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COMMENTARY
Sep 4, 2008

Fukuda hounded out of office

Japan's PR-vulnerable public and lightheaded media have done it again. Between them they have got rid of yet another of Japan's better prime ministers. I have no brief for Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's policies. On two key issues I think he was wrong. One was his determination to force through legislation...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 15, 2005

The great corporate escape: Blame it on the factotums and avoid responsibility

The news media's breathless coverage of the train derailment in Amagasaki that claimed 107 lives last month operated on several levels. On one level was an investigation into the details of the accident itself. On another was the coverage of victims and their families. And on a third was the gradual...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2005

Why does CCP still fret over the news?

LONDON -- A short while ago, when I was in Beijing, I wanted to keep up with some political development in Hong Kong. I turned on my computer and went to the Asia-Pacific page of the BBC's Web site. Or at least I tried to; I had forgotten that the BBC site is blocked in China.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 29, 2004

Prospects for altering the status quo in Japan

THE STATE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN JAPAN, edited by Frank J. Schwarz and Susan J. Pharr. Cambridge University Press, 2003, 392 pp., $25 (paper). This impressive and wide-ranging collection of essays explores the problems and potential of Japan's increasingly robust civil society. In analyzing institutional...
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2004

Foreign reporters mixed on Tokyo's new Mideast role

The Ground Self-Defense Force dispatch to Iraq has been viewed overseas by some as a significant political move by Japan to boost the role of its military on the international stage.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2003

Six months on, access to abductees remains an issue

OSAKA -- On Tuesday, six months will have passed since the five Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in 1978 returned home, an event that most Japanese media rated the No. 1 news story of 2002.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 9, 2002

Japanese tradition that violates privacy rights

The current Self-Defense Forces scandal provides a glimpse into the mechanics of how such stories get reported. It appears that an insider at the Maritime Self-Defense Force sent information to the Mainichi Shimbun about personal data that an officer was compiling on people who made requests to the MSDF...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 12, 2002

The free press exercise their muscles

In addition to being Japan's Constitution Day and the United Nations' Press Freedom Day, May 3 marked the 15th anniversary of the unsolved murder of Asahi Shimbun reporter Tomohiro Kojiri in Kobe.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2000

Falsely accused seek system to make press clean up its act

After his nightmare summer of 1994, when the media branded him the prime suspect in the fatal sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Yoshiyuki Kono embarked on a crusade to end press violations of citizens' rights.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2000

South Korea grapples with rapprochement

SEOUL -- Some days ago I received an e-mail from a friend I hadn't heard from for a while, who teaches North Korean affairs at one of the major universities in Seoul. "I am worried," he wrote. "This is not a good time for South Korean scholars dealing with North Korea to express their views freely."...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 3, 2000

Okinawa seen through the summit prism

It's a common belief that the annual G-7 or G-8 summits accomplish little more than allowing the leaders of the industrialized world to get together and make a show of global unity. Consequently, the only thing you can count on in the post-summit analyses is that they will dwell on what wasn't discussed,...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 20, 2000

Coverup just makes the scandal worse

The Yukijirushi (Snow Brand) contaminated-milk scandal was the product of corporate arrogance aggravated by a bunker mentality. President Tetsuro Ishikawa's apologies meant little after he admitted he had no idea what goes on in his plants. Having helmed the number one dairy products company for several...
JAPAN / Media
Feb 17, 2000

Tarnished shields reflect on justice

Because the public has been conditioned not to believe anything it doesn't see on TV or read in the paper, a problem is not considered a problem until the media says it is. This realization brings up the question: What was it before?
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1999

WPP launches group in Tokyo

WPP Group, the world's second-largest advertising group, on Thursday launched a new media planning company in Tokyo to offer consulting services on strategic investments in advertisement.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 29, 2023

The Japanese Diet expels some GaaSyy

From running his mouth on YouTube to running for office — and now, possibly, running from the law — GaaSyy’s journey has been a wild one.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 1, 2023

The ‘red wave’ washout: How skewed polls fed a false U.S. election narrative

Coupled with the political factors already favoring Republicans, biased polls earlier this year helped feed an ultimately false narrative: A Republican wave was about to hit the U.S.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 27, 2021

Australia puts website accused of fake journalists on register for payment by Facebook and Google

Until recently, the News Cop site credited reporters with accompanying pictures that appear to have been faked, according to two experts.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 8, 2021

How family of a Myanmar junta leader are trying to cash in

Family members of the air force chief have enjoyed a lifestyle that is out of reach for the vast majority of Myanmar's people.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 7, 2021

Let them eat pancakes: A new film looks at Yoshihide Suga's brand of politicking

Producer Mitsunobu Kawamura hopes that a new political documentary, 'Tasting the Pancake for Poison,' will entice younger voters to take part in the upcoming election.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 12, 2021

How Vietnam's 'influencer' army wages information warfare on Facebook

Force 47 soldiers are tasked with setting up, moderating and posting on pro-state Facebook groups, to correct 'wrong views' online.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2021

A Beijing-born director made Oscar history. Why isn’t China celebrating?

The fallout in the wake of Zhao's win highlights the growing challenges of navigating China's fraught political landscape, particularly for creators of Chinese descent.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2020

How democratic Taiwan outperformed authoritarian China

The free flow of information provides the best defense against the spread of COVID-19.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 11, 2019

Must Japan's humanities go global?

There's a need for Japan humanities perspectives to be heard more by foreign audiences abroad, to have greater influence in international scholarship and the global public sphere.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Mar 2, 2019

Reaction to Niigata bullying video reflects changing attitudes in Japan

A video of a first-year high school student in Niigata being bullied appeared online in mid-February and quickly became a topic of discussion. The clip shows a group of male students pushing, kicking and eventually striking the victim with a stick, all while throwing insults the victim’s way, too....
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 29, 2018

Ignore the news and America seems pretty nice

Drive from coast to coast with the radio off and everybody seems to be getting along fine.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 15, 2018

Japanese athletes under fire after Asian Games scandal

When four members of Japan's national basketball team were sent home from the Asian Games last month for patronizing prostitutes, the resulting scandal capped almost a year's worth of bad publicity for sports in Japan. Over this time we've had allegations of "power harassment" raised against the Japan...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 27, 2018

Time for Abe to take the offensive on scandals

Where to draw a line of defense is an important decision for any administration. Abe seems to have done a poor job of it.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
May 25, 2018

Michael Socolow explores evolution of global sports broadcasting through prism of 1936 Berlin Olympics in award-winning book

With a sharp eye for detail, American author and media historian Michael Socolow combines elements of geopolitical intrigue, Olympic history and sports broadcasting exploration infused with vigorous enthusiasm for rowing in his notable November 2016 book "Six Minutes in Berlin: Broadcast Spectacle and...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 28, 2018

Fukuda scandal highlights how Japan's news outlets take advantage of their female employees

For the past two weeks, media outlets in Japan have been interrogating themselves over the revelation that female reporters are exposed to sexual harassment due to the nature of their work. When weekly magazine Shukan Shincho published a story alleging that Administrative Vice Finance Minister Junichi...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 8, 2017

Shogi: A measure of artificial intelligence

Though last Sunday's Tokyo assembly elections garnered the most media attention, another contest came in a close second, even if only two people were involved. Fourteen-year-old Sota Fujii's record-setting winning streak of 29 games of shogi was finally broken on July 2 when he lost a match to 22-year-old...

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