachiyo, Chiba Prefecture. A new service from the company comes amid the rise in inbound tourists, making hotels and inns harder to book and more expensive.
The future is bright inside the visionary mind of architect Sou Fujimoto
The exhibition of Fujimoto’s architecture surveys his career to date, as well as looks ahead as shown in his proposal of a future floating city designed in collaboration with data scientist Hiroaki Miyata.

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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