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July 17, 2024
 

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Morihiro Hosokawa
Reader Mail
Nov 27, 2011
Beware the foreign academics
Regarding the Nov. 22 Zeit Gist article by Nicolas Gattig, "MacArthur, identity theory and Japan's lingering eigo woes": I'm sure that Gattig-sensei receives many murmurs of approval as well as hidden yawns when he makes presentations at Japanese ESL conferences. This same glib message can no doubt be...
COMMENTARY
Jul 1, 2002
Carbon tax is long past due
The global environment is deteriorating. I saw this firsthand on my trip to China several years ago. The plane arrived a few hours behind schedule because of blowing dust. As I disembarked, I noticed the jetliner was covered with black particles of "yellow sand."
COMMENTARY
May 20, 2002
Dispel the end-of-era mood
An interesting new book by Edo Period literary expert Takehiko Noguchi, "Bakumatsu Kibun" (The Mood in the Last Days of the Tokugawa Shogunate), details how shogunate officials and citizens of Edo indulged themselves in lavish consumption and entertainment as they faced the demise of the government.
COMMENTARY
Jul 31, 2001
Making decentralization work
In a recent report, a state panel urged the central government to transfer more tax-collection power to local governments and help them secure their own tax revenues. I have no objections to the proposal, made by the Decentralization Promotion Committee in its final report to Prime Minister Junichiro...
COMMENTARY
Jun 1, 2001
Koizumi's moment of truth
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration is enjoying record high public-approval ratings of more than 80 percent. Television news-programs report daily on the activities of Koizumi as well as Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, who has caught the public's fancy as the top female member of his Cabinet....
COMMENTARY
Jan 8, 2001
A simple test for leaders
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. last month announced a decision to abolish its long-standing system by which individual product divisions handled the integrated development, production and marketing operations for their products. The system, praised as the secret of the consumer electronics giant's...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2001
The true meaning of civilization
History shows that on the eve of the collapse of the Roman Empire, its denizens reveled as if they were crazy. Just before Paris fell to German forces during World War II, dressed-up people danced all night at nightclubs in the city. And when the Cuban government of President Fulgencio Batista fell,...
COMMENTARY
Oct 23, 2000
LDP is up to its old tricks
The current 150th Diet session is in unprecedented chaos over an electoral reform bill to revise the Upper House voting system. The bill would change the roster system for candidates nominated in the proportional-representation segment of the Upper House polls. Currently, parties predetermine the ranks...
COMMENTARY
Jul 17, 2000
One last chance for Japan
A quarter of a century has passed since the world's seven industrialized democracies held their first summit meeting in 1975 under the initiative of French President Giscard d'Estaing. In its earlier years the G7 forum moved the world somewhat, providing a sense of unity and direction that was not available...
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 1999
A de facto treaty revision
The Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, signed in 1951, is understood to be an arrangement whereby the United States, in exchange for the use of military bases in Japan, is committed to the rescue of this nation in the event of external aggression. Japan, with its "war-renouncing" Constitution, follows a policy...
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
Japan finds a 'stealth' cure for zombie businesses: Let them fail
A worker at Sakai Seisakusyo prepares to transport metal rods at its factory in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, on July 8.
Trump makes his grand RNC entrance with a bandaged ear and a VP pick
Former U.S. President Donald Trump during the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Monday
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
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