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July 19, 2024
 

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COUNTERPOINT

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 30, 2013
Constitutional revision: Proposed Abe-rights look to be all wrong
After the Upper House elections on July 21, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may try to revise the Constitution. This longstanding agenda is now within reach because the Liberal Democratic Party he heads might be able to rally the necessary two-thirds of votes in both chambers of the Diet.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 23, 2013
Happiness: Abenomics falls short
What makes people happy? The global trend toward quantifying happiness certainly got a big boost from Bhutan, the tiny Himalayan kingdom that has championed and made a cottage industry out of the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH).
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 16, 2013
Indonesia 15 years after the New Order
In May 1998 President Suharto resigned, ending three decades in power in Indonesia and what was known as the New Order. As an army general, he had intervened against a coup attempt in 1965 that ended with the sidelining of President Sukarno and months of massacres all over the archipelago as Suharto...
COMMENTARY / World / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 9, 2013
Everything under heaven: Big China rattles region
China's neighbors may have half-believed Beijing's previous "smile diplomacy" and frequent reassurances that its rise posed no threat to regional peace and stability — but now everyone understands what hegemonic aspirations look like.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 2, 2013
Crony capitalism: corruption, disparities and stifled initiative
Crony capitalism is the scourge of contemporary Asia, lining pockets and diverting resources in ways that systematically undermine the public interest, accentuate disparities, sap innovative and entrepreneurial impulses — while also subverting governance.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 26, 2013
Is it safe? Ruling party pushes nuclear village agenda
In July 2011, then Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered stress tests on all Japan's 50 nuclear reactors to assess their safety. By May 2012, they were all idled and for the first time in 40 years the nation was not generating a single kWh from nuclear energy.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 19, 2013
Immigration reform: Could this be Abe's new growth strategy?
The politics of immigration in Japan involve anxieties about national identity and worries about crime. Looking at other countries with large numbers of immigrants, the Japanese government has said "no thanks." There are, however, strong economic reasons for Japan to let down the drawbridges.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 12, 2013
Death penalty: Systemic failings add to risk of wrongful executions
Japan's continued resort to the death penalty raises a number of troubling questions.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 5, 2013
The right to die: letting individuals make the choice themselves
It was not the most elegant way to launch a national conversation about the right to die, but this past January Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, 72, certainly drew attention to the issue of terminal patients. Unfortunately he did so by saying that old people should "hurry up and die" to unburden the nation's...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 28, 2013
Abe-history: Premier again seems set on stoking controversy and ire
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is no stranger to historical controversy. Back in 2001 he pressured national broadcaster NHK to revise a documentary about the judgment of an international people's tribunal regarding the war responsibility of Emperor Hirohito (posthumously known as Emperor Showa). And in 2007...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 21, 2013
Saving Japan: promoting women's role in the workforce would help
Christine Lagarde, director of the International Monetary Fund, believes women can save Japan. Some would argue they already are, taking on as they do all sorts of responsibilities ranging from mother, wife and caregiver for elderly relatives to employee, volunteer and household finance minister.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 14, 2013
Myanmar's unrest: Colonial legacy undermines nascent democracy
Alarming outbreaks of sectarian violence pitting Buddhists against Muslims in Myanmar cast an ominous cloud over that nation's democratic transition from military rule.
COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 7, 2013
Abe-phoria: A national punching bag morphs into a popular leader
There is an irrational exuberance about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe evident in his 70 percent public-approval rating, a soaring Nikkei stock average and the Japanese media cheerleading the same man it hounded out of office in September 2007.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 31, 2013
Last post: Japan's outdated model is dead; long live the emerging vision
As of today, Roger Pulvers takes leave of Counterpoint, for which he has written weekly since its inception on April 3, 2005. In his final three columns, he set out to consider in turn Japan in the past, present and future. This is the concluding part of that trilogy.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 24, 2013
In a nation shaken to its core, Japan's leaders offer more of the same
Roger Pulvers leaves Counterpoint at the end of this month after writing the column weekly since April 3, 2005. In his last three Counterpoints he has set out to consider in turn Japan in the past, present and future. This is his penultimate contribution.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 17, 2013
Japan's rollercoaster modern history has kept coming off the rails
At the end of this month, Roger Pulvers will be leaving Counterpoint. In his last three columns since his inaugural weekly Counterpoint on April 3, 2005, he will consider in turn Japan in the past, present and future.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 10, 2013
Tohoku has been truly rent asunder for untold generations yet to be born
There are now three Tohokus ... and there have been since the afternoon of March 11, 2011.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 3, 2013
The days may be numbered for English as a universal second language
How long will English last as a major world language? The answer must be: a very long time.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 24, 2013
Osaka: Japan's latterday second city forever breaks the national mold
They're funny, finicky and feisty, not to mention being full of wicked mischief, with their own way of talking, too. Outside of Japan, think of Liverpool, not London; or Munich, not Berlin; or Mumbai, not Delhi. I'm talking about the people of Osaka.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 17, 2013
Whoever could pass a test to list 'values at the heart of being Japanese'?
Calling all those readers who in their heart of hearts have always wanted to be British! Well, you've got your chance now, you presumptuous Penny-Laners and putative Pythons.
Triple whammy takes Japan bankruptcies to decade high
More Japanese firms have gone bankrupt in the first half of this year due to soaring costs, labor shortages and the end of pandemic-related support.
With eye on China, Japan deepens ties with Pacific islands at Tokyo summit
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the Cook Islands' Prime Minister Mark Brown shake hands during 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting on Thursday in Tokyo.
Say cheese: Japanese scientists make robot face 'smile' with living skin
A researcher at the University of Tokyo shows a face mold covered in human skin tissue at its lab.
Rainy season ends in Tokai and Kanto regions
The streets of Tokyo's Ginza district on Thursday. The rainy season appears to have ended in the regions of Tokai and Kanto, including Tokyo, on Thursday, according to the Meteorological Agency.
India’s envoy in Japan calls for boosted supply chain and defense cooperation
Indian Ambassador Sibi George says one of his main tasks in his post is to boost Japanese public and private investments the South Asian powerhouse.
After Tokyo Olympic disappointment, Nadeshiko Japan look for redemption
Japan's Hikaru Kitagawa dribbles past a defender during an Olympic qualifying match against North Korea at National Stadium in Tokyo in February.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Festival overcomes a nuclear accident and COVID

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