Speakeasy: Constitutional Revision After the Shinzo Abe Era
This SNA Speakeasy features Chris Winkler on the theme of “Constitutional Revision After the Shinzo Abe Era.”
Tag Archives: Shinzo Abe
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.
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
Covid-19 Mismanagement Puts Abe Regime on the Ropes
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of February 2020.
Bread & Roses: Labor Law Takes Backwards Step in the Abe Era
Japan’s labor laws have made several several distinct steps forward since the Meiji Restoration of 1868, with workers gradually gaining a degree of protection from the exploitation of business owners and managers. However, the era of Shinzo Abe has been characterized not only by a failure to progress further, but by a distinct step backwards.
Henoko Airbase Initiative Sinking into Mayonnaise-Soft Earth
For almost two-and-a-half decades, Japan and the United States have insisted that a new US Marine airbase at Henoko—a replacement for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma—is absolutely needed as a solid foundation for the US-Japan Alliance. Last year, however, it was officially revealed that the sea floor where the base is being constructed consists of mayonnaise-soft earth, and that any airstrip built there now could sink into oblivion.
Diamond Princess Puts Japan Under the Microscope
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of February 2020.
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.
Wuhan Coronavirus Rings Economic Alarms
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of January 2020.
Abe Government Attempts to Smash Labor Union in Kansai
Largely ignored by the mainstream media, the Abe government has been engaged for several years in one of the most aggressive and unconstitutional efforts to smash a small industrial labor union in Japan’s Kansai region, including mass arrests of union members.
