It’s Time for a Japan-US Pandemic Partnership

Beyond their moral responsibility, Japan and the United States have compelling interests in doing more together to battle COVID-19 internationally.

Invite Foreign Interns to Settle in Japan, Think Tank Says

Japan Times coverage of a policy proposal put forth as part of JCIE’s program on Population Decline & Immigration., which recommends that Japan replace its discredited national foreigners’ trainee program with a system that invites overseas interns to settle in Japan.

LBO Focus: Japan’s Aging Population Burnishes Health Deals

The Japanese government realizes the country lacks a sufficient capacity of nursing homes and senior-care facilities. For the past five years, the government has worked to incentivize the private sector to take on the task of building nursing homes and other such health-care facilities. To attract this kind of development, the government has provided subsidies for the construction costs of new facilities as well as discounts on property taxes.

Japan Exasperated by Trump’s Trade Policies

As US farmers suffer under high tariffs, Japanese officials are in no rush to cut a new trade deal with the United States.

Why This Hiroshima Survivor Dedicated His Life to Searching for the Families of 12 American POWs

A moving portrait by our 2018 Journalism Fellow Ibby Caputo of Shigeaki Mori, a man who survived the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and made it his life’s mission to seek recognition for the 12 American POWs who lost their lives in the attack.

Nation Marks Second Year Since Calamity

From Japan Times
Memorial and prayer services were held across Japan on Monday, which marked the second anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Tohoku’s coastline and left some 19,000 people dead or missing amid the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

Strong ASEAN-Japan Ties Important to Global Stability

Partnership between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan must be enhanced far beyond economic means in anticipation of the ASEAN Community, set to be effective in 2015, when the region is expected to play a more determinant role in global security, say analysts.

Why Did Americans Donate $730 million to Wealthy Japan?

By Tom Paulson
A report by JCIE notes that Americans have given about $730 million to assist Japan in rebuilding and recovery from the 2011 tsunami. Many might be upset to learn that one rich nation donated so much to another rich nation when so many extremely poor countries and communities have bigger needs. Shouldn’t we have directed that money elsewhere?

Caregiver Trainee Program Coming Up Short, but Options on Table also Daunting

By Tomohiro Osaki
In an interview with JCIE’s managing director Toshihiro Menju, the role of foreign labor in Japan’s nursing care industry is discussed, along with how a promotion of long-term settlement could combat the exploitation and corruption inherent in this sector.

Japan Alone Cannot Guard or Sustain Peace

When one speaks of turmoil on the Korean Peninsula, it’s usually in reference to North Korea, not South Korea. But Itsunori Onodera, who stepped down as Japan’s defense minister in September 2014, has some concerns with Seoul’s “provocative” actions toward Pyongyang.