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JAPAN
Jan 5, 2008

Fukuda: No midmonth reshuffling of Cabinet

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda dismissed speculation Friday that he would reshuffle his Cabinet before the Diet opens later this month to shore up his poor public approval ratings.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2008

Japan stumbles its way toward a two-party system

2007 was a politically significant year. It is stirring to see how much the political terrain has changed from the beginning of the year to now.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 13, 2007

'Gaijin card' checks spread as police deputize the nation

In the good old days, very few Japanese knew about Alien Registration Cards — you know, those wallet-size documents all non-Japanese residents must carry 24/7 or face arrest and incarceration.
COMMENTARY
Oct 26, 2007

Limits of EU centralization

LONDON — In Lisbon, yet another European Union Treaty has been signed, this one purporting to replace all previous treaties and to give Europe the pattern of governance it needs to meet the future.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2007

Little change expected in Japan-U.S. relationship

OSAKA — Those who keep close watch on Japan's political and defense ties with the U.S. expect no major changes in the fundamental security relationship under Yasuo Fukuda.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2007

Abe & Co. stumbling toward a Diet showdown

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's political future hinges on how he manages the extraordinary Diet session that starts Monday.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Sep 3, 2007

Merkel to Japan: Leading G8 not only about environment

Last week's visit to Japan by German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a sobering lesson in G8 politics. Germany currently holds the G8 presidency but will pass the baton to Japan in January.
COMMENTARY
Jun 30, 2007

Hong Kong media thrive under China

LOS ANGELES — Not every place in the world takes its news media seriously, to say the least. Some governments view it as a nuisance, if not a menace; others as an arm of public instruction, if not propaganda. But this is not the view taken here in what (since the 1997 handover from Britain) is officially...
COMMENTARY
Jun 18, 2007

The first to save the planet

HONG KONG — Focusing on climate change, the most recent Group of Eight meeting, chaired by Germany and attended by five of the world's biggest developing countries, marked a significant step forward in a battle for nothing less than the survival of humanity on this planet.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2007

Nakayama considers Upper House

Kyoko Nakayama, a special adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the abduction issue, said Tuesday she is considering running for a seat in the House of Councilors on the ruling Liberal Democratic Party ticket.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2007

And now to trilateralism

NANJING, China — How good are China-Japan relations today? So good that the museum here to commemorate the 1937 massacre by Japanese Imperial Army soldiers is closed for renovation. That's remarkable since this is the 70th anniversary of the massacre and criticism of historical revisionism of Japan...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 22, 2007

Who dares take the 'Q' out of Japan's 5-star kyushoku?

Is one of the great institutions of Japanese cul- ture succumbing to a slow, gnawing attack? It may be. I tell you, if this icon is lost, all we'll have left of the culture will be a few cartoons and some rusting karaoke machines.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 20, 2007

Demise of crime magazine historic

Making headlines worldwide last month was the publication of a magazine entitled "Kyogaku no Gaijin Hanzai Ura Fairu ("Shocking Foreigner crime: the Underground File"). On sale at major Japanese bookstores and convenience stores nationwide, Gaijin Hanzai (GH) attributed criminality to nationality, and...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jan 29, 2007

Same hot buttons a hundred years later

NEW YORK -- What was the world like 100 years ago? That was not the question I had in mind when I idly wondered if I could find exactly how French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) had described British playwright/novelist Oscar Wilde on one special occasion. As this is the age of the Internet, I quickly...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2007

Abe has high hopes for Diet session

The Diet convened Thursday, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Liberal Democratic Party aiming to get key bills passed, including one to set up a referendum on amending the Constitution and several more aimed at education reform.
COMMENTARY
Jan 22, 2007

Unshackling Japan's defense

On Jan. 9 the Defense Agency was upgraded to full ministry status. At a ceremony marking the change, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was a major step from the "postwar regime" toward a foundation for national rebuilding.
COMMENTARY
Jan 18, 2007

Unhappy state of education

LONDON -- Very few parents in Britain or Japan are happy about the state of education available to their children. The response of politicians in both countries to these concerns is inadequate and sometimes dangerous.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 16, 2007

Mixed results with foreign influx

At first glance there is little sign that Nishi-Kasai is different to any other Tokyo suburb. It's a neat, if unremarkable, commuter town. Like similar areas, it grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s with an influx of migrant workers from the countryside.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2006

Four sent to the gallows

The Justice Ministry sent four death row inmates to the gallows Monday, inflaming lawmakers and protesters over the first executions to be carried out in 15 months.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 24, 2006

Word power: 'The way' and the way you say it

OGYU SORAI'S PHILOSOPHICAL MASTERWORKS: The Bendo and Benmei, edited and translated by John A. Tucker. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2006, 478 pp., $56 (cloth). One of the foremost thinkers of our time, Noam Chomsky, has argued that the United States is a rogue state. To arrive at this conclusion,...
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2006

Japan talk of nukes 'not desirable': Ban

U.N. secretary general, I'd like to express concern." Ban said he understands the Japanese government will maintain its nonnuclear policy, as affirmed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 1, 2006

Hisashi Inoue: Crusader with a pen

So wide-ranging are 71-year-old Hisashi Inoue's talents and activities that it is difficult to know which to focus on at the expense of others.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2006

Women in China falling victim to gender violence

NEW YORK -- Although it is under-recognized and underreported, it is one of the most significant epidemics in China today. It is gender violence, manifested essentially as violence against women. This kind of violence occurs in all regions in China. It affects families of all ethnic backgrounds and social...
COMMENTARY
Jun 26, 2006

U.S.-dependent to what end?

At a Cabinet meeting May 30, the government finalized its basic policy on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. The action followed a final Japan-U.S. agreement May 1 on realignment aimed at strengthening deterrents and reducing Japan's burden of hosting U.S. military installations.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?