Japanese Students Resist Shinzo Abe
Protest of the Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy.
All posts by Michael Penn
The World’s Thinnest Insulation
The Panasonic Corporation has unveiled a new product which their developers describe as the world’s thinnest insulation. They call it the NASBIS high-performance thermal insulation sheet. The key to this technology is a material called aerogel, which is a synthetic porous material derived from a gel, but in which the normal liquid component of the gel has been replaced with gas.
Abenomics is Dying
A policy begins when it is announced by its policymakers, but it can be a much trickier matter to judge when a policy ends. Still, we may now say with some degree of confidence that the era of Abenomics is coming to an end. This is not dependent on whether today’s market meltdown in China is just a blip on the screen or the signal for something much more significant.
Zengakuren Protests against the Security Bills
On July 1, a protest was held near the Diet Building that was jointly organized by the All-Japan League of Student Self-Government (Zengakuren) and the National Coordinating Center of Labor Unions, two organizations of the radical labor movement in Japan.
Human Rights Watch Hits Japan’s Aid Policies
After a year-long study, the nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch has issued a letter to Akihiko Tanaka, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which alleges “a significant gap between official rhetoric on human rights and implementation” in Japan’s foreign aid policies.
The Use and Abuse of Experts
While hardly a revelation, a recent series of comments from senior Liberal Democratic Party officials has provided an usually clear example of the ruling party’s cynicism in terms of its approach to academic specialists. It began with what might be called the “Own Goal Incident” that occurred on June 8 in the House of Representatives.
Yukio Hatoyama on the China Threat
Former Japanese leader says the focus should be on diplomacy and friendly relations.
Komeito’s Problem with Wartime History
The issue of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s fringe views on wartime history has become a global topic whenever contemporary Japanese diplomacy is discussed, but the problem of selective, self-serving narratives of the past has also infected his coalition partner, Komeito.
How the US-Japan Alliance Operates
Interview with Sayo Saruta, Director of the New Diplomacy Initiative.
The Shrinking Space for Political Dissent
The first round of the unified local elections on April 12 showed once again that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party are in firm control of the nation. More than two years after the December 2012 general elections, there remains no sign whatsoever that the opposition parties are on the rebound or can even put up a decent fight against the ruling coalition.
