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January 24, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Jan 4, 2008

Few dare call it 'coercion'

The dispute over the screening of high school history textbooks to be used from April has come down to whether the Imperial Japanese armed forces used "coercion" in the mass suicides of local residents during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. During the process of the first screening, whose results were...

EDITORIALS

Jan 3, 2008

Greater challenge for political parties

Japan saw a great shift in the political landscape in 2007 when the ruling coalition suffered a crushing defeat in the July 29 Upper House election. Throughout the new year, the government and political parties will continue to move under the shadow of this change. It may mean more confrontation or compromise...

EDITORIALS

Jan 1, 2008

A year of opportunity

While many of the trends that created anxiety in 2007 will continue, the new year holds considerable promise and opportunity. The arrival of new faces on the international political scene offers hope for new choices and new policies.

EDITORIALS

Dec 31, 2007

The falsity of 2007

The kanji for the Japanese word "nise," meaning fake or false, has been chosen by the Kyoto-based Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation as the kanji that most appropriately defines domestic events in 2007. Unveiled at Kiyomizu Temple in the ancient capital, the choice underscores flawed ways of thinking...

EDITORIALS

Dec 30, 2007

Foundation for better ties

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's visit to Beijing has shown that Japan and China have almost completely overcome the chilly bilateral relations caused by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine, Japan's war shrine.

EDITORIALS

Dec 30, 2007

Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

Like her father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, a Pakistani prime minister who was executed by the military in 1979 after being ousted from power, Ms. Benazir Bhutto, the charismatic opposition leader died an unnatural death — shot to death by an assassin Thursday. Her death, which occurred only 12 days after...

EDITORIALS

Dec 29, 2007

Changing of the guard at NHK

The management committee of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) has chosen Mr. Shigeo Fukuchi, adviser of Asahi Breweries Ltd., as its next president. Mr. Fukuchi will replace current NHK president Genichi Hashimoto, whose three-year term expires in January. Circumstances surrounding the selection of Mr....

EDITORIALS

Dec 29, 2007

Education proposals lack coherence

The Education Resuscitation Council, which was set up under the leadership of then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has submitted its third report to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. The report includes a variety of proposals for consideration: a grade-skipping system, government guidelines for school integration,...

EDITORIALS

Dec 28, 2007

Drain of public trust in 2007

In the past year, Japan has been rocked by political turmoil — especially the devastating defeat of the ruling coalition in the July 29 Upper House election, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's abrupt resignation in September and Mr. Yasuo Fukuda's ascent to power. An attempt to form a grand coalition between...

EDITORIALS

Dec 27, 2007

Reflecting on a year of anxiety

Citizens the world over must be eager to close 2007, a year marked by profound anxiety as vulnerabilities in the political and economic order have become visible and been repeatedly tested. Thus far, the system has survived, but strains are intensifying. If 2007 offers a taste of what lies ahead, we...

EDITORIALS

Dec 26, 2007

Bloc development in the works

The planning section of the National Land Development Council has penned a 10-year national land formation plan that the Cabinet will approve by the end of March after receiving it from the council. The plan is expected to gain public support. The central and local governments must work out ways to implement...

EDITORIALS

Dec 26, 2007

Step forward for hepatitis C victims

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has decided to have the Diet enact a law to pay "uniform" compensation to everyone infected with hepatitis C from tainted blood products. His decision represents an effort to "achieve a breakthrough" in stalled negotiations over a court-mediated settlement of damage suits...

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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