ELLA KELLEHER WRITES — Grave of the Fireflies, one of those works of art that will never die, nonetheless is a film that lacks concrete resolution – there is no main lesson to be learned at the end. The audience is instead left with the understanding of the ephemerality of…
TAYLOR BOSVELD WRITES – Why is there a war memorial in the middle of Tokyo honoring people who committed wartime atrocities? Why has the ex-Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, recently visited the war memorial for the second time in as many months since stepping down? The first visit drew…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Big occasions call for speeches that will be remembered for decades. Unfortunately, for the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered one that disappointed many. Both China and South Korea wait anxiously every time the Prime Minister is…
DYLAN FIELDS WRITES – For many years, Japan has been engaged in various territorial disputes such as the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands conflict with China, or the Takeshima/Dokdo Islands feud with South Korea. One such quarrel, which many non-Japanese are unaware of, is the ongoing Kuril Islands dispute between Japan and…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Retracting a story is a bold move in the field of journalism and tends to suggest a lack of research. On August 5, The Asahi Shinbun decided to retract not one story, but all stories that included a quote made by a Japanese man who claimed…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – “Forgive and forget” is often easier said than done. When two countries have as rough a history as South Korea and Japan, it’s not surprising that tensions would be high between their leaders. For years, South Korea has requested that Japan offer compensation to the many…
ROBERT DYLAN FIELDS WRITES – One of the most pressing issues being debated in Japan today is the need to beef up the country’s military presence. Since the end of World War II, Japan has officially gone without an Army (a pacifist constitution being a condition of peace with the Allied…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – It takes a strong country to admit its past faults, which is something Japan is still working towards. 2013 commemorates the 68th anniversary of the Chinese people’s triumph over the Japanese in the War of Resistance and the World Anti-Fascist War. For those unfamiliar with the War of…
JEREMIAH FAJARDO WRITES – When hasty, controversial remarks find their way onto social media the result is rarely good for politicians. That’s a lesson Osaka Mayor Tōru Hashimoto has come to learn. According to publications like The Japan Times and Mainichi Daily, two of Japan’s prominent dailies, Hashimoto recently made flippant…
