Blood thickens Japan's political waters
The unstable nature of present-day Japanese politics may stem from a continued preference for well-heeled hereditary politicians totally out of step with everyday citizens. Prime Minister Taro Aso's new cabinet is no exception - 12 of its 18 members have prominent political pedigree. A widening income gap may change all this. - Kosuke Takahashi (Oct 3, '08)

BOOK REVIEW
Asians one and all
Pan-Asianism in modern Japanese history, edited by Sven Saaler and J Victor Koschmann
The essays in this book reconstruct the development of Pan-Asianism - the assumption that Asians should be united - as one of the most important trends in modern Japanese history. One of the crucial points in the study of Pan-Asianism is its application and relation to real life, yet this is entirely ignored by the authors. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (Oct 3, '08)

Yen a winner from financial woes
The Japanese currency looks set to strengthen further as investors become increasingly wary of risky investments amid a global economic slowdown. That means a reduced willingness to take advantage of the country's low interest rates. - Kosuke Takahashi (Oct 2, '08)

Japan adrift in the Indian Ocean
For the second time in a year, the question of whether or not to extend Japan's Indian Ocean commitment in the US-led war in Afghanistan may decide the fate of the Japanese cabinet. Prime Minister Taro Aso is caught between public opposition to Japan's militarization and unrelenting pressure from Washington to "shoulder its responsibilities". Chasing pirates may be a better option. (Oct 1, '08)

Koizumi's retirement rocks Japan
Former premier Junichiro Koizumi's decision to retire from politics brings to an end a controversial, but always colorful, career. It is also a potentially serious blow to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which, come next elections, will sorely miss Koizumi's mass appeal and political savvy. - Kosuke Takahashi (Sep 26, '08)

Aso has dragons to slay
Japan's new Prime Minister Taro Aso needs more than a disarming smile to overcome the dubious legacy of his predecessors and steer his ruling party through elections. If he does win, Aso requires a large enough mandate to avoid political gridlock, mend relations with China and restore the flagging economy - all while avoiding talk of his family's war past. (Sep 25, '08)

A reason to bring US troops home
The United States' strong military presence in Japan and South Korea is the result of Cold War commitments which are rapidly losing their relevance. The US bases cost billions of dollars in upkeep and generate no small measure of resentment. Yet withdrawing the troops and securing the US itself has occurred to almost no one in Washington. (Sep 24, '08)

Taro Aso: Comic books and bloodlines
Japan's next prime minister, Taro Aso, is an old-school patrician with a penchant for comic books. At 68 years old, he's been a lion of industry, a foreign minister and is now a Catholic. He is related to royalty, folk heroes and five former prime ministers. Yet frequent public gaffes, and a growing rich-poor rift, mean Aso's famous pedigree may not be enough to win snap elections in October. - Kosuke Takahashi (Sep 23, '08)

Japanese steamed over tainted-rice scam
Japan's minister of agriculture has resigned over reports that imported rice contaminated with chemicals, pesticides, and carcinogenic mold was bought from the government and distributed to restaurants, hospitals, schools and stores. This is not the first time Japan's rice management has been questioned, and consumers are sticking complaints on the government. (Sep 23, '08)

Nukes and missiles keep Kim going
With his bluff about to be called over inspections of North Korea's nuclear facilities, Kim Jong-il has resorted to defiance. Pyongyang, it seems, won't and cannot abandon its nuclear and missile development, despite a series of compromises by the George W Bush administration. - Kosuke Takahashi (Sep 22, '08)

Japan gains in transition
Healthy competition to replace Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda shows Japan is not in turmoil or in danger of entering a political vacuum. Indeed, the country is evolving as a vibrant democracy, with its weakened ruling party facing one of its few  real challenges in more than 50 years. (Sep 18, '08)

THE BEAR'S LAIR
Resurrection of the charlatan
That most economically counterproductive of activities, the Keynesian boost in government spending, is making a horrid comeback - witness the departure of Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda. Politicians in Britain and the US are also finding it increasingly convenient to spend public money. - Martin Hutchinson (Sep 9,'08)

Fukuda's heir faces daunting task
Taro Aso faces few obstacles to replacing Yasuo Fukuda, who dramatically announced his resignation as Japan's prime minister on Monday. Aso's real test will be to sufficiently revive the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's fortunes to prevent it from being trounced at an expected snap election. - Kosuke Takahashi (Sep 2, '08)

Afghan violence hits home in Japan
The killing of a young Japanese aid worker in Afghanistan at the hands of the Taliban will raise serious questions about Tokyo's refueling mission for United States-led coalition vessels in the Indian Ocean. Early elections for the Lower House are likely, and they could even lead to a change in government. - Kosuke Takahashi (Aug 28, '08)

Fukuda's reshuffle buys some time
A comprehensive cabinet shakeup has done nothing to improve the popularity of Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and his administration. Potential replacements for Fukuda are already lining up, but it will take more drastic measures than simply replacing him to revive his party's fortunes. - Purnendra Jain (Aug 8, '08)

China wary of a 'normal' Japan
Japan's ongoing discourse over so-called "normalization" is central to the debate over the country's security policy. To critics, a "normal" Japan could lead to military buildup, overseas deployment and a revision of its pacifist constitution. Beijing is watching uneasily. (Aug 6, '08)

Seoul has desert island dreams
South Korea and Japan are at it again in their long-running dispute over a group of islets. It is no coincidence that Seoul revs up concerns about the uninhabited crop of rocks just when it needs to deflect attention from real problems, especially those with North Korea. - Donald Kirk (Jul 25, '08)

Japan ducks rice-crisis solution
The Japanese government, faced with record global rice prices, TV images of food riots and growing fears of increased malnutrition among the world's poor, could have led the way in resolving the crisis this month when hosting the G-8 summit. It dodged the issue, as did China and the US, opting to keep rice stocks in storage until they deteriorate enough to sell as livestock feed. (Jul 17, '08)

An immigration conundrum in Japan
The Japanese population is shrinking and this unfortunate fact may be the only thing that can move Tokyo to relax decades of stringent immigration policies. A "revolutionary" proposal calls for a massive influx of foreign workers, but the plan is likely to remain stalled until Japanese can open their hearts to more gaijins. - Peter Taberner (Jul 15, '08)

Close encounters with North Korea
For some 20 years, outlandish stories of North Korean abductions pushed Japanese imaginations to the outer limits of Cold War paranoia. With the emergence of several true narratives, the abduction issue has taken on September 11 significance and given Japan an opportunity to assert victimhood, dust off plans to drive up defense spending, and embark on a new brand of militarism. - John Feffer (Jul 7, '08)

Japan enters a new space age
Under a new law, Japan can now manufacture and operate its own satellites to support its terrestrial military operations, including ballistic missile defense. While a giant step forward for Japan, the development does not guarantee closer cooperation between Tokyo and Washington in their civil and defense space activities. (Jul 2, '08)

SEX IN DEPTH
A new wrinkle in Japan's
porn boom
The Japanese are fast becoming the world's oldest population, so it hardly seems odd that the fast-growing niche in Japan's massive adult film industry is porn for the elderly. What is odd is that some septuagenarians are starting new careers as porn stars in the increasingly lucrative "Grandpa porn" sector. - William Sparrow (Jun 27, '08)

Japan, through the US looking glass
After shaping itself to the American model for 50 years, Japan now sees the US's plummeting prestige and economic problems and wonders if it hasn't gone down a rabbit hole. This is the wonderland world of contemporary Japanese politics in which conservatives are really radicals, those with a pro-US bent are nationalists and revising the pro-US constitution may be the only way to put the nation back together again. - Gavan McCormack (Jun 25, '08)

Ranbaxy sale a perfect match
The purchase by Japan's Daiichi Sankyo of Indian generic-drugs maker Ranbaxy induced smiles all round. Investors bought into the two companies' shares, delighted at the market fit, while young Ranbaxy boss Malvinder Singh and his family can look forward to his 36th birthday US$2.3 billion richer. - Neeta Lal (Jun 18, '08)

BOOK REVIEW
Asia's awesome threesome
Rivals by Bill Emmott
Any friendship between China, India, and Japan is a facade, argues Bill Emmott in his new book on the inter-state rivalry and its consequences for the world. Asia's "Big Three" are prone to suspicions and jealousies due to their highly competitive and strategic environment and this has led to a complex "new Asian drama". Emmott's yen for futurology yields interesting speculations but his premise of a is illogical and bypasses the impact of Russo-American tensions. - Sreeram Chaulia (Jun 13, '08)

Japan sets standard to cope with oil shocks
The world should not be surprised at the recent sharp oil-price increase; it has happened before. Yet only Japan appears to have learnt the lesson of past surges, whatever their cause. - Dilip Hiro(Jun 11, '08)

Sinophile Rudd loses Asian friends
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is clearly an Asia enthusiast. But his opening salvo of unforced diplomatic errors - from favoring China at the expense of Indonesia and Japan to an ill-formed proposal for an Asia-Pacific bloc - has derailed relationships with Canberra's major neighbors. - Purnendra Jain (Jun 10, '08)

Japan makes new push to Africa
Japan will double its assistance to Africa to US$1.8 billion in the next five years, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told a conference of 52 African governments. African officials, however, point out that 85% of Japan's investment goes to South Africa and Egypt, and the domestic press claims Tokyo is simply making a play for Africa's rich resources. (May 29, '08)

SEX IN DEPTH
Asia: The land of raising sons
A strong preference for male babies has led to social problems in Asia, specifically in China and India, where traditions and state mandates have led to serious gender discrimination in reproduction. Now, mothers are being blamed, baby girls are abandoned and bachelors have trouble hooking up. Is it not time to say, as Maurice Chevalier did, thank heaven for little girls? - William Sparrow (May 23, '08)

COMMENT
Blair's Christian 'challenge' to the East
Former British premier Tony Blair, who recently converted to Catholicism, apparently believes his or other Christian faiths should underpin the West in meeting the challenges from the East. But people such as Blair should start taking the "East" more seriously, and the coming Group of Eight summit in July could be an opportunity for Europeans to start calling democratic Asians "we" rather than "they". - Masayuki Tadokoro
(May 14, '08)

China and Japan tiptoe into a 'warm spring'
Chinese President Hu Jintao's five-day visit to Japan was an important step towards stabilizing relations between the two powers. Clearly, a positive Sino-Japanese relationship serves the interests of the region - and the United States - but territorial disputes, food safety issues and rising nationalism in both countries remain unresolved. - Jing-dong Yuan (May 12, '08)

SEX IN DEPTH
The young ones
In Japan, where the age of sexual consent can be as low as 13, the practice of an older man hiring a teenage schoolgirl for a "date" is about as firmly established as Mt Fuji. The time-honored custom of enjo kosai has for years caused screams of outrage about innocence gone bad, but efforts to regulate the practice are proving difficult. - William Sparrow (May 9, '08)

Wind drifts out of Japan's green vision
Japan's engineering companies are taking full advantage overseas of 30% annual global growth in the use of wind energy. Yet at home, thanks in part to government policies and utility monopolies, there are few opportunities in a country supposedly synonymous with efforts to combat global warming. (May 8, '08)

Fukuda's political troubles deepen
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's popularity is sinking fast and the opposition is making his life hellish, with an eye to his ouster. His only escape may be a snap vote, like Junichiro Koizumi pulled off in 2005. But Fukuda has neither the fighting spirit nor the public support that Koizumi enjoyed. - Purnendra Jain
(May 2, '08)

Japan's bank crisis resolved, others remain
Masaaki Shirakawa's appointment as Bank of Japan governor ends a long-running political standoff in time for the world's second-largest economy to be properly represented at this week's Group of Seven meeting of central bank leaders. Now he must show whether he can steer the country away from recession. - Hisane Masaki (Apr 9, '08)

Lost love over Yasukuni Shrine
Neo-nationalists have stopped the showing of a Chinese-directed movie about Japan's controversial war memorial Yasukuni, the latest in a string of incidents threatening freedom of expression in Japan. Director Li Ying, who moved to Tokyo in 1989 and speaks fluent Japanese, rejects accusations of the film being "political propaganda", saying it is his love letter to the Japanese people. (Apr 8, '08)