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Takamitsu Sawa

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Takamitsu Sawa
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 13, 2013
Abe set to overturn legacies of Koizumi and Nakasone
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is reviving the old Liberal Democratic Party, having undone moves by former Prime Ministers Yasuhiro Nakasone and Junichiro Koizumi toward smaller government.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 16, 2013
Lack of liberal arts education is sapping Japan's creativity
The plight of the Japanese manufacturing industry today is in part caused by its engineers' lack of a liberal arts education.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 18, 2013
Interest in climate change ebbs
It's puzzling why so few arguments have been made in Japan this summer to link the heat waves and local cloudbursts to global warming and climate change.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 14, 2013
Major parties both fall short
It should be of concern to Japan's voters that the LDP's proposed constitutional revisions run counter to the principles of freedom and democracy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2013
Top students shunning Japan
Making English the standard language at graduate schools in Japan won't be enough to attract more of the 'outstanding' students from abroad.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 20, 2013
For a more 'friendly' Japan
A Shiga University professor has some reservations about a government industrial council's proposals to make Japan 'the world's most business-friendly environment.'
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2013
No resting on techie laurels
Only a few years ago, it was forecast that Japan's best growth strategy would be to develop environment-related products. That forecast was off the mark.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2013
Greatest hopes work for less
For the sake of Japan's future, the education ministry and others must work to raise the pay of researchers and professors at national universities.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 21, 2013
A nagging Japanese riddle: Who's 'left' and who's 'right'?
In the Dec. 16 Lower House election, the Liberal Democratic Party won a resounding victory while the Democratic Party of Japan suffered a crushing defeat, bringing about a change of government after three years and three months of DPJ rule.
COMMENTARY
Dec 17, 2012
'Green' losers and winners
I have long advocated the path of "green growth" for Japan. During the past two decades, the Japanese economy has suffered from an extremely low annual growth rate averaging 0.9 percent in real terms and minus 0.2 percent nominally.
COMMENTARY
Sep 17, 2012
Greatest lib-con showdown in America since the 1960s
The presidential election in the United States is less than two months away. The Republican Party has nominated Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, to run against the Democratic incumbent, Barack Obama.
COMMENTARY
Aug 20, 2012
Measuring a society's value
Guan Zhong, an ancient Chinese savant, once stated that people learn to behave with good manners only when they have sufficient clothing and food.
COMMENTARY
Jul 10, 2012
Completing one's education
Until only a few years ago, Japan prided itself on leading the world in the field of manufacturing. Industry as a whole is usually classified into four sectors: agriculture-forestry-fishery, mining, manufacturing, and services. (The mining industry is virtually nonexistent in resource-poor Japan, and...
COMMENTARY
Jun 18, 2012
State of economic disparity in the age of dashed ideals
During the 1980s and 1990s, a number of countries were ruled by political parties upholding the credo of "market fundamentalism" as their governments vigorously pushed neoliberalism.
COMMENTARY
May 21, 2012
Who will support aging Japan?
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore more than a decade ago adopted the growth strategy of making the medical industry the core of the nation's industrial development.
COMMENTARY
Apr 10, 2012
Energy conservation is key
If all the reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture remain offline, and if approval is not given for restarting the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture following their just-completed...
COMMENTARY
Mar 19, 2012
Color GDP growth green
It is often said that the 21st century is the "century of the environment." This means two things: One is that the environmental problems of this planet, especially climate change and global warming, have become so serious that they are attracting more people's attention; and the other is that environmental...
COMMENTARY
Feb 27, 2012
Tradeoff in nuclear power
...
COMMENTARY
Jan 23, 2012
More crucial than English
On Nov. 21, 2011, the Government Revitalization Unit (GRU) took up the issue of reform of Japan's university system. Five themes were presented by GRU members:
COMMENTARY
Dec 19, 2011
Motivation for college study
These days we often hear that there are two signs that the Japanese people, especially youths, have become inward-looking: The number of Japanese students going overseas for study has declined sharply, and far fewer employees in the public and private sectors are willing to take up posts outside the...
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.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
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.
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.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

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