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April 01, 2025
 

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BUREAUCRACY

EDITORIALS
Feb 23, 2017
Dig up all the 'amakudari' dirt
Revelations of 'amakudari' at the education ministry underline the need for all ministries and agencies to undergo strict investigations to root out the practice across the government.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2017
'Amakudari' scheme at ministry systemized by '13, education chief reveals
The education ministry had established a systematic practice for seeking new jobs for retiring bureaucrats via a retired official by around 2013, the education minister disclosed Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 25, 2017
Get to the bottom of 'amakudari'
The practice of 'amakudari' remains widespread despite regulations tightened to prevent collusive ties between the bureaucracy and industries.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Dec 4, 2016
Japan's Board of Audit: unlikely guardians of the Constitution?
On Nov. 7, an annual ritual of government occurred: The Board of Audit delivered its report on the results of its audit of government accounts for the previous fiscal year (April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016) to the Cabinet. The 1,123-page paper brick handed over to His Abe-ness identified billions of...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 1, 2016
Bureaucratic blockage in Japanese society
Japan has kept the external appearances of social dialogue, but politicians and managers have failed to adapt institutions to the new social realities.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 4, 2016
Let's discuss relocating government agencies out of Tokyo
The Cultural Affairs Agency will be moving to Kyoto as part of a policy to revitalize regional economies and address the over-concentration of government offices in Tokyo.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jan 20, 2016
Hatoyama dreams of a Japan anchored within a united Asia
Former leader apologizes for his failures as PM and shares his views on Fukushima, Tokyo 2020 and his hopes for Okinawa, Japan and the wider region.
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2015
Valid concerns over My Number
Public worry is high over the coming My Number system, and with good reason.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jun 7, 2015
Hey bureaucrats, leave those kids — and teachers — alone
To look at Japan's educational policy in action, you can't help but wonder if insularity and mediocrity might actually be the goal.
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2015
Aiming for more than medals
The Sports Agency, due to be created in October, needs to do much more than push up Japan's medal count at the Tokyo Olympics.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Apr 12, 2015
Bridging corruption and legitimacy: amakudari
Amakudari reaches into almost every aspect of civil and economic life, quietly taking its cut in the form of higher prices, obscure but lucrative monopolies and seemingly bizarre regulations.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Mar 23, 2015
Top grads shun Kasumigaseki
More University of Tokyo graduates with high academic records appear headed these days for graduate law schools or are taking jobs in the private sector rather than joining the Japanese bureaucracy.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Dec 20, 2014
Rage against the capital's (bureaucratic) machine
As the Dec. 14 Lower House election demonstrated, media analysis of political campaigning typically focuses on personalities and parties. In recent years, official manifests serve as TV talking points as pundits — be they boorish young comedians or serious, sober-minded, gray-haired fellows — debate...
COMMUNITY / Issues
Dec 18, 2013
A secrets law for whom? Look who gets a free pass
Ancient Confucian scholars regarded law as a necessary evil, something used on lower orders of people who lacked the moral refinement to act righteously without prompting. Yet this just states a basic truth about law: It is something we do to other people. You and I know how to act properly, right? It's...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 23, 2013
Nuclear whistle-blower spills secrets the way the media should
Genpatsu Whiteout' continues to climb the best-seller list, propelled by a guessing game over the identity of its author, who seems to know a lot about the nuclear energy business.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

Podcast

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