Visible Minorities: Non-Japanese Residents Claim Political Power
Non-Japanese politicians find that they must be the change which they hope to bring to the country.
Tag Archives: Hawaii (USA)
Visible Minorities: Miss Japan Karolina Shiino Lost Her Crown, Inevitably
You might have heard the big news last month about Karolina Shiino, a Ukrainian-born Japanese citizen who won the title of Miss Japan. You have also heard earlier this month that she lost her crown due to allegations of her having an affair with a married man.
Visible Minorities: Salute to the Author of Cartels of the Mind
Ivan Parker Hall, author of landmark book Cartels of the Mind: Japan’s Intellectual Closed Shop, died in Berlin on February 1, 2023, at age 90.
European Union Sets Standard for Vaccination Passports
The European Union (EU) is preparing to launch its own vaccination passport system on July 1, while many other nations are considering similar initiatives.
Visible Minorities: Yoshiro Mori’s Overdue Comeuppance
Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori represents the worst of Japan’s politics, melding misogyny with racism.
Visible Minorities: Japan’s Cult of Miserable Happy
These are sobering times for Japan fans. Thanks to the pandemic, even the most starry-eyed and enfranchised foreigners are having their bubbles burst, realizing that their status in Japan, no matter how hard-earned, matters not one whit to Japan’s policymakers.
Aegis Ashore and Japan’s Defense Policy Dysfunction
On June 15, Defense Minister Taro Kono announced a suspension of the deployment of the Aegis Ashore missile interception system—a suspension that ten days later became a cancellation. The progression from deciding to deploy Aegis Ashore, to cancelling it, to considering alternatives, reveals policy formation fraught with dysfunction.
The Covid-19 Crisis Stabilizes
SNA (Tokyo) — The following stories were reported in the first half of March 2020 by the Shingetsu News Agency. Rolling Coverage: Covid-19 —The Sakhalin authorities have requested that the Russian central government restrict all air and sea transport connections with Hokkaido from March 5
Abe Government Export Restrictions Send South Korea Relations into Tailspin
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of July 2019.
As Waterways Choke on Plastic, Japan Soft-Pedals on Waste
If you’ve ever shopped at a Japanese supermarket or convenience store, the sight of fruit, cookies, pastries, and other foods individually wrapped in plastic isn’t surprising. It’s part of a mountain of single-use plastic products, from bento lunch boxes to oshibori towelettes in plastic wrappers, that underpins the lives of Japanese consumers.
