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January 31, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Mar 10, 2009

Durban II in danger

On paper the U.N. World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance is an eminently laudable project — if you believe that the United Nations should promote grand statements that promote norms of good behavior. But the preparations for this meeting, and its...

EDITORIALS

Mar 9, 2009

Foundation must come clean

Learning the Chinese characters called kanji is so much fun for some people that it has become a fad. Interest in kanji can be gauged by the number of people who take kanji aptitude tests. In fiscal 2007, some 2.7 million people, age 3 to 97, took the tests known as kanken (literary kanji certification),...

EDITORIALS

Mar 9, 2009

HIV/AIDS cases on the rise

Last month the health ministry reported that the number of new HIV cases and AIDS diagnoses in Japan hit a high of 1,545 in 2008. According to the health ministry, 1,113 people were found to be infected with the HIV virus that can lead to AIDS, and 432 others were diagnosed with AIDS. This is the sixth...

EDITORIALS

Mar 8, 2009

Credibility of policy

A bill to implement the second supplementary budget for fiscal 2008 has been enacted with a second vote in the Lower House — where the ruling bloc has a two-thirds majority — after the opposition-controlled Upper House voted it down. Thus the ¥2 trillion cash handouts for all households and other...

EDITORIALS

Mar 8, 2009

Stopping child pornography

The National Police Agency said it handled 676 child pornography cases in 2008 in Japan. That is 109 more cases than in 2007 and much more than the mere 25 cases prosecuted in 1999, when Japan's status as a worldwide distribution point for child pornography came to light. Further arrests continued this...

EDITORIALS

Mar 7, 2009

China's growth challenge

As the annual session of China's National People's Congress has started, achieving sufficiently high economic growth will be indispensable for helping to stabilize Chinese society. It is also something other countries want to see as the world economy is rapidly cooling down due to the financial crisis...

EDITORIALS

Mar 7, 2009

Rules of in vitro fertilization

The termination of a woman's pregnancy in the ninth week because of a suspicion that she may have been implanted with a fertilized egg from another woman at a Kagawa hospital points to incredible sloppiness on the part of the hospital and the doctor in charge. This case should serve as a reminder that...

EDITORIALS

Mar 6, 2009

Blow to the DPJ

The arrest of the chief secretary of the Democratic Party of Japan leader Mr. Ichiro Ozawa on suspicion of violating the Political Funds Control Law has dealt a severe blow to the No. 1 opposition party. The damage to the DPJ is great all the more because the party is regarded as having a chance to win...

EDITORIALS

Mar 5, 2009

'New' ASEAN, old problems

Last weekend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held its first summit since its new charter went into effect. The charter has been heralded as inaugurating a new era for the organization, which formed in the 1960s to fend off the threat of communism but has since evolved into an all-inclusive...

EDITORIALS

Mar 4, 2009

Middle course to stronger ties

Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone visited China last week and met with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, and other Chinese leaders, including Premier Wen Jiabao and State Councilor Dai Bingguo. The meetings did not any produce major agreements, but Mr. Nakasone and Mr. Yang managed to agree in general...

EDITORIALS

Mar 4, 2009

Hope for ending the Iraq War

By declaring that "By Aug. 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," U.S. President Barack Obama has set in motion his strategy to end the Iraq war, which was started by the Bush administration on March 20, 2003. Of the more than 140,000 troops in Iraq, about 100,000 will be withdrawn by that date....

EDITORIALS

Mar 3, 2009

Mexico's war on drug cartels

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has his hands full. The fight against powerful drug cartels has become increasingly bloody and exposed the weaknesses of his government. A turf struggle among rival gangs has escalated into a frontal assault on the government. In a subtle twist, gangs are now enlisting...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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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