The Indonesian coal mining conglomerate Adaro Energy, which is allied with the Japanese companies J-Power, Itochu, as well as a number of public and private Japanese banks, has been avoiding local taxes for more than a decade, depriving the Indonesian government of about US$125 million in income from 2009 to 2017, and has even been accused of provoking human rights abuses in the country.
After almost three-quarters of a century it appears unlikely that Japan will ever receive an apology from the United States for its horrific atomic bombings.
Between 2012 and 2018, I wrote a monthly column called “Labor Pains” for the Japan Times. I have left Japan Times. I am so delighted to begin a new column this month called “Bread and Roses” for the Shingetsu News Agency.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the second half of July 2019.
The World Health Organization estimates that there will be a shortage of 18 million healthcare workers by 2030. This equates to a 20% gap in the global capacity to provide healthcare services. Japan, which is already grappling with an aging society and its attendant problems, is at the forefront of this crisis.
While Japan and South Korea are locked in an escalating and rather senseless set of retaliatory actions against one another, the rest of the world simply sits on the sidelines, afraid to either take a side or even mediate between the two nations.
The planned construction of the Aegis Ashore missile defense system in Akita has once again suffered a blow as independent, opposition-supported candidate Shizuka Terata won in the House of Councillors election. Terata’s victory owes to the efforts of many in the region who are strongly opposed to the deployment of the facility so close to the city center.
If progressives truly believe in our values of freedom of expression, equal opportunity, and security, we must stand in solidarity with the Okinawan people.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of July 2019.
If you’ve ever shopped at a Japanese supermarket or convenience store, the sight of fruit, cookies, pastries, and other foods individually wrapped in plastic isn’t surprising. It’s part of a mountain of single-use plastic products, from bento lunch boxes to oshibori towelettes in plastic wrappers, that underpins the lives of Japanese consumers.
