U.S. trade deficit with Japan not necessarily the bugbear painted by Trump
The protectionist tune on trade that U.S. President Donald Trump often sings is hardly a unique problem for Japanese policymakers who have long faced pressure over Japan's strength in exporting everything from vehicles to video games all over the globe. But often lost in these ...
Japan's refugee-screening system sets high bar
Last year, Japan granted refugee status to just 20 out of a record-high 19,629 applicants. After the figure was released in February, global and domestic coverage was noticeably polarized. Some slammed Japan's strict asylum policy, saying that the world's third-largest economy has failed to meet ...
Caution urged as Okinawa measles outbreak spreads
Measles cases are spreading in Okinawa, with the reported number of patients exceeding 90 in just over a month, prompting the prefecture last month to warn that visiting the resort islands may be not advisable for infants and pregnant women. The measles outbreak is believed ...
Tourists, take note: As drones multiply in Japan, so do rules governing where they can be flown
Make a trip to any major electronics store today and you're bound to find a section selling drones. Once little more than toys for enthusiasts, today's commercially available drones come in all shapes and sizes and are used for all sorts of purposes, with ...
Internet piracy taking major bite out of Japan's famed manga culture
Japan's renowned manga culture is facing a crisis. The spread of smartphones and tablet computers allows people to read e-comics anywhere at any time. According to the Research Institute for Publications, annual sales of digital comics last year grew 17.2 percent from the previous year ...
Abe's route to revising Article 9 crosses minefield of legalese
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is now entering a critical phase of debate on what has been one of the most contentious political issues throughout the postwar years: whether and how the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution should be revised. Masahiko Komura, vice president ...
In Japan's Diet, is there such a thing as too much time for questions?
It may be hard to find a workplace more rife with inefficiency and inertia than the national Diet. After all, it's where the prime minister and other Cabinet ministers sacrifice their time to an extent almost unthinkable in other developed nations, even though constructive policy ...
Japan's staff-heavy banks downsize and turn to technology for survival
These are tough times for banks. As the Bank of Japan's prolonged ultra-easy money policy weighs on earnings, the emergence of technology like artificial intelligence is transforming the mechanics of financing and threatening to replace thousands of roles with automated systems. The nation's major banks have ...
Japan's dramatic surge in syphilis cases, with particularly high incidence in Tokyo, puzzles experts
Syphilis, a classic sexually transmitted disease nearly eradicated decades ago, is seeing a resurgence in Japan, with the reported number of patients in 2017 topping 5,000 for the first time in 44 years. According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the number of people ...
The timely and secure delivery of packages through face-to-face services has long been a source of pride for Japanese couriers. But times have changed. With more women and seniors working and single-person households increasing, face-to-face deliveries to the home are proving more difficult. The rise of ...
Japan set to bank ¥40 billion per year for tourism sector with new departure tax
From January 2019 Japan is set to impose a ¥1,000 tax on everyone departing the country, to secure funding for tourism infrastructure and promotion amid record-breaking arrivals of international travelers. The inbound tourism industry is one of the few growth sectors in the rapidly graying ...
20 years after Kyoto Protocol, where does world stand on climate?
On Dec. 11, 1997, representatives from over 150 nations gathered in Kyoto to hammer out what would become the world's first international agreement to control and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide. In a marathon nearly two-week negotiating session that ran into the early ...
