Japan on Missile Mission to Get 127 Million People to Hide—Fast
Natalie Andrews reports on Japan’s efforts to train its citizens how to effectively respond to a missile threat, a necessary process given looming threats from North Korea.
Why Japan Is Paying Single Mothers to Move to the Countryside
Japan’s population is projected to shrink by a third by 2065. With small towns getting smaller, local governments are looking for creative ways to bring in new people.
East Asia Insights | Confronting Uncertainty in East Asia
From a Japanese perspective, the defining characteristic of East Asia’s regional order today appears to be the high degree of uncertainty that prevails about what might come next. Geopolitical uncertainty seems to be intensifying on all fronts, whether one looks at the disarray engulfing US politics and foreign policy, the escalation of tensions with North Korea, the challenge of managing relations with China, or even Japan’s domestic politics. How can leaders around the region work to find a way to dispel this uncertainty?
Tokyo’s Best Karaoke Is Karaoke Sung Alone
A 2017 JCIE Journalism Fellow discovers the joys of “hitokara,” the private karaoke rooms for those who want to sing alone.
East Asia Insights | Engaging North Korea after the Singapore Summit
On June 12, US President Donald Trump and North Korean Workers’ Party Chairman Kim Jong-un met for a historic US-DPRK summit. While the vagueness of their final statement left many skeptical of the results, Hitoshi Tanaka takes a more optimistic view, noting that the summit has changed the dynamics surrounding North Korea in a way that creates a rare chance to peacefully settle the nuclear threat and other pressing issues—but only if the United States, Japan, and other regional actors handle it properly.
Postcard from a Japanese Steel Town
JCIE Journalism Fellow Adrian Ma, a reporter based in the American Midwest, explores Japan’s oldest steel town, Kamaishi.
How a Small Dairy Store from Ohio Became One of the Biggest Names in the Japanese Convenience Store Industry
Japan and the United States have a long history of not only economic competition, but also cultural exchange. In the U.S., for instance, sushi and anime are popular. And the Japanese long ago adopted baseball and jazz. If that’s old news to you, here’s one America-to-Japan export that might surprise you: US convenience stores.
Japan Eases Immigration Restrictions to Fill Chronic Care Worker Shortage
In the past, Japan allowed mostly highly skilled professionals in the country. Now, due to severe labor shortages, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has ordered the government to look into new policies that would attract less-skilled workers to fill additional jobs. But the government will have to go beyond simply easing employment restrictions.
Japan Trade Officials and Companies Take a Nuanced Approach to US Tariffs
Adrian Ma explores the impact of the Trump administration’s 25 percent tariff on imported steel on Japan. How are Japanese companies and trade officials feeling about the president’s efforts to turn the economic screws? The answer varies a lot depending on whether you’re talking about steel production or auto manufacturing.
Seven Decades after the Bomb, Children of Hiroshima Victims Still Worry about Hidden Health Effects
“Nakatani Etsuko says her father rarely spoke of the day that the world’s first atomic weapon killed 140,000 people in his city of Hiroshima, Japan. But she says he did mention one thing: ‘That there were so many dead bodies in the river, you couldn’t see the water.’ Etsuko’s father was a teacher in Hiroshima. […]