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May 06, 2024
 

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FYI

Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 27, 2009
No brown bagging it for students
Safe, healthy, tasty. That's the goal of "kyushoku" (school lunches) that are distributed nationwide.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 20, 2009
'Exam hell' now not so hot
The annual university entrance examination season kicked off Saturday and Sunday as some 540,000 high school students and graduates nationwide took the standardized National Center Test for University Admissions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 23, 2008
Gay scene: Tolerance, legal limbo
Some countries see homosexuality as a crime punishable by death, while others are open to diversity and make no judgment on the basis of one's sexual orientation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 2, 2008
Soka Gakkai keeps religious, political machine humming
What do movie star Orlando Bloom, who plays young pirate Will Turner in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, R&B diva Tina Turner and Shunsuke Nakamura, an ace midfielder for Scottish soccer team Celtic, have in common?
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 11, 2008
It's fall, when kids in kimono fete 7-5-3 rituals
From October to November, Japanese parents take their young offspring to shrines as part of the traditional "shichigosan" (7-5-3) ceremony of presenting the children to Ujigami, the Shinto guardian god of good health.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 2, 2008
Against high odds, masses chase luck
What would you do if you won ¥400 million? Would you buy a convertible, a new house, start a business? All of the above?
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 12, 2008
It's ghost season in Japan — who you gonna call?
If there are eerie goings-on in the neighborhood — and Halloween is still two months off — it could be because Japan's traditional "ghost season" maxes out at this time of the year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 1, 2008
Low key, off key, but anyway it's your way
Born in Japan three decades ago, karaoke has evolved into a global fixture.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 17, 2008
How hard is it really to learn Japanese?
As a language so distinct from most others, Japanese has an air of mystery about it.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 3, 2008
Absentee ballot system up, running
Suffrage is a fundamental right of a democracy, and many countries ensure their citizens can cast absentee ballots.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 27, 2008
Law bends over backward to allow 'fuzoku'
Some desires money can't gratify, but for appetites of the flesh, there are ways in Japan to legally sate one's carnal cravings.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 20, 2008
Ainu: indigenous in every way but not by official fiat
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples last Sept. 13, with Japan among the 144 member states voting in favor.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 6, 2008
Finance Ministry losing its luster
The Finance Ministry has long been known as the most powerful and elitist of Japan's bureaucracy. When Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda repeatedly tried in March to appoint a former vice finance minister as the new Bank of Japan governor — only to be rejected by the opposition-controlled Upper House — some opposition leaders charged that Fukuda's insistence on tapping a former Finance Ministry bureaucrat was evidence that the whole government is controlled by that ministry.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 29, 2008
Pension system obligations and benefits
As the social welfare system grows in complexity, non-Japanese in particular are likely feeling a sense of frustration at the lack of information available in their native language.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 1, 2008
BOJ finds itself in 'unpresidented' state
The divided Diet has left the Bank of Japan with a vacant seat at the top for the first time since the war. This came about after Toshihiko Fukui's five-year term ended in mid-March and the government's nominees to succeed him were vetoed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 25, 2008
Basics of the U.S. military presence
The issue of U.S. military forces in Japan has come to the fore again following the alleged rape of a 14-year-old Okinawan girl by a U.S. Marine. Although the girl has withdrawn the accusation, locals and politicians have seized on the incident — a reminder of the 1995 gang rape of a 12-year-old girl by two marines and a navy corpsman — to compel a rethink of the presence of U.S. forces in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 18, 2008
Scales of justice: Legal system looks for right balance of lawyers
Judicial reform is having a quick and dramatic impact on the legal profession, not least on the number of lawyers. In March 2002, the government decided to increase the number of those who pass the bar exam to 3,000 a year by 2010. Only 1,000 were passed in 1999.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 4, 2008
Politics in game of never-ending musical chairs
A nearly unbroken line of Liberal Democratic Party politicians has headed the government since the party's 1955 formation. This dominance, however, was shaken by the stunning victory of the Democratic Party of Japan in the July 2007 House of Councilors election. In this reshaped political landscape, the two Diet chambers are controlled by different camps.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 26, 2008
Japan needs imports to keep itself fed
After a spate of food mislabeling frauds and the recent scare over pesticide-laced "gyoza" dumplings imported from China, consumers are perhaps more conscious than ever of the origin of what they eat. Many routinely check the origins of the foods they buy, especially imported products, which Japan relies heavily upon.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 29, 2008
G8: Meaningful or anachronistic forum?
Over the next six months, Japan will host a series of meetings of the Group of Eight countries, culminating in the Leaders' Summit at Lake Toya, Hokkaido, in July. Along with leaders of the G8 — Japan, the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Russia — the European Commission president and the leader of the country holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union will also be attending.
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
As visitors surge, Japan seeks ways to make tourism eco-friendly
Much like other hot spots across Okinawa, Onna has diligently strived to captivate both domestic and international tourists, while at the same time grappling with the environmental strain induced by the influx of visitors.
G7 eyes plan on U.S.-led $50 billion aid package for Ukraine
A local resident visits the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The U.S. is in talks with close partners to lead a group of allies that would give as much as $50 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
Kishida talks up bolstered Latin American ties as China cements position
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a news conference in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
Japan’s tween skateboarders get head start on preparations for 2028 Olympics
Ibuki Matsumoto competes at an event in Osaka on April 21.
As visitors surge, Japan seeks ways to make tourism eco-friendly
Much like other hot spots across Okinawa, Onna has diligently strived to captivate both domestic and international tourists, while at the same time grappling with the environmental strain induced by the influx of visitors.
Kishida talks up bolstered Latin American ties as China cements position
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a news conference in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.

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