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November 30, 2023
 

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COMMENTARY

Japan

World
Japan
University students attend a job fair. If Japanese companies continue hiring people based on the university they graduated from, acquiring extra qualifications or reskilling won't impact candidates' job prospects.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Kishida’s stimulus package needs rethinking, not reskilling
The government aims to promote reskilling for nonregular workers to boost their job prospects, but this won't matter if hiring practices don't change.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Canada's path to pragmatic Indo-Pacific engagement
As part of Canada’s Indo-Pacific pivot, we have already seen its relations and cooperation with Japan deepen.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Japan’s wastewater release could bring the region together
The release of treated radioactive water from Fukushima No. 1 could be a springboard for more transparency around nuclear energy in Japan and all of Asia.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is running for re-election, visits the southern border in Edinburg, Texas, on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 22, 2023
Can Japan risk a Trump reelection?
By Yoichi Funabashi
A fundamental risk accompanying Donald Trump’s reelection is the doubts it would raise about American leadership in the world.
Japan’s national bar exam was held on Nov. 8 with a pass rate of 45%. Though for decades the pass rate was much lower, this seeming improvement has come on the back of several regulatory blunders.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 20, 2023
The failure behind Japan’s bar exam pass rate
By Colin P.A. Jones
The pass rate for Japan's bar exam has fluctuated, with this year's level coming on the back of several misguided interventions.
U.S. President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office of the White House in June 1972
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 19, 2023
Nixon's 1953 trip to Okinawa and its lasting impact
By Robert D. Eldridge
Nixon’s trip to Okinawa 70 years ago this month planted seeds for his agreeing to its reversion when he became the U.S. president.
Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida take part in a news conference in September 2021 in the lead-up to the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 15, 2023
Takaichi makes another play to become the next PM
By Michael MacArthur Bosack
With the creation of a new study group, Cabinet minister Sanae Takaichi aims to build support for her bid for the top political job.
Japan’s public bathhouses have been in decline for decades, with the number of such facilities in Tokyo alone dropping by nearly half in the last 15 years.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 14, 2023
Japan seeks digital detox with return to ‘way of the sauna’
By Gearoid Reidy
Public bathhouses have been in decline for decades, with the number of sentō baths in Tokyo dropping by nearly half in the last 15 years.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa attends a news conference during the Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday. The Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas on Israel fundamentally changed the nature of this year's meeting.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 9, 2023
Dispelling myths about Japan’s ‘balanced’ Middle East diplomacy
By Kuni Miyake
Unfortunately, many in the Japanese media do not seem to understand what is really happening in the Middle East.
Nintendo has announced it is developing a live-action movie adaptation of its The Legend of Zelda video game series.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 8, 2023
Zelda the movie shows Nintendo has learned its lesson
By Gearoid Reidy
The live-action Zelda movie is still shrouded in mystery, but one thing is certain: Nintendo will want loyal sidekicks to embark on this adventure.

A new wave of Chinese elites is flocking to Japan
Toyosu, a reclaimed area and former industrial zone in the Tokyo Bay area, has become popular with a new wave of Chinese immigrants for its breathtaking views of the Tokyo skyline.
Man found dead after U.S. military Osprey crashes into sea
A U.S. military Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft takes off from U.S. military port facilities in Naha in March.
Japan is enticing for digital nomads, but visa hurdles remain
Akina Shu has visited around 50 countries as a speaker and ambassador on the digital nomad lifestyle since 2020.
Reluctant CEO becomes billionaire at Netflix rival in Japan
Yasuhide Uno, Usen-Next Holdings CEO, has transformed his father’s company into Netflix’s biggest competitor in Japan.
Children of Jehovah’s Witnesses submit report detailing sexual abuse
Ayuko Kato, minister in charge of child policies. A group of children of Jehovah’s Witnesses have submitted a report to the Child and Family Agency detailing sexual abuse.
Children of Jehovah’s Witnesses submit report detailing sexual abuse
Ayuko Kato, minister in charge of child policies. A group of children of Jehovah’s Witnesses have submitted a report to the Child and Family Agency detailing sexual abuse.
Japan is enticing for digital nomads, but visa hurdles remain
Akina Shu has visited around 50 countries as a speaker and ambassador on the digital nomad lifestyle since 2020.
Japan to start trial of over-the-counter sales of morning-after pills
Customers look at products on display outside a drug store in Tokyo on Friday. As part of a trial, 145 stores nationwide will be allowed to sell morning-after pills until the end of March.
Bedbugs are spreading in South Korea and China. Is Japan next?
A bed bug in Paris in September
Tasting the 'Zen of coffee' at speakeasy-esque Cokuun
Hidenori Izaki, one-time winner of the World Barista Championship, brings coffee to new heights at Cokuun.

Podcast

An official shot for this year’s lineup for NHK’s annual “Kohaku Uta Gassen.”
Things get warmer with Xi; Johnny’s get the cold shoulder

Longform

Yoshiko Koide sits in a classroom at Nagoya College where she teaches a Japanese-language observation seminar.
How a dictionary came to spark outrage among the web’s otaku
By Thu-Huong Ha and Yukana Inoue

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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The home front: A new way to save architecture

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