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Everyone should relax as Japan’s capital, Tokyo, isn’t ripping out thousands of trees to redevelop the famed Jingu Gaien park. Quite the opposite is planned.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jul 12, 2024

Tokyo's Jingu Gaien is at the center of an urban debate amid a redevelopment rift

Concerns about plans for Tokyo's Jingu Gaien may be exaggerated, as key trees will be preserved and more green space will be created post-development.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April. Both leaders face an uphill battle to stay at the helm of their respective parties and countries.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jul 10, 2024

Japan too is wrestling with a flawed leader

Questions about election prospects plague Biden in the U.S. and Kishida in Japan, with both trying to hang on to their commanding positions despite growing discontent.

Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture. The mayor of Himeji has suggested that foreign tourists pay four times more to enter the castle than the current ¥1,000 entrance fee.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jul 8, 2024

Japan really should charge tourists four times more

The suggestion by a Kansai mayor that foreign visitors pay more for tourist attractions doesn't go far enough. The government should establish a nationwide policy.

Japan’s redesigned yen banknotes are shown at the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday, the day the new ¥10,000, ¥5,000 and ¥1,000 bills went into circulation.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jul 3, 2024

The new yen notes have an important story to tell

The inspiring stories of the three trailblazers whose portraits are featured on the new yen banknotes say a lot about the past, present and future of Japan.

American sprinter Noah Lyles poses with a "Yu-Gi-Oh!" card after winning at the U.S. Olympic track-and-field finals on Sunday. The image went viral, once again showing the popularity of Japanese cultural exports like manga.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jun 28, 2024

Blackstone sees billions in manga. You should too.

Investment firm Blackstone's move to buy manga platform Mecha Comics, betting on the strength of Japan's soft power, looks further ahead than other players have.

Monitors show the rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar at a foreign exchange brokerage in Tokyo on Monday. Traders are falling out of step with the Bank of Japan, expecting hawkish steps that are instead met with a cautious approach.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jun 24, 2024

Traders are out of step with the BOJ’s Ueda

Time and time again, traders predict that the Bank of Japan will take bold next steps, but these rarely come. That's because Gov. Ueda is, most of all, cautious.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike (left) and Renho, a member of the House of Councilors, both candidates in the gubernatorial election, attend a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in the capital on Wednesday.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jun 20, 2024

The battle to be Japan’s most powerful woman is on

The race to become governor of Tokyo has officially kicked off, and is set to determine who will control a region that makes up more than 20% of the nation’s economy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Amur Oblast region of Far East Russia on Sept. 13 .

COMMENTARY

Jun 18, 2024

Worry more about Putin’s visit than Kim’s dung balloons

Russia and North Korea, heavily sanctioned, have much to gain from each other and little to lose, reducing the leverage that the U.S. and its allies have over them.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett attends the opening ceremony of Tungaloy's new plant in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, in November 2011. Buffett says Tokyo executives are good value for money amid a widening pay gap between local and foreign business leaders.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jun 14, 2024

The pay gap in Japan’s boardrooms is unacceptable

The job market in Japan is, at all levels, much less liquid and executives are less likely to need incentives to avoid jumping ship to rivals.

The rates of unmarried Japanese have been rising across every age group. More than 90% of women age 30-34 were married in 1980, versus 65% now.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jun 11, 2024

Tokyo government's 'Tinder' is actually a good idea

The rates of unmarried Japanese have been rising across every age group. More than 90% of women aged 30-34 were married in 1980, versus 65% now.

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda bows at a news conference in Tokyo on Monday, the day the automaker said it had suspended domestic shipments of three car models after falling foul of government certification rules.

COMMENTARY

Jun 6, 2024

Why Toyota's so-called safety scandal is a 'nothingburger'

Unlike the Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal, there have been no recalls, and Japanese vehicles have passed retests without issues.

Line, which has evolved into an all-encompassing app used for messaging, payments, job searches and more, is now at the center of a dispute over its ownership.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Jun 5, 2024

Why Line, a superapp, sparked a diplomatic dispute

Line, which has evolved into an all-encompassing app used for messaging, payments, job searches and more, is now at the center of a dispute over its ownership.

With the recent focus on the yen and individual investing, the phrase "Mrs. Watanabe" — one of the most common pieces of jargon in Japanese financial circles — has seen a resurgence.

COMMENTARY / Japan

May 29, 2024

My search for the original 'Mrs. Watanabe'

Yen retail traders are back in the spotlight. But where did the phrase for the archetypal Japanese housewife investor come from?

Nintendo tends to innovate and take unconventional product development routes, producing both great successes, like its Switch console, and spectacular failures.

COMMENTARY / Japan

May 10, 2024

Nintendo needs to 'switch' its next console up

The Kyoto firm has been coy about what will come after the highly successful Switch console, but it needs to step up its game and learn from past mistakes.

Tourists pose in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji on Friday in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture. Local residents are upset over littering, overcrowding and the inconvenience caused by the visitors.

COMMENTARY / Japan

May 7, 2024

Thanks, tourists. Views of Mount Fuji are now blocked.

Japan needs better long-term strategies to manage tourism sustainably.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel meets with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in February 2022. Emanuel has praised the Kishida administration's efforts to boost national and regional security.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Apr 26, 2024

Japan's unlikeliest cheerleader is an American ambassador

U.S. Ambassador to Tokyo Rahm Emanuel showers his host country, and its government, with praise. And in his view, Washington doesn't understand Japan well.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress in Washington on April 11.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Apr 21, 2024

Kishida must wish he’d stayed in Washington

At home, Kishida’s polling numbers near record lows, he faces never-ending political scandals and a public that is weary of him.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (right), seen here meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, has made strengthening ties with Tokyo one of his foreign policy priorities.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 15, 2024

A humbled Yoon must future-proof Seoul’s alliances

Despite Yoon Suk-yeol's weak grip on South Korea's government after his electoral defeat, he can still do a lot to ensure his foreign policy lives on.

D.B. Weiss, co-creator of the Netflix sci-fi drama series "3 Body Problem," is interviewed in Las Vegas, in January. Some Chinese viewers have expressed disappointment with the adaptation's departure from the original source material.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 10, 2024

The ‘3-Body Problem’ of adapting content across borders

From anime to the latest Netflix blockbuster, changing material can be a controversial subject. How much modification is acceptable?

With the resignation of Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu, a major hurdle may have been removed in the construction of the maglev high-speed train, which is expected to connect Tokyo to Osaka in just over 60 minutes.

COMMENTARY / Japan

Apr 5, 2024

Maglev train is back on track after Shizuoka governor's derailing

Shizuoka's governor was blocking the construction of Japan's maglev bullet train. Now that he has resigned, the project can finally move at full speed.

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

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'

By Tomoko Otake

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