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November 22, 2024
 

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Hisahiko Okazaki
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2008
Hope for Taiwan's future
Even in democracies, if one party holds power for long enough, scandals can occur and popular support can fade. Nevertheless, the result of the Taiwanese presidential election was a landslide victory for the Nationalist Party (KMT) that far exceeded expectations. I felt, though conscious of the heartbreaking...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2008
Hope for pacifying the strait
The following passage, which was not given wide press coverage, was included in a report that Chinese President Hu Jintao made to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last fall:
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2007
It's Taiwan's referendum
For China, the launch of the Fukuda Cabinet in late September was good news, so it must expect many things from the new administration. What concerns me now in this respect is Taiwan's move to hold a national referendum on whether to seek U.N. membership in the name of "Taiwan."
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2007
Fukuda could resolve issue over Yasukuni by visiting
I believe it would be good for Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to visit Yasukuni Shrine during the annual autumn festival. I am very well aware that the prime minister himself is extremely cautious about the visit. But, objectively speaking, the time is getting ripe to resolve the Yasukuni problem.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2007
Entente to balance China
International politics is always shifting, basically affected by changes in the balance of power. Of all the factors that can change a balance of power, one that is unique to modern international society (since the 19th century) is the economic growth of a single country.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2007
Telling the truth at Yasukuni
Since last summer, I have been engaged in the process of modifying exhibits at Yasukuni Shrine's Yushukan history museum. The project is expected to be completed in July.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2006
Change needed at Yasukuni
In the Washington Post article that ran on this page Aug. 22, "Much to-do about a shrine," conservative U.S. commentator George Will suggests that Shinzo Abe, the front-runner in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race, stop visiting Yasukuni Shrine, the memorial for Japan's war dead, if he...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2006
Business at Beijing's pleasure
In a May 30 Wall Street Journal article, former U.S. Assistant Defense Secretary Charles W. Freeman III expressed doubts about the prospects of a free-trade agreement between the United States and Taiwan: "Given its almost obsessive antipathy for President Chen (Shui-bian), Beijing will do almost anything...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2004
Signs of a mature diplomacy
Anti-Japanese behavior by Chinese soccer fans during the Asian Cup tournament in August stirred strong resentment among the Japanese public. Man questioned whether China was qualified to host the 2008 Olympics. Others criticized the Japanese government's lukewarm protests against the incidents. I feel,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2004
Clarify 'self-defense' role
The government decided recently to keep Self-Defense Force troops stationed in Iraq as participants in the multinational force following the handover of sovereignty. I support this decision. One reason the decision has been criticized is that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a procedural faux pas...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2004
Interference may cost Chen
I still do not understand why the Japanese and U.S. governments are intervening in Taiwanese affairs -- especiall since I believe the administrations of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and President George W. Bush are the best alternatives available at this time for both countries. Japanese and U.S....
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2001
Ending Chinese interference
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 13, backtracking on his vow to make the visit Aug. 15, the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II. Although he signed his name and title in the visitors' register, Koizumi would not say whether his visit to the shrine...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2001
Nation better off if Kawashima remains
I am probably the only person in Japan who will say this at the moment, and I suppose that what I am going to say will fall on deaf ears. But I will say it anyway: Administrative Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Yutaka Kawashima should not be removed from his post. If he is, the sacking is sure to be...
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2001
Yamasaki's bold proposal
Taku Yamasaki, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, calls for a revision to the Constitution in his book "Kempo Kaisei" (Constitutional revision). I read it with great interest because his proposal, coming as it does from the No. 2 man in the ruling party, carries weight and therefore could...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 20, 2001
Shame on the government
The Mori administration and the Foreign Ministry in particular have been taking an ambiguous attitude toward a request for a Japanese visa from former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui. I must criticize this attitude categorically.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2001
Meeting mutual expectations
The Bush administration attaches special importance to U.S. allies in its foreign policy. In a news conference held Dec. 16, immediately after he won the presidency, George W. Bush said his administration will work with its allies in Europe and the Far East.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2001
New opportunities for Japan-U.S. ties
The administration of U.S. President-elect George W. Bush will include many pro-Japanese officials. This reflects U.S. political history. Many officials of President Bill Clinton's administration had served under President Jimmy Carter, who came to power 12 years earlier. For example, former Secretary...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2000
Japan needs to abandon the 'image game'
Domestic politics is not my specialty, but I am so disturbed by recent developments that I am prompted to write down some of my thoughts. First, newspaper comments and articles suggest that the opposition parties and the media have succeeded in establishing a public image of Yoshiro Mori as an incompetent...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2000
China refuses to let history be
The recent visit to Japan by Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has certainly created a favorable impression among the Japanese -- a contrast with Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit two years ago -- but it has had no significant politi cal impact on public opinion in this country.
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2000
Whose Constitution is it?
At a recent meeting of the Diet's Constitutional Review Council, Americans who participated in the drafting of the Japanese Constitution 54 years ago during the Occupation gave testimony. Their statements provided valuable clues to an understanding of the circum- stances that led up to the establishment...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
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