Speakeasy: Taiwan’s Response to the Hong Kong Crackdown
This SNA Speakeasy features Brian Hioe on the theme of “Taiwan’s Response to the Hong Kong Crackdown.”
Federal Court Strikes Down Trump Coal Power Plant Rule
Climate campaigners welcomed a federal court’s decision to strike down the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy Rule—dubbed by its critics the “Dirty Power” rule—which loosened restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from coal plants.
Rich Nations Hoarding Covid Vaccines
“I need to be blunt: the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure—and the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world’s poorest countries.”
Visible Minorities: Latest Visa Rules Could Purge Any Foreigner
Even after political leadership has finally shed Shinzo Abe, the Japanese government has found new ways to discriminate against foreign residents of Japan.
Trauma Endures for Former Hong Kong Protesters
Paintings by traumatized Hong Kong protesters have gone on display for the first time in Taiwan, with the images of despair and hope that lay bare their enduring anguish.
Bread & Roses: Scenes from a Coronavirus Crisis Village
The coronavirus continues to rampage through society, but 2021 has begun. Unnoticed by some, several coronavirus crisis villages (sodan mura) sprang up around Japan’s capital city in recent weeks. The pandemic has devastated people’s livelihoods as well as public health.
Shane Dismisses Leading Labor Union Organizers
Shane Corporation management, which earlier this year attempted to force its language teachers to repay the furlough allowance they had received during the coronavirus emergency shutdown in the spring, has followed up with yet more egregious action.
Speakeasy: Opposition Party Consolidation
This SNA Speakeasy features Takatane Kiuchi on the theme of “Opposition Party Consolidation.”
Visible Minorities: Nike Japan Does Some Good
Nike’s television advertisement depicting a multiethnic Japan stands out as a bright spot to close out the dreadful year of 2020.
Bread & Roses: Love and Money for a Japanese Princess
I wear two hats. My day job is teaching social security and labor law at a university. I also serve as executive president of a labor union. In this installment of the column, I will discuss my recent musings about welfare and the Imperial household.