Japan’s Woeful Record on Gender Equality
Then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi set a goal of having women occupy 30% of leadership positions by 2020, but Japan will come nowhere close.
All posts by Nobuaki Masaki
Japanese Hawks Lifted by Donald Trump
Donald Trump’s comments about the potential need for the United States to retract its responsibility to defend Japan helps conservative Japanese politicians bolster this East Asian nation’s military posture.
Japan Deepens Military Ties with the Philippines
The Republic of the Philippines is seeks and receives military aid from Japan amid rising tensions in the South China Sea.
Infringing the Freedom to Hate
The ruling party makes belated and unconvincing efforts to legislate against the rise of hate speech.
Red-Baiting in 2016
A recent attempt by the Liberal Democratic Party to brand the Japan Communist Party as violent has sparked a new debate on the political history of Japan, but it seems to be primarily a cynical political ploy.
Lift Off for Terra Drone
Terra Motors expanded its shares in the international electric vehicle market, and predicts that it will make 30 billion yen (US$270 million) in this market period.
Falling Workforce Hits Convenience Stores
The declining workforce is already having an economic and social impact across Japan, and one industry which is already facing major changes is that of convenience stores, which depend on the existence of a pool of cheap labor in order to thrive. The largest chains such as Seven & i Holdings, Lawson, and FamilyMart are on the front lines.
Answers Pending in Latest LDP Stock Scandal
Lower House member Takaya Muto tweeted on July 30 that the arguments of students protesting against the security bills “are based on the selfish and extremely egoistic thought of not wanting to go to war.” Since then, his tweet has gone viral in Japan: It was retweeted more than 6500 times and has sparked outrage in the media.
The Making of Japan’s Olympics Stadium Scandal
In advance of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision on July 17 to take the 2020 Olympics national stadium construction plans back to a “zero base,” matters had been creeping along quietly and largely outside of public notice. It is therefore of considerable value to look back at the development of this slow-burning scandal so as to understand how the situation arrived at the point where it stands now.
