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Monday, August 31, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
JAPAN: Homeless Still Outcasts, but Their Numbers Are Growing
After living three long, lonely years in a cardboard box, 51-year-old Koya Aoki finally found a job last month as an assistant at a day care service provider for seniors.LABOUR-JAPAN: Women Sharpen Legal Weapons against Discrimination
Eiko Shirafuji, 53, was a hopeful high school graduate when she joined Sumitomo Electrical Co, one of Japan's largest companies, more than three decades ago./REPEAT/JAPAN: Response to Shooting Incident Reflects More Open Attitudes
The recent shooting and arrest of a Chinese student for stealing a designer bag has again fuelled charges of police bias against foreigners, but this time it has drawn a somewhat different response from Japanese authorities.JAPAN: Response to Shooting Incident Reflects More Open Attitudes
The recent shooting and arrest of a Chinese student for stealing a designer bag has again fuelled charges of police bias against foreigners, but this time it has drawn a somewhat different response from Japanese authorities.JAPAN: Technology Boosts Recycling, but More Efforts Needed
Standing tall amid the green pastures of this small town, an hour's drive from Japan's second largest city of Osaka, is a high-technology factory that recycles nothing less than television sets to washing machines.CULTURE-JAPAN: Mobile Phone Use Creating New Language
When 16-year-old Miri Takahashi wants to tell her friends she cannot go the movies, she does not call them. Instead, she presses several arrow buttons on her mobile phone to send a picture of a sad face.LABOUR-JAPAN: Work Sharing Eases Pain of Losing Jobs
As Japan's labour market braces for more job cuts in the fiscal new year starting April, a much-touted "work sharing" system is emerging as an alternative to further corporate restructuring and job losses.JAPAN: Popularity of Take-out Food Reflects Social Changes
Business is booming at Midoriya, a bustling natural food restaurant in Meguro, residential Tokyo, where customers pile in to get their packets of prepared food or 'sozai'.LABOUR-JAPAN: Full-time Homemaking on the Way Out
Before leaving home for her part-time job as a shop assistant, Asako Mita, 33, completes a few domestic chores. These include waking up at 5 a.m. to cook breakfast and make four lunches for her children and husband.DEVELOPMENT-JAPAN: Aid Scandal Could Give NGOs More Clout
Non-governmental organisations in Japan are usually resigned to a role on the sidelines, but this could yet change amid the scandal now swirling around a senior politician and his alleged interference in the use of aid funds.JAPAN: Demand Continues to Fuel Trade in Bear Products
Demand in Japan, as well as South Korea and Singapore, for traditional medicine that uses bear bile continue to fuel the illegal trade in that product and large-scale bear farming in China, wildlife conservation activists say.JAPAN-U.S.: After Back-Patting, Real Action Needed – Analysts
Despite the smiles and hugs that marked U.S. President George W Bush's two-day visit to Tokyo, his first stop in a landmark East Asian tour, analysts here say the trip was yet another opportunity for Washington to flex its muscles.JAPAN: Finnish Lawmaker Inspires Hope among Resident Foreigners
Japan's first blue-eyed lawmaker, a Finnish- born former missionary who took a seat in the Japanese parliament last week, faces a tough test in initiating changes in this homogenous society.JAPAN-US: Security, Economics Top Agenda of Bush’s Visit
Economics and security in East Asia top the agenda of U.S. President George W Bush's two-day visit to Japan, the first stop on his Asian swing next week.POPULATION-JAPAN: Single Mothers Buck Traditional Norms
Forty one-year-old Satoko belongs to a growing group of women in Japan who are opting to raise their children alone, turning their backs on deep-rooted social norms that revere marriage and the family.POLITICS-JAPAN: Koizumi’s Popularity under Tough Test
The popularity wave that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi rode since he came to power last year is now being put to the test, amid growing perceptions that he has yet to deliver on his pledge to bring much-needed reforms to the country.LABOUR-JAPAN: Job Worries Rise with Climbing Jobless Rate
Japanese student Keisuke Watanabe, 21, is not graduating from university until April, but he is already worried about ending up jobless.DEVELOPMENT-JAPAN: Tokyo Sharpens Aid as Diplomatic Tool
As its mammoth aid budget heads for yet another cut, Japan is trying to find ways of sharpening the use of overseas development assistance as the country's most powerful diplomatic tool.POLITICS-JAPAN: Sacking of Popular Official Bound to Hurt Premier
The forced resignation of Japan's popular foreign minister, Makiko Tanaka late Tuesday has dealt a blow to the popularity of the current government and dashed the hopes of women aspiring to make a dent in male-dominated politics, say analysts.RIGHTS-JAPAN: Doubts Rise about Use of Death Penalty
There were few surprises over the hanging last month of convicted murderer Toshihiko Hasegawa - the most recent execution carried out here -- but questions are slowly rising over Japan's continued use of the death penalty.AFGHANISTAN: Aid Pledges Mark Start of Rocky Road to Rebuilding
War-torn Afghanistan received pledges of 4.5 billion U.S. dollars from international donors at the end of a pledging conference here Tuesday, but the rocky, at times risky, road to rebuilding is actually just about to start.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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