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January 31, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2011
The earthquake year
The year of the earthquake and tsunami is how 2011 will be remembered in Japan. No bounen-kai (forget-the-year party) has passed without thoughts of those who lost so much in the triple earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster on or after March 11. The powerful 9.0-magnitude earthquake devastated the northeast...
EDITORIALS
Dec 24, 2011
Vaclav Havel, eternal dissident
The death of North Korea's supreme leader, Kim Jong Il, has obscured the passing of a truly heroic figure: Vaclav Havel. The Czech writer and dissident who became his country's first postcommunist president died Dec. 18. Mr. Havel was Mr. Kim's worst nightmare — an incorrigible and irrepressible dissenter,...
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2011
Risky catalog purchase of fighter
The government on Tuesday selected Lockheed Martin's F-35 as the Air-Self Defense Force's next-generation fighter over Boeing's F/A-18 and the Eurofighter Typhoon to replace aging F-4 fighters. Japan plans to purchase 42 F-35s, hoping that the first delivery will start in fiscal 2016 (April 2016-March...
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2011
Conflict over child allowance
As the central government's work to compile the fiscal 2012 budget goes into full swing, conflicts between the central and local governments are deepening over the use and distribution of funds. One such conflict is over funding of the monthly child allowance. Children younger than 3 each will be entitled...
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2011
Water, water, everywhere ...
It is estimated that some 60 million people depend on the 4,900-km-long Mekong River and its tributaries for their lives and livelihoods — food, water and transportation. It is the world's largest inland fishery; an estimated 1,000 species of fish live in the Mekong, making it the second-most biodiverse...
EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 2011
Sex-slave issue rekindled
In a summit in Kyoto on Sunday with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, South Korean President Lee Myung Bak unexpectedly made a specific comment on the issue of Korean women who were forced to provide sex to members of the Imperial Japanese armed forces during the war years.
EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 2011
North Korea at a crossroads
The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Saturday, reported by Pyongyang's special broadcast from noon Monday, could destabilize the isolated communist country as well as all of the Korean Peninsula. Events unfolding in the North Korean leadership must be watched carefully to prepare for possible...
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 2011
Nuclear crisis far from resolved
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Dec. 16 declared that the stricken reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant have entered the state of "cold shutdown" and that it has been confirmed that the nuclear crisis has "been resolved"(Shusoku ni itatta.) As far as Tepco and the...
EDITORIALS
Dec 19, 2011
Hiding behind a shield
For many, the dream of a shield that would protect a country from ballistic missiles is just that — a dream or fantasy. Any state possessing more than a rudimentary arsenal would be able to defeat a missile defense program, either by overwhelming it with the sheer number of missiles or by confusing...
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2011
Declining business sentiment
The Japanese economic outlook is opaque. A Bank of Japan survey reports deteriorating business sentiment among major manufacturers in December. Clearly Europe's sovereign debt crisis, the historic rise of the yen's value and flood damage in Thailand are a cause of concern.
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2011
Hollow excuses from Tepco
Tokyo Electric Power Co. in early December made public an interim report by a study panel that it had appointed itself on the disaster that occurred at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The report details the unfolding of the disaster from the loss...
EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2011
Nursing home dilemma
The health and welfare ministry is pushing a plan to increase the number of "single-unit rooms" in nursing home facilities for the elderly. Such rooms are placed around a common space so that elderly people can maintain relationships with others while enjoying privacy in their rooms. The ministry also...
Japan begins feeling the pain of BOJ rate hikes more concretely
People were more concerned about the direct and specific impact of the Bank of Japan's latest rate hike on their personal lives, according to an artificial intelligence-driven analysis of various platforms, including social media.
Sumo’s newest yokozuna is all smiles — but major challenges await
Hoshoryu (front, second from left) celebrates after being promoted to yokozuna on Wednesday in Tokyo.
Japanese man ends his 6,000 kilometer Africa rickshaw trek in Cape Town
Yuji "Gump" Suzuki, the Japanese runner and social media sensation, runs with supporters while pushing his rickshaw as he nears his goal in Cape Town, South Africa, on Sunday.
No survivors from jet and helicopter collision in Washington, officials say
Part of the wreckage is seen as rescue crews search the waters of the Potomac River Thursday morning after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river after colliding with a U.S. Army helicopter, near Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening.
Cherry blossom season predicted to begin in Tokyo on March 21
Tokyo is expected to lead the season with its first cherry blossoms on March 21, followed by Fukuoka, Kochi and Hiroshima prefectures as well as the city of Yokohama on March 22.
For two weeks only, cold-water yellowtail can give you chills
Yellowtail caught during the coldest period of the year is delicious enough — but paired with a classic method of marinade and pan-searing, it's divine.
In meat- and fish-loving Japan, veganism is making a comeback
Though vegan restaurants have been on the upswing since 2017, Japanese vegans still lack a wide variety of options.
Who are the key figures involved in the growing Fuji TV scandal?
Fuji TV adviser Hisashi Hieda in 2005
What we learned at Fuji TV's marathon Nakai scandal news conference
Members of the media raise their hands for questions as outgoing Fuji TV President Koichi Minato attends a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
Kanoa Igarashi dreams big as surfing championship tour gets underway
Kanoa Igarashi surfs in the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach competition in Oahu, Hawaii, on Feb. 18.

Podcast

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

Longform

Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick
By Alex K.T. Martin

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