Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Announces Resignation
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of August 2020.
Tag Archives: United Kingdom
Dateline Tokyo: August 2020
Dateline Tokyo, our series of short reports on major news developments in Japan, for August 2020
A Cautious Reopening for Business
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of June 2020.
Heartbreak in Hong Kong
As politicians in Beijing gathered for the annual meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the skies outside darkened, providing grim foreshadowing of events that could alter the fate of Hong Kong forever. Hours later, international news outlets were announcing “the end of Hong Kong.”
Taiwan’s President Tsai Sworn in for Second Term
The second inauguration ceremony for President Tsai Ing-wen was held today, marking the start of Tsai’s second term as president after her January 2020 election victory.
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 WHO Chief is a Political Hack
The Covid-19 crisis has elevated the visibility of the World Health Organization (WHO) as never before. Indeed, this may be the very first time that a bureaucratic agency of the United Nations, not the Security Council or General Assembly, has become a focus of global media attention. It is quite unfortunate, then, that the WHO’s main face at this crucial juncture has turned out to be a political hack.
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.
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.
Teenagers Launch Hunger Strikes Against UK Coal Mines
In the United Kingdom, teenage climate activists have gone on hunger strikes in order to prevent the construction of the Woodhouse Colliery coal mine in West Cumbria, which would be the United Kingdom’s first deep coal mine in three decades.
