Waving the Rainbow Flag in Taiwan
For a time, Chi Chia-wei says many people thought he was the only gay person in Taiwan. He was the first Taiwanese to come out publicly on television, and for many the only gay person they could see.
Tag Archives: Asia
JICA Plays Significant Role in Zambia’s Development
Japan has become a formidable pillar in Zambia’s development, and its influence is felt in the fields of business investment, training, and technology. Some have argued, however, that the criteria for accepting trainees and awarding grants needs further clarification.
No Alert as Covid-19 Cases Rise
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of June 2020.
Visible Minorities: No Free Pass for Shirking Responsibility
There’s an oft-used expression in Japanese: sekinin tenka. Best translated as “passing the buck,” it’s a reflex of dodging blame for one’s own actions by transferring responsibility to others. For too long, Japan has done so on the world stage with impunity—even when it affects the world adversely.
Visible Minorities: Japan’s Botched Response to the Coronavirus
The drama of cruise ship Diamond Princess, currently moored at Yokohama and quarantined by Japan’s Health Ministry due to some of the 3,700 passengers and crew testing positive for the coronavirus, is a human rights crisis.
Document: Political Mission of the Japan Communist Party
Whereas most Japanese political parties, whether the ruling conservatives or the mainstream opposition, effectively have little in the way of fixed party policies, the Japan Communist Party, the nation’s oldest political party, is very different, taking its own platforms very seriously.
Artist Chiharu Shiota Explores an Inner Net-Scape
Artist Chiharu Shiota is Japanese, and deeply so, but at the same time she lives a very international life. Her installations and performances address hot issues that question exile, displacement, identity, sickness, and all their respective boundaries of fear and anxiety.
Coronavirus Response Likely a Massive Overreaction
With the keen media attention and the escalating response from governments around Asia and beyond, it would not be unreasonable for a large section of the public to feel quite afraid of the Wuhan Coronavirus, but what researchers are discovering is a level of threat to human health which may not be much greater than the seasonal flu.
Wuhan Coronavirus Rings Economic Alarms
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of January 2020.
The Abe Climate COP Out
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of December 2019.
