Languages
Tuesday, September 1, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
JAPAN: Social Pressure Fuels Demand for Infertility Treatment
Kazuko Iwatsuki, 53, has suffered depression for years due to feelings of inferiority stemming from her inability to bear a child.JAPAN-CHINA: Growing Food Imports Worry Tokyo
Japan is gearing up for a "vegetable war" against Asia in a bid to protect the livelihoods of its own farmers, casting a worried eye on rising food imports from China.RIGHTS-JAPAN: Work a Health Hazard for Women Too
Japan's changing employment practices have made women workers as vulnerable as men to mental stress, depression and even death as a result of overwork, say women's rights activists and counselors here.JAPAN-CHINA: New Gov’t Gets Chance to Show New Diplomacy
This week's visit by Japan's foreign minister to China gives Tokyo's new government a chance to mend sometimes testy ties with Beijing, and forge a more "direct" relationship witth Japan's closest neighbours.POLITICS-JAPAN: Premier Basks in Praise, Critics Eye Real Reform
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is piling up the public-approval points with several non-traditional decisions in recent weeks, but critics say people need to see the substance behind his maverick form -- and soon.POPULATION-JAPAN: Settling in a Struggle for Foreign Migrants
Maria, the 31-year-old Filipino wife of a Japanese truck driver, says her husband's country will be her home until she dies.RIGHTS-JAPAN: Women Score Victory With Launch of Females-Only Coach
Stickers plastered on the train coach on a city railway line say "women only", defining the new service which one rail company in Japan launched last month.POLITICS-JAPAN: Reformist Politician Gets Nod As Prime Minister
In a move that showed public opinion winning over deep-rooted political loyalties, Junichiro Koizumi, a reformist former cabinet minister, was elected head of Japan's powerful Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Tuesday, making him the next prime minister./ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-JAPAN: All Eyes on Royal Pregnancy
The race for a new prime minister in Japan ranks as major news here, but many have their eyes fixed on what to them is good news that has been lacking in tough economic times: reports that Crown Princess Masako is pregnant.RIGHTS-JAPAN: Migrant Workers Bear Brunt of ‘Unjust’ System
Rosal Manalili was 14 when she left the Philippines for Japan in 1986, embarking on her first overseas trip that, she hoped, would help her to become a professional singer.JAPAN: New Textbooks Teach ‘Narrow’ Nationalism, Critics Say
Aya Mita, 13, laughs loudly when asked her opinion about the Japanese government's decision this month to authorise new history textbooks that portray her country's colonisation of Asia decades ago as a liberation movement.ENVIRONMENT-JAPAN: Tokyo Turns to Deft Diplomacy in Global Warming
Despite its own poor record on curbing greenhouse gases, Japan is urging the United States to reconsider its pullout last month from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which sets targets to reduce global warming.ECONOMY-JAPAN: Yen’s Fall Hurts Some, Helps Others
Japanese businessman Tomohiro Shimoyama, head of the apparel wholesaler Tomo Goods, says the plunging yen makes him feel almost suicidal these days.RIGHTS-JAPAN: Treat Minorities Right, Tokyo Told
Human rights groups are applauding a recent United Nations committee report that has called on the Japanese government to put an end to racial discrimination.POPULATION-JAPAN: Recession Hurts Husbands’ Pockets
Koichi Ishiyama, a 52-year-old university professor, brings home a pay check of almost 5,000 U.S. dollars a month, but he says he hardly sees a penny of it.JAPAN-US: Expectations Low on Mori’s Trip to Washington
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's visit to United States this week comes at a bad time: he is a lame-duck leader trying to mend ties with Washington at a particularly difficult time.JAPAN: Nuke Plant Workers Get Low Pay, High Health Risks
Michiko Shimahashi, 63, says her life has never been the same after her son, who had worked at one of Japan's nuclear power plants, died of leukemia eight years ago./UPDATE/POLITICS-JAPAN: Mori Resignation Expected as Economic Woes Rise
Talk is rife that Japan's embattled Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is expected to resign anytime soon, amid rising worries by a disenchanted public and an economy whose finances are in a "catastrophic situation", according to Tokyo's own finance minister.POLITICS-JAPAN: Mori Resignation Expected as Economic Woes Rise
Talk is rife that Japan's embattled Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is expected to resign anytime soon, amid rising worries by a disenchanted public and an economy whose finances are in a "catastrophic situation", according to Tokyo's own finance minister.ECONOMY-JAPAN: Uncertain About Future, People Tighten Purses
The Japanese economy may be sliding further into recession, but finding a seat at the Harumi Sushi restaurant in central Tokyo is almost impossible.JAPAN-U.S.: Sea Mishap Reopens Old Hurts against U.S. Military
Fresh reports that the U.S. naval submarine that rammed a Japanese training ship last month was at sea only because it was taking 16 civilians on a tour are likely to lead to more anti-American outbursts from an already upset Japanese public.« Previous Page — Next Page »
The Week with IPS
NEXT STOP - SDGs
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
