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May 15, 2024
 

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SENTAKU MAGAZINE

COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Oct 16, 2009
Government's gatekeeper
A month in office, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama appears to face difficulty in effecting his key slogan of reducing, if not eliminating, the government's heavy reliance on the bureaucracy, due mainly to confusion as to who will take the lead andwith how much power.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 24, 2009
Can LDP recoup the glory days?
Is former Prime Minister Taro Aso solely to blame for the crushing defeat of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the Aug. 30 general election at the hands of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)?
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 21, 2009
Less 'exclusionary' DPJ to test mettle of reporters
The resounding victory by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in the general election Aug. 30 not only will bring about a change of government but also is likely to shatter an exclusionary "press club" system that has long prevented freelance, non-Japanese and other nonmember journalists from interviewing the prime minister and other top political leaders.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 24, 2009
Party shakeouts unlikely if the DPJ wins big-time
The latest major opinion polls seem to indicate that the general election on Aug. 30 will bring about a change of government in Japan, with the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) unseating the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Prime Minister Taro Aso as the predominant force in the Lower House. One is left with the question of whether there will be a new alignment of political parties and politicians.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 18, 2009
Weighing the nuclear option
In his 2008 New Year's speech, Japanese political doyen and former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone warned that without a clear-cut national vision and objective, Japan might tread a path toward ruin like the ancient city-state of Carthage, which was defeated and destroyed by Rome in 146 B.C.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 27, 2009
Mettle of 'thoroughbreds'
What does Prime Minister Taro Aso have in common with his immediate predecessors — Junichiro Koizumi, Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda? Each is either a son or a grandson of a well-known politician of the past.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 20, 2009
Two brothers competing on Japan's political ladder
One of the major topics of speculation among political observers nowadays is what course of action former internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama will take following his revolt against Prime Minister Taro Aso. He will have to make up his mind soon now that the date of the next general election has just been set for the end of August.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jun 22, 2009
Factional beat of the LDP
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party could very well be in for a bitter power struggle among three of its principal intraparty factions following the general election expected by September. The outcome of that struggle could also be a harbinger of a broader political reorganization involving not only the LDP but also the Democratic Party of Japan, the No. 1 opposition group.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jun 16, 2009
Ozawa's residual influence
Even after being forced to resign as Democratic Party of Japan president because of a scandal involving his secretary, Ichiro Ozawa appears to exert strong influence over his successor, Yukio Hatoyama.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 25, 2009
Paying Aso back with praise
Ranking officials at the Foreign Ministry appear more preoccupied with presenting Prime Minister Taro Aso as dexterous at diplomacy than promoting the national interest. One official has confided that it is now their turn to return the favor given to them when Aso was foreign minister.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 11, 2009
Ozawa weighs next move
The attention of many political observers appears to be focused on when and how, rather than if, Ichiro Ozawa will step down as the leader of the No. 1 opposition Democratic Party of Japan before the next general election due to take place no later than September.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 27, 2009
Investigation into DJP aide raises many questions
Were the public prosecutors politically motivated when they arrested and indicted a top aide to the leader of the No. 1 opposition party for seemingly minor charges? Why were the actions taken at a time when Ichiro Ozawa, the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, is said to have a fair chance of leading his party to victory in the upcoming general election and becoming the next prime minister?
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 20, 2009
Looking for a new leader
David Cameron, the leader of the British opposition Conservative Party, is the envy of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which is in desperate need to find someone to replace or succeed Taro Aso, whose popularity remains low despite a political scandal involving the Democratic Party of Japan — the arrest of DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa's chief secretary.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Mar 16, 2009
LDP is running on empty
Amid the dwindling approval rate of Prime Minister Taro Aso, triggered by a series of gaffes coming out of his own mouth and by disgraceful behavior of his right-hand man in the international arena, the conventional wisdom would call either for him to resign and hand over the reins of government to Ichiro Ozawa of the No. 1 opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), who in turn would dissolve the Lower House and call a general election, or for Aso and Ozawa to agree to dissolve the Lower House for an early election.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Mar 11, 2009
Nakasone predicts major changes in politics
Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, who still exerts much influence in Japanese politics at the age of 90, hailed Ichiro Ozawa in an interview toward the end of last year as "having gained dignity, insight and stature during the past year" as the man qualified to lead his Democratic Party of Japan and to replace incumbent Prime Minister Taro Aso of the governing Liberal Democratic Party.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Feb 11, 2009
Breaking the U.S.-Japan jinx
Prime Minister Taro Aso seems eager to meet the new president of the United States, Barack Obama, as the initial step toward accomplishing something big in the field of diplomacy, and in an effort to put the brakes on the downward spiral of his popularity at home.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jan 28, 2009
Can Japan afford the DPJ?
With the Aso administration's approval rating continuing to plunge, there appears to be a growing likelihood that the No. 1 opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, will defeat the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the next general election and take the reins of government under the leadership of Ichiro Ozawa.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jan 19, 2009
Aso getting the brushoff
As the approval rate for the government of Prime Minister Taro Aso plummets, bureaucrats have begun to distance themselves from him in favor of establishing closer ties with the No. 1 opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which they apparently think has at least a fair chance of displacing Aso's ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the next general election.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 23, 2008
DPJ has a foot in the door
As the odds grow that the No. 1 opposition Democratic Party of Japan will take the reigns of government after the next general elections, the focus in the Japanese political arena is shifting to the lineup of a Cabinet headed by DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa, and to who would succeed him if he retired early for health reasons.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 16, 2008
Japan aches for a political rescue
Time appears to be ripe for a complete overhaul of the Japanese political landscape, but it is utterly impossible to predict how political parties will line up after the next general election.
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
Yen’s fragility raises specter of a new currency war in Asia
Suspected intervention to drag the yen off a 34-year low against the dollar is already seen as unlikely to have a lasting effect if Japan continues alone.
Online booking for Mount Fuji climb to open on May 20
Visitors climb the slopes of Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak at 3,776 meters. From May 20, climbers will have access to a new online booking system for Mount Fuji's most popular Yoshida trail in Yamanashi Prefecture.
In Japan, 68,000 people over 65 projected to die alone at home this year
As Japan grapples with its population's rapid aging, supporting people who live and age alone is looming larger on the policy agenda.
Ex-METI bureaucrat given 10-year sentence for drugging and raping women
The Tokyo District Court on Monday sentenced a former industry ministry bureaucrat to 10 years in prison for drugging six women with sleeping pills and then raping or groping them in 2022.
Ishin struggles to set itself apart from other parties
Nippon Ishin no Kai Secretary-General Fumitake Fujita (right) speaks beside Yui Kanazawa, the party's candidate in the Tokyo 15th district by-election on April 28. Nippon Ishin lost in this by-election as well as another in Nagasaki held on the same day.
In a rare event, the Northern Lights show up in Hokkaido
The Northern Lights in Nayoro, Hokkaido, on Saturday
Is black the new green for Japan’s flagging tea farmers?
George Guttridge-Smith brews tea at Kyoto Obubu Tea Farm in Wazuka, Kyoto Prefecture, where he serves as head of international development.
Japan's logistics firms seek partnerships to cope with driver shortage
Japan Post CEO Tetsuya Senda (right) and his Seino Transportation counterpart Satoshi Takahashi announce their companies' agreement on joint long-haul truck operations, in Tokyo on Thursday.
How the discovery of a giant sword in Nara offers clues into ancient Japan
Archaeologists say a 1,600-year-old wooden coffin at the Tomio Maruyama tumulus in the city of Nara was kept in good condition probably because it was protected by a layer of clay and copper ions that had seeped out of the mirrors that were buried together.

Podcast

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[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

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By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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