Do not be fooled by the smile democracy and staged reconciliation—now is the time to put strong pressure on North Korea to denuclearize. After all, just because North Korea has asked for talks with the United States and South Korea does not mean that its leaders have abandoned their nuclear and missile development […]
The international situation surrounding North Korea is changing rapidly, and recent developments could present the perfect opening to resolve the abduction issue. It goes without saying that complete resolution entails the return of all abductees, and such an opportunity must not be missed.　 An Inter-Korean summit meeting is set to take place on […]
A former Russian military intelligence officer living as a refugee in Britain and his daughter were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent known as Novichok on March 4 in Salisbury, England. Both lost consciousness and were hospitalized in critical condition. The assault was, beyond doubt, a grave violation of international law. Russia, however, […]
 When we hear the words trade war, we think of the 1980s when the Japan-United States trade friction was particularly intense. Japanese exports were growing, and the US trade deficit was expanding. The auto industry in particular was targeted. A video of autoworkers smashing a Japanese car with sledge hammers was a hot […]
The Paralympic Games have begun. The participation by 570 athletes from 49 countries and regions this year makes it the largest in the history of the Winter Games. Japanese people were delighted with the medal rush at the February PyeongChang Olympics. In March, 39 Japanese athletes will be competing at the Paralympics, aiming […]
Military expansion is on the rise in China amid Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power in a personal dictatorship. Not a few quarters are concerned about the threat it poses to the security of Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. During the National People’s Congress (NPC) on March 5, it was announced that the national […]
It is a typical Chinese word. According to Chinese Literature scholar Tomoyoshi Ikkai, the term “democracy†has been in use for at least 2,500 years. For instance, it is found even in The Book of Documents, which is said to be the work of Confucius. The meaning of democracy in the book, however, is […]
The PyeongChang Winter Olympics came to a close on February 25. Let’s review the lessons of these games as we look forward to the Tokyo Olympics just two years away. The tournament opened with concerns about politics overshadowing the spectacle of events. Yet, once the games were underway, the true stars of the show […]
On February 22, Matsue City in Shimane Prefecture held its Takeshima Day ceremony. The aim was to bring about the return of the island of Takeshima, a part of Shimane but currently illegally occupied by South Korea. Takeshima is the sovereign territory of Japan, and the government has a responsibility to take the […]
On February 18, Nao Kodaira won the gold medal in the women’s 500-meter speed skating event at the PyeongChang Olympics. Of course, Kodaira’s new Olympic record and magnificently powerful skating were amazing, but even more stunning was her behavior after the race. Of all the athletes competing, it was Kodaira, whose […]
An Olympics story has been told, over the decades, of a certain live radio broadcast from the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Japanese athlete Hideko Maehata and German Martha Genenger fought a ferocious battle in the finals of the women’s 200-meter breaststroke. The announcer of Japanese public broadcasting NHK repeated this call 24 times: “Go, […]
On January 22, it was revealed that an assistant professor at Kyoto University’s Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA – headed by Shinya Yamanaka) carried out fabrication and falsification of a research paper. Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are a type of pluripotent cell which can differentiate into any type of […]
