Features National
Ida Torres on May 17 2013
China's media regulator will reportedly impose regulations on the content of TV dramas based on the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. The popularity of these anti-Japanese dramas set during World War II has led to "fabricated content" and "overly dramatic" presentations of the subject matter.
Features National
John Hofilena on May 15 2013
Lawmakers from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (
LDP) launched a group on Tuesday that looks to move forward the plans to restart the country’s mothballed nuclear reactors, as they state that a stable power supply is key to achieving economic growth. The LDP acknowledges that there is
strong public opposition to the planned restarts, coming from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant triple-meltdown disaster, but argues that the nation’s economic stability hinges on being able to provide non-fossil fuel-generated power to the Japanese population.
Mayors of eight
Shizuoka Prefecture municipalities in Japan – all located around the currently idling Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant – have expressed strong opposition to the reactivation of the facility in its current situation. The Hamaoka power plant was one of the nuclear facilities that was shut down in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, with the Japanese population suddenly growing
concerned at the safety of nuclear plants in general. Some leaders have demanded that Chubu Electric Power Co., the plant's operator, establish safe methods of disposing spent nuclear fuel as a precondition for reactivation.
Official spokespersons from
China and
South Korea have made their countries’ anger and indignation known over Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto’s comments regarding “comfort women” in World War II. The Japanese politician was referring to the multitude of women forced to become sex slaves by the invading Japanese army, saying that
the system was justifiable under wartime circumstances. China and South Korea – nations with which Japan already has a tenuous relationship with – have voiced out their indignation over the comments.
Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe still has apprehensions about the proposal to create a new state-managed war memorial in place of the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors all of the nation's war-dead including convicted war criminals. He wants to take into consideration how the bereaved families would feel about a new shrine.
As the ongoing territorial row between Japan and
China continues with no end in sight, the nations' joint economy is often said to be the greatest victim. With many Japanese companies, most notably
in the auto industry, pulling their manufacturing operations out of China and moving to other locations in Asia, so as not to get caught up in political tensions, many say that China still holds too many of the economic cards, what with its lockdown on producing so many of the world's goods. But one analyst believes China may see a revolution in the next 10 years, triggered not with violence and weapons, but rather an economic deterioration.
Isao Iijima, one of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s top advisors, arrived in
North Korea on Tuesday in a rare visit of a top Japanese official to a country which Japan has publicly declared that it has no diplomatic ties with. North Korean state television had shown Iijima arriving in Pyongyang, but the purpose of the Japanese official’s visit was not immediately revealed.
The Japanese government's top spokesman and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga refused to directly comment on the recent controversy involving Osaka Mayor
Toru Hashimoto who said that "comfort women" were "necessary" for the Japanese soldiers during World War II. Instead Suga said that the government's position towards this issue is that it shares the views held by past governments.
Japan’s bubble economy in the 60s and 70s saw houses in urban centers and cities built in a rapid rate. These days, as the economy is trying to recover, the number of vacant houses in urban areas has been increasing, as old houses built in the bubble economy period have been abandoned after the death of their original owners. These abandoned houses are now causing problems for municipal governments and becoming issues in terms of disaster prevention, and so local authorities have begun taking action to take the buildings down.
National
Adam Westlake on May 10 2013
The Japanese government's
Ministry of Justice announced on Friday that for the first time in history it has offered a part-time employment position to a minor currently on probation. The decision was made in order to set an example for the country's private firms to take part in the rehabilitation of those on probation or parole.
