A frank conversation is needed on euthanasia
In October, New Zealand voters approved a referendum proposal to legalize medically assisted suicide, thus joining a small group of countries and territories that allow euthanasia under specific circumstances. The proposal sprang from a lawsuit brought by a lawyer dying from a brain tumor, ...
Subsidizing fertility treatment leaves Japanese gynecologists in a bind
Fertility treatments are not covered by national health insurance because, in most cases, infertility is not defined as an ailment.
Does protecting food products protect Japan’s farmers?
The government wants to revise a law to protect new plant varieties, but domestic farmers could be prohibited from making their own seeds from registered crops.
The background behind Suga’s rejection of top science panel nominees
Council members fail to oppose prime minister's move collectively, casting doubt on how they view their role
Hokkaido municipalities gamble on a nuclear future, but at what cost?
Nuclear waste site survey applications reflect muddled official policy about what to do with the country's spent nuclear fuel
Media join the debate over the economics of a universal basic income
Could the introduction of such a welfare model lead to economic inequality?
Courts struggling to define what constitutes defamation in social media
Journalist Shiori Ito files rare libel lawsuit over use of the "like" button on Twitter.
The media’s role in helping Suga become Japan’s prime minister
A funny thing happened between the day Shinzo Abe said he was stepping down as Japan's prime minister and the day Yoshihide Suga was elected the new president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Abe's presumptive successor. Prior to Abe's Aug. 28 announcement, ...
The changing social narrative on Japan's entrenched gender roles
Little can be done as long as a country's cultural norms are built into a social structure that delineates gender roles.
Japan is forced to look abroad in the hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine. But at what cost?
Japan has a history of vaccines and related medical treatments that have proven to be problematic — take the prescription drug Tamiflu, for example.
Separating environmental issues from business matters in Japan
News outlets are refraining from addressing the climate and coronavirus crises simultaneously.
Competing interests of labor unions laid bare at TV Asahi
When a company's workforce contains both journalists and news program workers, conflict can arise.
