Explained! Yasukuni Shrine
Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in central Tokyo. It is the most controversial Shinto religious institution in Japan. It was founded in 1869 to honor those who died fighting for the Emperor in war.
LGBT Rights Within Taiwanese Government Strategy
Although it usually hits the global headlines due to tensions with mainland China, Taiwan is also known for its relatively progressive stance on LGBT issues, which in turn is not unrelated to its government strategies.
Ilhan Omar Fends Off Challenge from the Right
US Representative Ilhan Omar narrowly fended off a Democratic Party primary challenger whose campaign was bankrolled in part by a Republican Party operative, corporate lobbyists, and prominent Minnesota businessmen.
Pentagon Contractors Inside Afghanistan Pocketed US$108 Billion
Pentagon contractors operating inside Afghanistan over the past two decades raked in nearly US$108 billion—funds that “were distributed and spent with a significant lack of transparency,” according to a new report. However, even this figure is just a fraction of the over US$14 trillion which the Pentagon spent in order to lose the war in Afghanistan.
Tribal Students Battle Police in Imphal
Mobile internet services have been suspended and orders banning public assembly imposed in some areas of Manipur, a small Indian state bordering Myanmar, in the wake of a blockade of two national highways organized by a students’ group, and a street battle on August 6 with police in West Imphal in which about thirty students were injured.
The Costs of the Shinzo Abe Legacy
It was exactly a month ago today that Shinzo Abe was assassinated in Nara by 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami. As the passions of that event begin to settle, this is an opportune occasion to reconsider both the benefits and the costs of an administration which lasted longer than any other in Japanese history.
Gaslighting the Status Quo in the Taiwan Strait
Western nations have recently taken up a mantra that claims they will never allow “changes to the status quo by force,” but when it comes to the dangerous crisis in the Taiwan Strait, it’s not entirely clear that all Western commentators even understand what the diplomatic “status quo” is all about.
Ineffective Responses to Genocide in Myanmar
A year and a half after the brutal military coup, responses to the crisis in Myanmar remain muted, including towards the ongoing genocide of the Rohingya people.
SNA Forms Alliance with The Wire of India
The news outlets The Wire (India) and Shingetsu News Agency (Japan) have agreed to partner with one another to mutually strengthen their services. The agreement includes provisions to mutually syndicate one another’s work.
Air Conditioning as a Human Right
Air conditioning has long been viewed as a luxury which makes people’s lives more comfortable in the hot summer months, but increasingly in the era of the climate crisis, analysts are pointing out that it has become a matter of life-and-death, and thus access to air conditioning should be regarded as a human right in the late 21st century.