Japanese Opposition Parties: What’s the Rumpus?
Host Michael Penn interviews Rob Fahey about the prospects for and the challenges ahead of the Japanese opposition parties, led by the Democratic Party.
Tag Archives: United Kingdom
Black History: What’s the Rumpus?
Host Michael Penn interviews columnist and book author Baye McNeil about the meaning and significance of Black History.
Sachs vs. Murdoch on Climate Change
Jeffery Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute, takes media mogul Rupert Murdoch to task for climate change denial.
Burying the Lessons of the Iraq War
There is probably no better method of predicting what people and institutions might do in the future than to have an accurate understanding of their behavior in the past. So much of what is popularly taken as surprising and “unpredictable” might easily have been foreseen by a better knowledge of the contexts, experiences, and the previous actions of the players involved in the construction of an event. When powerholders attempt to suppress the records of official behavior, it is therefore not simply the concern of a handful of cloistered intellectuals, but a matter that can be expected to have real-world impact on future policymaking and the fate of ordinary citizens.
Komeito’s Problem with Wartime History
The issue of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s fringe views on wartime history has become a global topic whenever contemporary Japanese diplomacy is discussed, but the problem of selective, self-serving narratives of the past has also infected his coalition partner, Komeito.
China’s “Diplomatic Victory” over Japan
Japan Innovation Party leader Kenji Eda couldn’t have framed the events in starker terms when he discussed the issue of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank at a press conference last Thursday: “It was a victory for Chinese diplomacy and a complete defeat for Japanese diplomacy,” he declared.
NHK’s Decline into Propaganda
When NHK was founded in 1926, it was quite consciously modelled on the BBC of the United Kingdom. In that spirit, visitors to the English-language section of the NHK webpage will find its self-description as follows: “NHK delivers a wide range of impartial, high-quality programs, both at home and abroad.”
One Leader, Two Masters
People in Hong Kong knew in their gut that this day would come, the day when there would be an inevitable showdown with China over the former British colony’s autonomy and desire for full democracy in all its governing institutions.
It’s a Small World
The Japan Travel and Tourism Association (JATA) annual “Tourism Expo Japan” wrapped up today after a three-day run. It bills itself as the largest tourism expo in the world, and it is undoubtedly very sizeable. Filling up a whole wing of Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba, there were booths representing all 47 prefectures of Japan as well as about 150 foreign nations. In all, close to a thousand companies and organizations participated.
Lawrence Repeta on Secrecy Law
The government deals itself all the cards in deciding what constitutes acceptable journalism about official policymaking.
