Visible Minorities: Kimi Onoda and the Trauma of History
The Cabinet Minister in charge of policy towards “foreigners” is basically removing them from Japan. I see it as the natural outcome of Japan’s legacy of abuse towards its Visible Minorities.
Tag Archives: US Occupation of Japan (1945-1952)
APA Hotel Amenities Not Always Pleasant
Ahead of Donald Trump’s second visit to Japan in 2019, a Japanese hotelier invited the US president’s former chief strategist and senior advisor Steve Bannon to give a “special lecture” in Tokyo. That hotelier’s name is Toshio Motoya.
Ruling Coalition Loses Supermajority
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the second half of July 2019.
Japan Facts: Peace Constitution
A basic primer on the issues surrounding the controversial Article Nine of the Japanese Constitution.
North Korea Launches Peace Initiative
This Week in Japan is your source for news and information about politics and other happenings in this East Asian island country. This episode covers the Top Five stories of the first week of January 2018.
Abe: The Peace Constitution is Alien
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on January 6, 2018.
The Democracy Free US-Japan Alliance
The last thing the US Alliance Managers would ever consider is that perhaps they ought to actually respect democracy and to make adjustments to their policies in accordance with the democratic will.
Red-Baiting in 2016
A recent attempt by the Liberal Democratic Party to brand the Japan Communist Party as violent has sparked a new debate on the political history of Japan, but it seems to be primarily a cynical political ploy.
Team Abe Alienates Team Obama
Since we are based in Tokyo and not in Washington DC, we may not be the best source available for understanding US government policy, even its policy toward Japan and Asia. Nevertheless, it’s hard not to notice that the Obama administration is taking an unexpectedly cool posture toward Shinzo Abe and his band, and that this is having a major political effect here as well. It is also obvious that the Obama policy toward Japan is radically different than what US policy was a decade ago under George W. Bush.
