GlobalTalk 21

The old man was reminiscing about his experiences immediately after the war. Discharged from the Imperial Army as a suicide-bomber trainee,...

What happened after the event is well-chronicled in the Japanese media ( Yomiuri providing the most extensive online coverage, followed by...

As John Campbell reminded me, it’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up, and I guess that was why I just knew this story was going to blow up. ...

I looked for the English version of a Sankei editorial and came across the masthead/nameplate The Japan Times-SHIMBUN. I’ve heard that oppo...

Able-bodied Korean men were shipped out to the Japanese archipelago to work in the mines and factories there during WW II. Read these first...

The following commentary ends differently depending on how I feel that day. I manage to surprise most foreigners when I tell them that...

This time, it’s going up after a one-day delay. If this situation continues, I will post here immediately, without delay. We’re lucky t...

The following column was intended for my MIGA column, but I haven’t heard back from the editor for a whole week and counting, so here it is...

Prime Minister Abe’s surprise May 29 afternoon announcement that North Korea had agreed to comprehensive survey on the abductees and specif...

On the other hand, it’s kind of a sad commentary on Japanese baseball. … minor league indeed …

The sometimes on-again, most times off-again talks between the Japanese and North Korean authorities are now taking place in Stockholm, and...

I received a “quick” question about “[t]he stories about a new ministerial portfolio specifically to deal with the use of force issue.” I’m...

My second installment on the MIGA website . (Japanese version here.) The title “Narendra Modi Will Push Parliament Hard on Reform; and He H...

Today, on May 21, the Fukui District Court handed down a decision that forbids KEPCO from restarting the nuclear power units at the Oi Nucl...

And here’s the text email that spawned the text for the previous post: ...someone at another wire service looked at a Kyodo wire today ...

My response to a query: “I was wondering if Modi presents the US with another Abe. A popular conservative with some views (Hindu nation...

…as leaked through a Kyodo wire   that touched off a flurry of reports worldwide. I am convinced of the authenticity of the plan; not...

I will be writing a column, hopefully regularly, for the Meiji Institute for Global Affairs (MIGA) website . My first installmen I will be ...

Is Abenomics working with regard to wages? Um, not so much when it comes to “core” wages. The following are a couple of memos that I whippe...

The assumption always has been that the Obama administration needs the fast-track Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in order to secure conclu...