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Tuesday, September 1, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
JAPAN: Premier Goes to South-east Asia with Trade on His Mind
Building closer trade links between Japan and South-east Asia is expected to figure prominently when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits five countries in that region starting Jan. 9.POLITICS: Japan’s Pacifist Image Comes under Scrutiny
Reports of spy ships and last week's fatal clash with an alleged North Korean vessel around Japanese territorial waters are threatening to change Japan's much-touted image of a pacifist nation .ENVIRONMENT-JAPAN: Tokyo Steps up Recycling Efforts
Desperate over its mounting garbage problem, Japan is about to embark on a 20-year programme to turn the world's second largest economy into a recycling society.RIGHTS: Sexually Exploited Boys Often Forgotten, Activists Say
Saman (not his real name) was 12 years old when he was lured into becoming the sex partner of a foreign man living in a large house in a famous beach resort in Sri Lanka.RIGHTS: Trafficked Children Vulnerable to Sexual Exploitation
Nuri, a Bangladeshi girl faced with grinding poverty at home, was eight years old when she was trafficked to Pakistan by a man who promised her a job.#18/12/2001 14: 47
Nuri, a Bangladeshi girl faced with grinding poverty at home, was eight years old when she was trafficked to Pakistan by a man who promised her a job./CORRECTED REPEAT/RIGHTS: Child Sexual Exploitation Needs Fight on Many Fronts
The continued growth of commercial sexual exploitation needs no less than urgent action on all its different fronts across the globe, political leaders and experts said here at the start of a global conference on the issue Monday.RIGHTS: Child Sexual Exploitation Needs Fight on Many Fronts
The continued growth of commercial sexual exploitation needs no less than urgent action on all its different fronts across the globe, political leaders and experts said here at the start of a global conference on the issue Monday.JAPAN: Premier Takes on Bureaucracy, Patronage Politics
Warning that the economy needs a "bypass operation" to prevent a fatal heart attack, Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is bracing the nation for deep economic and institutional reforms to pull the world's second largest economy out of more than a decade of stop-go growth.RIGHTS: Japan Shows Little Change in Attitude on Asylum Seekers
The Japanese government's recent rejection of the asylum applications of nine Afghan men underscores how Tokyo's attitude toward foreign refugee applicants has changed little over the years.DEVELOPMENT-JAPAN: Tokyo Works for More Attention for Africa
A commitment to the revival of Africa was the result was a just-finished conference here among African and Asian countries and donor nations, hosted by the Japanese governmentRIGHTS-JAPAN: Youngsters Challenge Sexual Exploitation Head-on
Fed up with being groped on trains or leered at by older men, 17-year-old Akie Takeda decided that she would help raise consciousness among young people to curb sexual harassment and exploitation in Japan.JAPAN: Marrying into a Different Culture has its Price
When Elizabeth, a Filipina, married Isamu, a Japanese businessman whom she met while working in a bar in Tokyo almost two decades ago, she was almost certain that the union would make her happy and financially secure.JAPAN: Coming Birth of Royal Heir Raises Questions on Succession Rules
The Japanese have waited eight years for news of the birth of a possible heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne, but now that Princess Masako is due to give birth in a few weeks, the milestone is suddenly shrouded in secrecy.ENVIRONMENT: Japan Says It Will Ratify Kyoto Protocol
Japan is set to ratify the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to curb global warming following an accord on the treaty reached at the U.N. climate talks in Morocco at the weekend.TRADE-JAPAN: Tokyo Stands Pat on Protecting Farm Market
Japan, the world's second richest economy, is poised to make a stand to protect its agricultural sector at the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting that opens on Friday in Doha, Qatar. That position, analysts say will make developing countries unhappy.RIGHTS-JAPAN: New Law Keeps Abusive Husbands in Check
Japan's domestic violence law that was passed last month is a landmark in the quest for equal rights for women in a male-dominated society, say activists./ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-JAPAN: Hit Movie Uses Animation to Focus on Social Ills
Japan's animation guru Hayao Miyazaki is making movie history once again with his latest film, 'Spirited Away'./ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-JAPAN: Interest in Islam Rising as Muslims Worry About Labelling
On Fridays, Tokyo's largest mosque in Shibuya ward, fills with people in prayer. They file in quietly, keeping up a practice that the tiny community of Muslims in a largely homogenous society that combines Buddhism and its Shinto faith, has followed for years.JAPAN-SOUTH ASIA: After U.S., Tokyo Lifts Economic Sanctions
Japan on Friday lifted economic sanctions against rival nations India and Pakistan to help them contribute to the U.S.-led 'war against terrorism', but critics say it is another sign of U.S. influence over Tokyo's foreign policy.TRADE-JAPAN: Sluggish Overseas Demand Cripples Exports
Japan's much touted trade surplus -- believed to be the highest in the world -- is shrinking fast, and the once ferocious exporter faces the prospect of becoming an importer, say analysts here.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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