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April 29, 2024
 

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THE XX

COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2009
Pope's dream of heaven on Earth
HONG KONG — Of all the criticisms and critiques of the state of the world since the financial crisis that triggered global recession, the most devastating and yet the most profound and constructive came this month from such an unusual and unlikely source that many media ignored them. Yet the comments deserve a global audience.
COMMENTARY
Jul 22, 2009
Protectionist trend on the rise
In the English language the word "Protection" sounds warm and friendly. Everyone needs protection against the storms of life and it is nice to give protection and be protected. But lift this innocent word into the international sphere and it becomes a sinister and ominous concept, a harbinger of narrow selfishness, conflict and impoverishment.
EDITORIALS
Jul 14, 2009
The right to know about Okinawa
In March 2009, a group of citizens filed a lawsuit demanding that the state disclose three diplomatic documents related to the 1972 reversion of Okinawa from U.S. to Japanese rule. The government had turned down a September 2008 request based on the Freedom Information Law to disclose the documents saying that there was no evidence that the documents exist or that they had been destroyed or transferred. But the United States already disclosed the documents in 2000 and 2002.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2009
Consequences of hostility on the Peninsula
SEOUL — Once again, the Korean Peninsula is experiencing one of its periodic bouts of extremism, this time marked by the suicide May 22 of former President Roh Moo Hyun, and North Korea's second test of a nuclear device.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2009
A story line to push the economy
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Since hitting bottom in early March, the world's major stock markets have all risen dramatically. Some, notably in China and Brazil, reached lows last fall and again in March, before rebounding sharply, with Brazil's Bovespa up 75 percent in May compared to late October 2008, and the Shanghai Composite up 54 percent in roughly the same period. The stock market news just about everywhere has been very good since March.
EDITORIALS
Jul 21, 2008
Toning down the convenience
In an attempt to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions, some local governments are planning to ask convenience stores to rethink their round-the-clock operations. If fully implemented, fewer business hours would have a great impact on people's lifestyles. As a first step, though, it would be necessary to consider various factors in nationwide public discussions on convenience stores.
Japan Times
Features
Jul 13, 2008
Japan's culture policy lingers in limbo
It's a fact that has long puzzled devotees and plain old tourists alike. Japan's manga and anime arts have been wowing the world for more than a decade, and yet the national government still hasn't got around to setting up a proper museum for their enjoyment, preservation and study.
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2008
Punishing bureaucratic neglect
The Supreme Court earlier this month upheld a suspended prison sentence for a former health ministry official who had been found guilty of failing to prevent the sale and use of HIV-contaminated blood products that resulted in the death of a patient suffering from impaired liver function. It concluded more than 11 years of criminal investigations and trials linked to the 1980s' HIV outbreak caused by tainted blood products. AIDS caused by the infection killed more than 600 people, many of them hemophiliacs.
Reader Mail
Jan 20, 2008
Don't cross oceans to kill whales
I love Japan and its people. I have always been impressed by all the Japanese people I have ever met and worked with. But I am so sad that Japan sends its ships to our ocean to kill our whales. We Australians see whales as very intelligent creatures who nurture their young in family groups, and who have a special relationship with humans.
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2007
Stars in their guides
Last month, Tokyo's restaurants received their stars. For the first time, the famed Michelin Guide, the most respected and feared guidebook in Europe, published a volume outside the Western world. Noted for its make-or-break effects on European hotels and restaurants, the publication was greeted in Tokyo with a mixture of excited confusion, idle curiosity and skepticism.
EDITORIALS
Sep 30, 2007
The real stakes in Taiwan
There was never any doubt about the outcome of Taiwan's bid to regain a seat in the United Nations. For the 15th time in as many years, the U.N. rejected Taipei's call to return to the world body. The application did not even make it to the General Assembly agenda, having been blocked by the General Assembly's General Committee amid adamant opposition from China.
Reader Mail
Sep 16, 2007
Deplorable distortion of message
I agree with Vipan Chandra's opinion in his Sept. 5 letter, "Message of a war-crimes judge," that Japanese nationalists distort the message of the late Indian Justice Radhabinod Pal, who believed that wartime leaders accused at the Tokyo Tribunal were not guilty. That a monument to the judge stands right in front of a war museum at Yasukuni Shrine, which displays memorabilia from the so-called Great East Asia War, is perplexing and disturbing. Given the incompatibility between Pal's aversion to war and what the war-glorifying museum represents, the monument to honor him looks out of place.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 17, 2007
Girls have all the fun
If there was a festival anthem to this year's Summer Sonic, it was "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." The overflowing crowd at Cyndi Lauper's Sunday set on the Sonic Stage was mostly made up of women who mouthed every word to her string of hits. And when she finished with her biggest hit, the female members of The Polyphonic Spree and Tilly and The Wall joined her on stage to she-bop ecstatically.
EDITORIALS
Aug 10, 2007
A credible economic policy
Since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party suffered a crushing defeat in the Upper House election, it is all the more important for the government to work out a credible economic policy. As Japan's population grays and decreases at the same time, it will be essential to enhance efficiency in administration and finance and to set policy priorities.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 27, 2007
Playing their last show, again
"This year is 30 years since I first went onstage with a band called The Cure and 2009 will be 30 years since our first album," says proto-goth Robert Smith, speaking via telephone on a suitably ghoulish Friday the 13th.
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 2007
Upper House campaign commences
The campaign for the July 29 Upper House election has officially started. It is the first national election since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in September 2006. Under the Abe administration so far, the Fundamental Law of Education has been revised to instill patriotism in children and strengthen state control of education, and the Defense Agency has been upgraded to a Defense Ministry, among other things. The election results will deliver voters' verdict on Mr. Abe's politics.
EDITORIALS
May 28, 2007
Strategic Economic Dialogue stumbles
The increasingly shrill dialogue between the United States and China over economic issues should sound familiar to many Japanese. A swelling U.S. trade deficit with China has led to demands by Washington for the revaluation of the Chinese currency, threats of trade sanctions from Congress, and angry retorts about U.S. unilateralism from Beijing.
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2007
Juvenile Law revision
A bill to revise the Juvenile Law, which passed the Lower House with the backing of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, is now in the Upper House. The bill is designed to provide harsher treatment of juvenile offenders. Lawmakers must question whether such a move will really help to prevent juvenile crimes and rehabilitate juvenile offenders.
EDITORIALS
May 6, 2007
Kiosks and koban
Two of Japan's most respected institutions — kiosks and koban (police boxes) — have gone empty in recent weeks, upsetting many who regularly depend on them. The shock waves are still reverberating around the country, but especially in Tokyo, where their essential everyday services were reported closed in numerous areas.
COMMENTARY
Mar 5, 2007
To move without U.S. cues
In their talks Feb. 21, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and visiting U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney reaffirmed the "unwavering" Japan-U.S. security alliance. This raises a question: Why did Abe have to reaffirm an alliance that is said to have already benefited from the long honeymoon between former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush?
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
Raising kids in Japan as a single parent? It takes a village.
Making things work as a foreign, single mother in Japan isn't easy, but these tips and tricks can help you through the hardest parts.
JAL cancels international flight after captain gets drunk at Dallas hotel
A Japan Airlines' flight from Dallas to Tokyo was canceled last week after its captain got drunk at a local hotel.
In Japan, regional revitalization fails to halt population decline
Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
Putin’s war will soon reach Russians’ tax bills
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting in St. Petersburg on Friday.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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