RSS Feed for Japan Today http://www.japantoday.com/feed Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:01:00 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/building-blues In a moment of morbid humor that’s been lost with each subsequent retelling, earth scientist and professional doom-monger Bill McGuire once described Tokyo as “the… Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:23:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/the-okinawan-problem-isnt-about-to-disappear-in-a-hurry The announcement by President Barack Obama of a high-level task force on Okinawa is a bid to defuse long-smoldering issues surrounding U.S. force deployment on… Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:35:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/obamas-china-trip-shows-power-shifting President Barack Obama's first visit to China underscored a shifting balance of power: two giants moving closer to being equals. In this week's choreographed show… Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:53:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/japan-has-chance-to-be-good-mediator-for-asia For many Japanese, closeness to other Asian countries may mean eating Chinese food at Tokyo restaurants or swooning over good-looking Korean film stars. But for… Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:37:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/is-chivalry-dead-in-tokyo Often people comment on the civility of Japanese train stations: people queuing on the platform in two lines before splitting down the middle into single… Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:08:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/anti-base-okinawans-expect-hatoyama-to-end-carrot-and-stick-policy Anti-base protesters in Okinawa, which hosts about 75% of the land area used for U.S. military facilities in Japan and half of the around 50,000… Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:45:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/us-risks-following-japans-example-of-stagnancy Heavy government stimulus spending and near-zero interest rates did little to end a "lost decade" of stagnation and mushrooming debt in Japan. Some economists and… Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:40:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/obama-confronts-an-asia-reshaped-by-chinas-rise Days after coming to power in September, Japan's new prime minister broached forming a new East Asian trading bloc with rival China -- one that… Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:04:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/us-has-misused-its-position-as-superpower Twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the accepted end of the Cold War, the United States has misused its position as… Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:34:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/10-jobless-is-obamas-new-world For months he had warned it was coming but that did not ease the political shockwaves for President Barack Obama when U.S. unemployment topped 10%.… Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:57:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/waiting-for-obama-to-decide-on-afghanistan The entire international community is anxiously waiting for U.S. President Barack Obama to make his much delayed decision on expanding U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan.… Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:20:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/dpj-fumbles-jal-issue When the Democratic Party of Japan deposed a party that had enjoyed a half-century of almost unbroken rule, how it would deal with the financial… Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:24:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/the-rules-of-hostessing As a hostess (and the only foreigner) at one very highly respected club in Kitashinchi, Osaka’s hostess club hot spot in Umeda, I am fortunate… Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:13:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/australia-ponders-place-in-japans-east-asian-community Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's recently unveiled vision for an ''East Asian community'' has been welcomed by an unusual ally, Richard Woolcott, the ambassador responsible for… Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:34:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/engage-and-criticize-obamas-split-media-strategy The same president who aggressively harnesses the power of the press to promote his agenda has taken to lacing his comments with criticisms of the… Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:43:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/the-wackiest-japanese-beauty-products-ever Have you ever wandered the aisles of your local Japanese drugstore chain wondering what most of the stuff is? Well, me too. And once I… Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:22:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/concern-mounting-in-us-over-japans-foreign-policy The United States appears increasingly concerned about the new course of Japan's foreign policy, raising the specter of a showdown between Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama… Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:26:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/hatoyamas-fraternity-policy-lacks-substance Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has enjoyed high public support ratings since the Sept 16 launch of his government, but analysts say his policy which is… Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:23:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/last-train-blues I just got back from a trip to New York and Seoul, both huge cities with extensive train systems and world-class nightlife. Whenever I visit… Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:31:00 +0100 http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/will-new-executive-pay-rules-cause-a-brain-drain The Obama administration's decision to cut the pay of top executives at companies on taxpayer life support will help quiet the popular outrage over excessive… Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:55:00 +0100