For a short period in 1939-1940, little-known Imperial Army General Nobuyuki Abe took over leadership of the nation just as World War II broke out in Europe. Abe kept Japan out of the war but was unable to establish a firm political foundation for his government.
Fresh from successful contract negotiations with major US automakers, the United Auto Workers (UAW) has taken a stand by officially endorsing a permanent ceasefire as Israel resumes its attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Author Felipe Servulo finds inspiration in the story of Sadako Sasaki, a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Henry Johnstone Morland Scott-Stokes, patrician among Japan’s foreign correspondents since 1964, recently died in Tokyo at the age of 83, but not before he did untold damage by performing as a foreign handmaid to Japan’s fascists.
Kurt Campbell, the Biden administration’s National Security Council Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, is the “brain” behind much of what the Pentagon and US State Department are doing in East Asia today, but his policy approaches do not correspond with the realities of a global US empire now in rapid decline.
Japan has a race problem. As I’ve catalogued for a quarter century, there are “Japanese Only” signs and rules on businesses nationwide. Refusing entry and service to all “foreigners” on sight, they exclude people who don’t “look Japanese.”
Visitors to Japan’s main international hub are still greeted by a sign saying “Down With Narita Airport,” a giant middle finger waved by diehards from a different era.
This SNA Speakeasy features Hiroki Takeuchi on the theme of “Japan at the Center of Trade Rulemaking in Asia-Pacific.”
During the occupation of China, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific by the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy, many young women and girls became victims of rape and forced prostitution. New evidence proves that American young women were among the thousands of victims.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of July 2020.
