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January 22, 2025

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EDITORIALS

Apr 15, 2006

Abduction issue not resolved

The Japanese government has announced DNA analysis results that indicate that the daughter of Ms. Megumi Yokota, a Japanese abducted by North Korean agents in 1977, was very likely fathered by a South Korean man also abducted by the Pyongyang regime in the 1970s, a Mr. Kim Young Nam. There is now a strong...

EDITORIALS

Apr 14, 2006

A new approach for prisons

The 1908 Prison Law was revised last year to improve protection of prisoners' human rights and enhance their social rehabilitation, ushering in a new era of reforms in the nation's prison system. A new type of prison is now under construction in Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The Mine Social Rehabilitation...

EDITORIALS

Apr 13, 2006

Testing Japanese democracy

Three judges at the Tokyo District Court have begun their deliberations in a group-action case brought by more than 400 public-school teachers challenging the right of the Tokyo Metropolitan Education Board to force teachers to sing the national anthem and to stand up to show respect for the flag. With...

EDITORIALS

Apr 12, 2006

A hazard named Winny

It seems not a day passes without news on leakage of confidential information from governmental and other entities onto the Internet. The types of information leaked are vast and the content is critical -- Self-Defense Forces-related documents, quake-resistance data for nuclear-power plants, access codes...

EDITORIALS

Apr 11, 2006

Thailand's new crisis

It is in keeping with his singular style of governance that Thailand's embattled prime minister, Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, lost his job by winning an election. His victory in snap elections has precipitated a constitutional crisis. Sensing that a numerical majority would not allow him to govern, Mr. Thaksin...

EDITORIALS

Apr 9, 2006

Mr. Ozawa takes the DPJ's helm

The Democratic Party of Japan -- which has plunged into a crisis following the resignation of its young leader Seiji Maehara over a bogus e-mail fiasco -- chose Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, a heavyweight veteran politician, as its new leader. As leader of the No. 1 opposition party, the tasks facing Mr. Ozawa are...

EDITORIALS

Apr 8, 2006

Problems in textbook screening

The Education, Science and Technology Ministry has screened and approved 306 textbooks, most of them for first-year high-school students, for use from next spring. Departing from the original screening policy, the ministry has accepted inclusion of topics and concepts beyond the scope of the current...

EDITORIALS

Apr 7, 2006

Nuclear safety called into question

A court ruling issued in late March concerning a power reactor in Ishikawa Prefecture has proved both rare and astounding. Saying that there is a problem with the earthquake-resistance design of the reactor, the court ordered a halt to the operation of the nuclear-power station -- the first ruling ordering...

EDITORIALS

Apr 6, 2006

Care of the terminally ill

Seven patients died between 2000 and 2005 at a hospital in Imizu, Toyama Prefecture, because doctors removed their respirators. Police have started an investigation. A 50-year-old chief surgeon responsible for taking the respirators from six of the patients said he acted on the will of the patients'...

EDITORIALS

Apr 5, 2006

Africa's despots put on notice

The arrest of Mr. Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, and his arraignment before a United Nations-sponsored war-crimes court, could herald the beginning of a new era in Africa. Mr. Taylor is the first African head of state to be held responsible for the atrocities he set in motion during...

EDITORIALS

Apr 4, 2006

A divide over the income gap

The perceived widening in the gap between the haves and have-nots in Japan has become a frequent topic of public debates. Those conscious of the gap refer to it as a negative byproduct of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reforms. Meanwhile, the government denies that the income gap is growing.

EDITORIALS

Apr 3, 2006

Checkered moves of land prices

Land price statistics as of Jan. 1, announced by the Land, Infrastructure and Land Ministry, show that at least three of the nation's major urban areas plus some other areas have emerged from a long tunnel of real-estate price deflation. The trend is supported by increased demand for office space and...

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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