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January 21, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Oct 4, 2004

Bigger issue than postal privatization

At a press conference following his Cabinet reshuffle last month, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi dubbed his new Cabinet as one "to realize privatization of the postal service." He made it clear that the reshuffle had been his own work, indicating his determination to carry out the privatization. Mr....

EDITORIALS

Oct 3, 2004

A Starbucks-saturated planet

A re we tired of Starbucks yet? Apparently not in Japan, where, after a dip into the red last year, the company reported a higher-than-expected surge in profits this past summer, fueled by cost-cutting strategies and a boom in sales of Strawberry Cream Frappuccinos. While a few unprofitable stores have...

EDITORIALS

Oct 2, 2004

Recommitting to nuclear safety

A government panel investigating the Aug. 9 nuclear reactor accident, which killed five workers and injured six others, has published an interim report that reveals a pattern of loose safety management. The central message is that the tragedy -- the worst in the history of Japan's nuclear power industry...

EDITORIALS

Oct 1, 2004

No illusions about Iraq

The situation in Iraq is deteriorating. That is not a popular view, but it is hard to dispute. The government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi cannot claim to control the entire country, and insurgents are stepping up attacks in an attempt to delay elections planned for January. Failure to hold that vote...

EDITORIALS

Sep 30, 2004

Plug loopholes in political funds law

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has indicted former Chief Cabinet Secretary Kenzo Muraoka over a political-donation scandal involving the Liberal Democratic Party's largest faction. This seems to confirm the widespread public suspicion that a number of influential members of the faction...

EDITORIALS

Sep 29, 2004

The road to 'sports citizenship'

The good news about Japanese professional baseball last week was that the players averted a second weekend strike following a last-minute agreement with management. A week earlier, an unprecedented walkout had been staged in protest against a merger deal between the Kintetsu Baffaloes and the Orix BlueWave...

EDITORIALS

Sep 28, 2004

Reform-oriented shuffle

Just as he indicated he would do before Monday's Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi filled major party-executive posts and Cabinet posts with politicians loyal to his postal-reform policy. Prior to the naming of the new Cabinet lineup, Mr. Koizumi appointed Mr. Tsutomu Takebe, a former...

EDITORIALS

Sep 27, 2004

A greater burden for higher earners

The government's Tax Commission is discussing the fiscal 2005 revision of the tax system. The focus this time is on the decrease or abolition of the fixed reduction for individual income and resident taxes, which was introduced in 1999 as an economic-stimulus measure. Rather than draw the line there,...

EDITORIALS

Sep 26, 2004

Google: mirror or lamp?

Google, the world's most popular search engine, hasn't even been around for a decade -- it was founded in 1998 -- yet it is already hard to remember life without it. It has its rivals, notably Yahoo, Microsoft, Ask Jeeves, which launched a test version in Japan last month, and now Amazon, whose fancy...

EDITORIALS

Sep 26, 2004

A memo to the weather gods

It's late September, the season of equinoctial change and harvest moons, and we would like to remind the weather gods that this is supposed to mean something. It is not supposed to portend more and more days of July-like heat, but cooler temperatures, crisper air and a hint of color in the leaves --...

EDITORIALS

Sep 25, 2004

Iran should clear nuclear doubts

I ran has two months to prove that it has nothing to hide about its nuclear programs. Last weekend, the governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution calling for an immediate halt to the country's uranium enrichment-related activities. The unanimous resolution said Tehran...

EDITORIALS

Sep 24, 2004

Elaboration needed on UNSC bid

I n New York this week, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has focused his diplomatic efforts on Japan's bid for permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council. At the Japan-U.S. summit meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Koizumi sought President George W. Bush's active support for this quest. What he...

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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SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

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