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May 06, 2024
 

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FYI

Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 15, 2008
Japan, Brazil mark a century of settlement, family ties
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of a Japanese migration to Brazil. In 1908, hundreds of farmers moved to the South American country, dreaming of making their fortunes there before returning to their hometowns.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 8, 2008
An up-close view of Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji is the most beloved mountain in Japan — an honor it has held since the dawn of history.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 25, 2007
Whaling — for nationalism or science?
When it comes to whaling, Japan digs in its heels, as do antiwhaling nations and conservation groups.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 18, 2007
Japan has its Christmas cake and eats it, too
'Tis the jolly holiday season and the streets are filled with bright illumination, sparkling decorations and cheerful Christmas songs to mark the big day next week.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 11, 2007
Hemp OK as rope, not as dope
A Justice Ministry report released last month says the number of Cannabis Control Law violations set a record in 2006, while the amount of marijuana seized dropped to half from the previous year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 23, 2007
Ships out at sea or troops in a war zone?
The special antiterrorism law that expires Nov. 1 is the hottest dispute in domestic politics and could even determine the fate of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and his administration.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 9, 2007
ODA shrinking but still key tool
Official development assistance is an important diplomatic tool for Japan, which relies heavily on other countries for resources, food and many other economic necessities.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 11, 2007
Funds law no match for wily politicians
Almost every day it seems another politician is making headlines over a money scandal. Four members of embattled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet — administrative reform minister Genichiro Sata, and farm ministers Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Norihiko Akagi and Takehiko Endo — have been forced from their positions by revelations of misuse of political funds. Matsuoka even took his own life.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 4, 2007
Japan's Shinto-Buddhist religious medley
Most in Japan may know Buddhism has something to do with controlling lust and anger, and is associated with funerals and graves, while Shinto involves venerating nature, and weddings. But many people have trouble making theological distinctions between the two or even telling a Buddhist temple from a Shinto shrine.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 21, 2007
'Hanko' fate sealed by test of time
A "hanko" personal seal is a necessary item for most adults in Japan, serving the same role as a signature in the West.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 14, 2007
The impact of Upper House president
For the first time in the postwar period, the House of Councilors has an opposition lawmaker as president, 66-year-old Satsuki Eda.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 3, 2007
How Japanese tax-payers' money is lost in bid-rigging
Every few years, politicians, bureaucrats and construction company bigwigs get embroiled in bid-rigging scandals — and the public's faith in government sinks deeper.
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 Times
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 Times
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 Times
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 European mixed courts. Here are some details of the saibanin system taking effect by May 2009:
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 following North Korea's missile and nuclear tests last year. Yet a unique background and history still set the SDF apart from other armed forces.
Japan Times
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 human rights.
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 says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
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.
Japan’s record-low children population weighs on growth
The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
'Monster' Inoue ready to tear down Luis Nery in title defense at Tokyo Dome
Naoya Inoue (left) and Luis Nery following a pre-fight news conference in Yokohama on Saturday, two days ahead of their super bantamweight title fight.
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.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.

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