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November 12, 2025
 

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EXPLAINER

JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 26, 2007
Prison reforms seen as too little, and way too late
In May 2006, the government revised the prison law in the first attempt at broad reform since 1908. The Law Concerning Penal Institutions and the Treatment of Sentenced Inmates, as the legislation is formally known, went into effect June 7.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 19, 2007
Crime victims get their day, say in court
The Diet is expected to pass a controversial bill this week to revise the Criminal Procedure Law to enable people victimized by crime to participate in trial proceedings.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 12, 2007
Japan's green strides belie spotty record
Last month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sought a leading role in the fight against climate change when he proposed a global initiative to halve greenhouse gas emis sions by 2050.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 5, 2007
Headline-grabbing gun crimes mar safe image
Japan, whose strict gun controls have long helped its image as the safest industrialized nation, has recently seen its reputation slip in the wake of headline-making shootings.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 29, 2007
'Amakudari' too entrenched to curb?
The Diet began deliberating a bill this month aimed at curbing "amakudari," the practice of giving retiring top bureaucrats lucrative jobs in private-sector firms and quasi-government entities in the business sectors they oversee.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 22, 2007
Opening the courts to ordinary citizens
In less than two years, when a new criminal trial system is introduced, citizens will be obliged to serve as "saibanin," or lay judges. The general public in some 80 countries around the world already plays a role in their nations' judicial systems, such as British- and American-style juries and the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 15, 2007
Who's paying for those free cell phones?
No longer just a simple device for placing calls, the mobile phone is now a must-have item for most people. To promote market penetration, many of these multimedia, high-tech handsets are sold at a discount, or sometimes even given away.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 1, 2007
Are new rules kind to hostile mergers?
Delayed for a year because of strong opposition from domestic firms frightened by the prospect of being taken over, the so-called triangular merger system becomes legal Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 24, 2007
Getting a handle on earthquakes
Earthquakes are a fact of life in Japan. In the past month alone, the country has been hit by a huge quake in Ishikawa Prefecture and another in Mie. Following are questions and answers dealing with basic information on earthquakes:
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 17, 2007
SDF emerging as the military it truly is
The government has steadily expanded the activities of the Self-Defense Forces since the 1990s as the nation sought to play greater roles in international political and security affairs. Public perceptions toward the SDF have also changed in line with changes in the security environment, espe cially...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 10, 2007
Nuclear power vital but fiasco-prone
Just how much does Japan rely on nuclear reactors? For nearly four decades, atomic power has, after oil and coal, played a key role in meeting Japan's energy needs. Today, 55 nuclear plants provide a third of the nation's electricity.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 3, 2007
Time up for bag-happy stores, users
Retailers have long considered plastic bags basic to good service. Supermarket clerks toss tofu, eggs and ice cream into individual clear plastic bags to prevent a mess should the products' own wrapping somehow break. More plastic bags are often provided just in case, then it all goes into bigger shopping...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 27, 2007
Life in the cloudy Imperial fishbowl
Although the media and insatiable public curiosity can expose the private secrets of superstars, the Imperial family remains largely out of view.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 20, 2007
Were they teen-rape slaves or paid pros?
An international outcry has flared again after members of the U.S. House of Representatives submitted a resolution in January urging Japan to formally apologize for forcing young females across Asia into sexual slavery during the war.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 13, 2007
Japan is obliged to accept refugees, so why so few?
In 1981, Japan signed the U.N. 1951 Conventions Relating to the Status of Refugees and in 1982, it inked the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees and enacted the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law. Signatories are obliged to give refugees due recognition and protect their basic...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 6, 2007
The prime minister's official hub
Kantei, the Prime Minister's Official Residence, is always a center of attention, particularly in times of national crisis, including when a big earthquake struck Niigata Prefecture in October 2004 and when North Korea tested a nuclear weapon last October.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 27, 2007
Death row: limbo of not knowing when
Japan is among 69 nations, including the United States, that have the death penalty.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 20, 2007
Assessing IRCJ, the government's bailout body
The government-backed bailout agency Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan will finish its work and close its doors as early as next month, a year earlier than planned. Since it was established in April 2003, the bailout body has helped debt-ridden companies, including major supermarket chain Daiei...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 14, 2007
From rackets to real estate, yakuza multifaceted
The yakuza have long played a powerful, if often unseen, role in society. Romanticized in literature and film as noble outcasts replete with punch-perms, extensive tattoos and severed pinkies, the underworld is one of archaic language and secretive rituals and customs as well as extreme violence and...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 6, 2007
Innocence is presumed but bail is not a given
There are some things money can't buy, but to get out of jail, bail can be an option for some.
Tokyo ranked world’s richest city by GDP, with Osaka-Kobe also rated highly
Tokyo has a gross domestic product of $2.55 trillion, just ahead of New York’s $2.49 trillion and Greater Los Angeles’ $1.62 trillion, according to CEOWorld’s global wealth index.
Takaichi stands firm on controversial Taiwan contingency remarks
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions during a session of the House of Representatives' Budget Committee in parliament in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years
Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Tokyo looks to keep ‘monster parents’ at bay with new protocols
New guidelines are addressing struggles by teachers to deal with the burden of parents who make irrational complaints that go beyond what is considered socially acceptable, often referred to as "monster parents," which is overwhelming their workload.
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
Florist Nicolai Bergmann flourishes outside the box
Florist Nicolai Bergmann shops for fresh flowers at the Ota flower market in Tokyo on Friday.
Jenson Button brings end to an illustrious racing career intertwined with Japan
Jenson Button races for Honda during the Singapore Grand Prix in September 2008.
Cleanliness gets competitive at Tokyo’s Spogomi world cup
On Oct. 29, teams from 33 qualifying countries scoured the streets of Shibuya for all manners of trash as part of the Spogomi litter-picking competition.
Jon Homewood: ‘There’s beauty in what we throw away’
After a peripatetic childhood around the world, teacher and artist Jon Homewood ended up coming to Japan in 2012 for a professional opportunity.
High-speed rail is expensive and difficult, but seen as a key to growth
Achal Khare, former managing director at India’s National High Speed Rail Corporation, gives a presentation during the IHRA Forum 2025 in Tokyo on Oct. 23.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years
By Yukana Inoue

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