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Takamitsu Sawa

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Takamitsu Sawa
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2008
Fukuda's low-carbon society 'vision' needs to shorten its sights, include medium-term target
On June 9, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda released his "vision" for creating a low-carbon society in a determined bid to fulfill his responsibility as chairman of the summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in Toyako, Hokkaido.
COMMENTARY
Jun 10, 2008
A shift in priority to 'happiness'
Per capita gross domestic product is a highly valued as yardstick for measuring the degree of "affluence" enjoyed by the citizens of each nation. The figures of various countries are usually converted into U.S. dollars to determine how countries rank internationally.
COMMENTARY
May 12, 2008
Economics studies suffer as math focus diminishes
There has been a sharp decrease in the number of students who major in natural sciences in their undergraduate years and then take up economics in postgraduate courses. I will attempt to identify the reasons.
COMMENTARY
Apr 7, 2008
Starving the emissions beast
The focus of the debate on climate change has shifted drastically in the past several years. The Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997 on the assumption that climate change and global warming were being caused by emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
COMMENTARY
Mar 10, 2008
Get set for emissions trading
The year 2007 marked the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Kyoto Protocol; the 20th anniversary of the release of the report "Our Common Future" by the World Commission on Environment and Development, headed by former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland (the expression "sustainable development"...
COMMENTARY
Feb 18, 2008
The afterlife for bureaucrats
For years the phrase "from the public sector to the private sector" has been used in the context of politics and the economy. In April 1985, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corp. and Japan Monopoly Corp. were privatized, becoming NTT and Japan Tobacco respectively. In April 1987, Japanese National...
COMMENTARY
Jan 14, 2008
Public's will to bear the cost
Most Japanese industry executives contend that the proposed environment tax should not be introduced on the grounds that it would slow the growth of gross domestic product. In my opinion, this argument is totally mistaken.
COMMENTARY
Dec 11, 2007
The graduate school fiasco
Amid the controversy over Japanese students' falling scholastic standards, the most serious concern stems from the poor abilities of graduate students. This problem arose from the mistaken policy, introduced in 1990, of expanding graduate-school education.
COMMENTARY
Nov 19, 2007
Feasible cuts in emissions
Debate is raging over the pros and cons of the proposed target of halving global greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050. The goal, initially proposed last June by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was supported by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders at the Group of Eight summit at Heiligendamm,...
COMMENTARY
Oct 8, 2007
Save cramming for college
On Aug. 30, the elementary-school group of the Central Education Council published a draft report to the education minister that included these points:
COMMENTARY
Sep 11, 2007
Off the nuclear mainstream
On July 16, a magnitude-6.8 earthquake struck Niigata Prefecture, causing widespread damage and an emergency shutdown of four of the seven reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. (The remaining three reactors were undergoing regular checks.) The Chuetsu-oki Earthquake touched off a fire...
COMMENTARY
Aug 14, 2007
Why test just the teachers?
Medical doctors, pharmacists, nurses, jurists and certified public accountants are among the professionals who have had to pass national licensing examinations to get started. As professionals, they must have specialized knowledge and skills.
COMMENTARY
Jul 9, 2007
Next stage of emission cuts
Speaking at the 13th International "Future of Asia" conference in Tokyo May 24, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a set of comprehensive strategies for cutting greenhouse-gas emissions.
COMMENTARY
Jun 12, 2007
School tinkering that hurts
The education ministry is pushing university reform based on a U.S. model. As I wrote in April, the ministry in 1990 introduced a policy of sharply expanding graduate school admission quotas. In the next year, it relaxed undergraduate restrictions in graduate-level liberal-arts programs, allowing even...
COMMENTARY
May 8, 2007
Groom Japan's gifted students
On April 11, the public broadcaster NHK's program "Close-up Gendai (Current Affairs)" took up the issue of the International Science Olympiads (ISOs) for middle- and high-school students. The competition tests knowledge in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, informatics, astronomy and other areas...
COMMENTARY
Apr 9, 2007
Redundant higher education
In the 1990s, the education ministry announced a policy of making graduate schools the center of education and research at what had traditionally been undergraduate universities. At about the same time, restrictions on a liberal arts education for undergraduates were relaxed, allowing even freshmen students...
COMMENTARY
Mar 13, 2007
Dealing with climate change
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, and the 20th anniversary of the publication "Our Common Future," by the United Nations Brundtland Commission, the landmark report that called for "sustainable development" -- meeting the needs of the present without compromising...
COMMENTARY
Feb 12, 2007
Still the clean-growth model
In terms of economic development, Japan, South Korea and China have achieved in two or three decades what it took Western countries more than a century to accomplish.
COMMENTARY
Jan 1, 2007
Unwise gantlet for teachers
Certain professionals must pass state examinations to obtain licenses for their jobs. They include medical doctors, dentists, jurists, certified public accountants, architects, pharmacists and registered nurses, as well as primary, middle and high school teachers. Amid the severe employment situation,...
COMMENTARY
Nov 20, 2006
Viable post-Kyoto approach
The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol covers the five years from 2008 to 2012. Now is the time to start discussing the international framework for the second commitment period, which begins in 2013.
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.
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.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
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.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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