Tag - explainer

 
 

EXPLAINER

Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 12, 2014
Know your rights when faced with 'stop and frisk' situation
U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Japan last month triggered a barrage of security measures in Tokyo. Lockers and garbage cans at major train stations were taped shut and throngs of solemn-faced police officers appeared to be everywhere.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 5, 2014
Silk mill took Japan to global level
The historic Tomioka Silk Mill in Gunma Prefecture and its related facilities are expected to become UNESCO World Heritage sites next month.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 28, 2014
No sacred cows in Japan's beef bowl war
Who will triumph in the “gyudon (beef bowl) war” and what started in all? Read all about it in this week's FYI.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 21, 2014
Tokyo's 'Champs Elysees': a business haven in the making?
The opening of a new section in Tokyo's Loop Road No. 2 project last month marked a major step toward the completion of an urban redevelopment project led by City Hall.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 7, 2014
New SDF unit shores up thinly protected cyberborders
Japan has embarked on an effort to improve cybersecurity as an ever-increasing number of sophisticated computer viruses threaten to endanger national security.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 31, 2014
War memorials as varied as public's views
The controversial Yasukuni Shrine, a source of perennial tension between Japan and its East Asian neighbors, and the Peace Parks of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are well-known in and out of Japan as the country's representative war memorials, drawing millions of visitors each year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 24, 2014
Selective consumption tax breaks inch closer
The consumption tax is going up to 8 percent next Tuesday, but consumers also have to brace for a another hike in October 2015, when the Abe administration plans to raise it all the way to 10 percent — double what it has been since 1997.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 17, 2014
After-school clubs falling short as more moms work
Working parents in Japan not only face long waiting lists when they want to enroll their children in day care centers, they also find themselves looking at equally long lists for "gakudo," or after-school clubs, when their children take the next step and enter elementary school.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 3, 2014
Independent NHK chained to Diet leash
NHK, which is often compared with the BBC in the U.K., has been a focus of public attention and intense criticism in recent weeks. Many people are taking a closer look at the public broadcaster, including its history and whether it has been politically influenced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's right-leaning...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 24, 2014
Should young criminals face harsher penalties?
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet approved a bill this month to bolster punishments issued under the juvenile law. This is partly in response to growing calls by people victimized by juvenile offenders to reduce their apparent impunity.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 17, 2014
Games organizing committee clock is ticking
With the organizing committee for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics up and running, preparations for the mega-project have commenced. The main hurdles it faces are how to amass the vast sums of money needed to stage the games and the personnel needed to run them. There is also the task of maintaining...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 10, 2014
Renewable energy's future rosy if grids ever get updated
The March 11, 2011, mega-quake and monster tsunami that set off the Fukushima No. 1 atomic plant meltdowns forced Japan to rethink its nuclear-focused energy policy and explore the use of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 3, 2014
Yasukuni: It's open to interpretation
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Yasukuni Shrine in December stirred outrage at home and abroad because he was perceived as promoting his revisionist views on wartime history and violating the constitutional separation of state and religion.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 27, 2014
War redress reversal in South Korea
Recent South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese firms to compensate Koreans who were forced to perform labor for them during the war have cast a shadow on already strained bilateral ties.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 20, 2014
Citizen watchdogs see secrets law reviving tax money abuses
Democratic societies often have an ombudsman system of ordinary citizens who monitor how local and national tax money is spent.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 13, 2014
Novartis drug's data-tampering reflects unchecked collusion
Last week, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors against Novartis Pharma K.K., the Japanese subsidiary of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, alleging the firm made exaggerated advertising claims for its blockbuster blood pressure drug Diovan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 30, 2013
Simple tests fill health-check gaps
Although health checkups are often mandatory for corporate or institutional employees, some segments of society, including housewives and the self-employed, may not have this option.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 23, 2013
Automated driving tech comes to the fore
In November, a prospective customer was at the wheel of Mazda Motor Corp.'s new sport utility vehicle during a demonstration in Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture. With a sales rep in the passenger seat, the 38-year-old man drove the car toward a urethane mat hanging 7 meters ahead to test the collision avoidance...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 16, 2013
Radioactive waste: a now and forever threat?
In recent months, former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has rekindled the public debate on atomic power, drawing attention to perhaps the most critical question about its future: Is there a safe place and way to dispose of high-level radioactive waste?
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 2, 2013
Entrance exams get failing grade
National university exams are notorious for their emphasis on book learning.

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
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