The Return of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
After about a year of hanging about in the background, the issue of Japan’s participation in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations was suddenly thrust back into the front rank of political debate.
All posts by Michael Penn
A Tale of Two Courts: Japan and South Korea
We couldn’t help but notice that there were two court cases this month in which a judge in a foreign nation made some claim upon Japan, but that the domestic reaction was entirely different.
Imperial Palace Joggers
Complaints are growing about the increasing number of joggers around the Imperial Palace in Tokyo and the alleged bad manners that some of them are showing.
Occupy Movement Anti-Nuclear Protest Camp
A small band of anti-nuclear protesters have made a camp in front of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. One evening we visited them and asked them why they were there.
Michael Woodford on Power and the Media in Japan
Former President and CEO of Olympus Michael Woodford visits the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan and speaks about his experience and the Japanese systems of power and the media.
Exporting Fukushima Food as Foreign Aid
Japanese activists petition their government to abandon plan to export Fukushima food as Overseas Development Assistance.
Taro Yamamoto on the Anti-Nuclear Movement
Actor Taro Yamamoto explains why he has become active in the anti-nuclear movement and what happened when a group of anti-nuclear activists stormed the Saga prefectural headquarters.
The Wrong Man for the Job
We still don’t know exactly why Prime Minister Naoto Kan tapped Ryu Matsumoto for the high-profile post of Minister in Charge of Reconstructing Areas Ravaged by the March 11 Earthquake and Tsunami, but we did discover today that he is certainly the wrong man for the job.
Time to Give Okinawa Its Due
It was 39 years ago today that the people of Okinawa finally escaped from the Pacific War, but they still await a more genuine era of self-determination. The 82-day-long Battle of Okinawa in 1945 was a horror. Something like a quarter of the civilian population ― more than 100,000 by most accounts ― were slaughtered in the crossfire between an alien army determined to conquer them and an Imperial Army that had no intention of protecting them.
Naoto Kan Misses His Moment
Times of tragedy are not something to be welcomed, but they are occasions within which able political leaders can thrive and fulfill their destiny. In ordinary times, of course, it is beneficial to have the coherence and sense of direction that strong leadership can bring, but during a severe national crisis ― when the public is confused and afraid ― these dynamic qualities become little short of necessary. How miserable it is, therefore, that Prime Minister Naoto Kan has signally failed to measure up to the challenge.
