The damage done by a lengthy appeals process
The media has no problem reprimanding the government when it loses a court case, but news outlets seldom talk about how the judicial system can drag things on.
In Japan, the perfect tax-deductible gifts: face masks and sanitizers
With supplies of face masks and sanitizers running short amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some municipalities have begun to offer such items as gift incentives as part of the furusato nōzei (hometown tax donation) system rather than local products like meat or fish. The government of ...
Kazuo Hara returns to form as a documentary filmmaker with 'Sennan Asbestos Disaster'
Kazuo Hara became famous — some would say notorious — for the documentaries he made about individuals who defied Japanese social norms and laws. One such individual was Kenzo Okuzaki, the subject of Hara's 1987 film "The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On." A veteran of ...
The government needs to take a top court decision seriously and move quickly to offer financial help to asbestos victims.
The Osaka District Court on May 19 ordered the government to pay ¥435 million in compensation to 23 people who worked in asbestos-spinning factories in the Sennan area of Osaka Prefecture from 1939 to 2005. It did not offer compensation to three other plaintiffs, ...
