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January 23, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Nov 7, 2006

Rough patch for Sony

Sony Corp., which has built its fame through a global brand presence and innovative products, appears to be facing a difficult time. The Sony group's operating profit in the six-month period through September nosedived by 90.9 percent from a year before to 6.22 billion yen, although sales were up 9.7...

EDITORIALS

Nov 6, 2006

Clarity on climate change

Another report has highlighted evidence of the serious, long-term consequences of global warming. Yet governments continue to pay only lip service to the threat. As the new study makes clear, the cost of environmental destruction will be severe -- but there is still time to avoid the worst impacts, if...

EDITORIALS

Nov 5, 2006

Madonna, child and critics

Spare some sympathy for Madonna. Not a lot, mind you. Celebrities are better cushioned against life's slings and arrows than the rest of us, and the flamboyant U.S.-turned-British pop star is a super-mega-celebrity. Still, the pillorying she has suffered in recent weeks is unreasonable.

EDITORIALS

Nov 4, 2006

Renewal of a commitment

On Oct. 27 the Diet approved extending for another year -- from Nov. 1 -- the special antiterrorism law that, among other things, allows Maritime Self-Defense Force ships to refuel navy ships of the United States and other nations in the Indian Ocean in support of the security campaign in Afghanistan....

EDITORIALS

Nov 4, 2006

Ideology ahead of education reform

The Diet is now discussing a bill to revise the Fundamental Law of Education, a carry-over from the previous session. The main point in the revision proposed by the government is to instill love of nation in children -- which carries the danger of imposing on children a particular view of the "correct"...

EDITORIALS

Nov 3, 2006

Debate that sends the wrong signal

Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Shoichi Nakagawa continues to call for debate on whether Japan should arm itself with nuclear weapons. On Oct. 30, he said to the effect: What if North Korea launches a nuclear-tipped missile aimed at Japan. Do we say, "America, please help us"? Before we can say...

EDITORIALS

Nov 3, 2006

Resumption of tough negotiations

North Korea's agreement to return to the six-party talks on its nuclear-weapons program is good news. At least, there will be no new nuclear-weapons tests by Pyongyang for the time being. But optimism is not warranted. The difficult task of getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and related...

EDITORIALS

Nov 2, 2006

A new plan for Northern Ireland

Once again, there are signs of progress toward the establishment of a sustainable local government in Northern Ireland. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Mr. Bernie Ahern earlier this month announced that they had worked out arrangements yet again to share power between the...

EDITORIALS

Nov 1, 2006

Bid-rigging remains a problem

The recent arrest of a former Fukushima governor shows that bid rigging involving local government heads and officials continues. Local governments must devise a new system for public-works projects that ensures transparency in the bidding process.

EDITORIALS

Nov 1, 2006

Entrance exam blow-back

Some 290 high schools across Japan, most of them publicly run, were found to have not taught all compulsory subjects to students. More than 47,000 students have been affected. Third-year students who will take university entrance exams early next year will especially be in a tight spot. To be able to...

EDITORIALS

Oct 31, 2006

A mobile, disposable workforce

I ndications of deteriorating working conditions for Japanese workers are coming to light at workplaces across the nation as the result of a practice that has become a social issue: More and more manufacturing companies are bringing in contract workers (ukeoi) to have them work like temporary workers...

EDITORIALS

Oct 30, 2006

New flexibility of cell phones

The much-awaited portable-number service for cell phones has started in Japan, enabling users to change carriers without having to change phone numbers. This is a new convenience for customers, but for the cell-phone carriers -- NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI Corp. and Softbank Mobile Corp. -- it heralds the...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.

Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go

By Kazuaki Nagata and Richard Meyer

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