Editorial & Columns

---

Editorial & Columns Popular Articles

---

Yomiuri Editorial

• 

  Rice Coupons: A Misguided Approach to Countering Rising Prices

  Editorial [posttime] JST, [postdate] The “rice coupons” that the central government recommends local...

  December 13, 2025

• 

  U.N. Specialized Agencies: Japan Must Take Lead in Setting Standards Through Dispatch of Senior Officials

  Editorial [posttime] JST, [postdate] The international order is on the brink of collapse, and the Un...

  December 13, 2025

• 

  Fed Cuts Interest Rates: Situation Surrounding U.S. Economy Complicates Central Bank’s Next Moves

  The U.S. economy finds itself caught in a dilemma, with concerns over deteriorating employment an...

  December 12, 2025

• 

  Budget Proposal Passes Lower House: Is It Enough to Win over Opposition, Avoid Difficulties?

  The supplementary budget proposal for fiscal 2025, totaling ¥18.3 trillion, was approved at the H...

  December 12, 2025

• 

  Compensation for Public Assistance Recipients: Bring Steady Relief to Households Affected by Welfare Benefit Cuts

  Following the Supreme Court ruling in June this year that the significant reduction in welfare be...

  December 11, 2025

---

Political Pulse

• 

  How Will Takaichi Emulate Her Political Role Models, Thatcher and Abe?

  Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister, has two role models in politics. One is Marg...

  December 13, 2025

• 

  Osaka Expo Materials Reused and Recycled Around Japan, Exemplifying the Circular Economy

  Drawing a massive circle around the central grounds of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, the majestic wooden...

  December 6, 2025

  #2025 Expo Osaka

• 

  JIP Lawmaker Takashi Endo Is the ‘Glue’ the Holds the LDP-JIP Coalition Together

  A House of Representatives member playing an unusual dual role is making his presence felt in the...

  November 29, 2025

• 

  12-Day War on Iran by Israel, U.S. Had No Winners; Tehran’s Nuclear Efforts Likely to Go On

  I spent three years in Tehran as the Iran correspondent for The Yomiuri Shimbun, starting in 2015...

  November 22, 2025

• 

  Takaichi’s Summit with Economics-Minded Trump Successfully Advanced Japan’s Security Interests

  Sanae Takaichi, who became Japan’s first female prime minister on Oct. 21, spent the first 12 day...

  November 15, 2025

  #Economic Security

---

Insights Into The World

• 

  World Needs to Restore Free and Fair Trade System

  By Motoshige Itoh / Special to The Yomiuri Shimbun [posttime] JST, [postdate] A phenomenon know...

  December 12, 2025

• 

  In Global Politics, U.S. and China Are in Charge

  It has been less than a year since Donald Trump came to power. Yet the world continues to be hit ...

  December 5, 2025

• 

  Can U.S. Universities Safeguard Their Independence?

  By Takenori Inoki / Special to The Yomiuri Shimbun [posttime] JST, [postdate] After U.S. Presid...

  November 28, 2025

• 

  Melting Sea Ice Reveals Importance of Arctic Region

  By Shigeru Kitamura / Special to The Yomiuri Shimbun [posttime] JST, [postdate] In 2019, during...

  November 21, 2025

• 

  Soft Power is Key for Japan to ‘Flourish’ Globally

  By Akihiko Tanaka / Special to The Yomiuri Shimbun [posttime] JST, [postdate] Prime Minister Sa...

  November 7, 2025

---

Cultural Viewpoints

• 

  Beyond the Paper Screen / Homemaking on the Go Never Really Stops

  It was a typical day in Oregon in mid-May: drizzles, clouds, five minutes of sunshine, drizzles a...

  March 25, 2024

• 

  Cultural Conundrums / What Follows ‘Batter Up!Pqx: Cultural Accommodation in Baseball Risk-Taking

  The great thing about culture is that it’s everywhere. I am not a fan of baseball, but my spouse ...

  March 10, 2024

• 

  Beyond the Paper Screen / Navigating the Future of Work: Change, Creativity and Human Resilience

  In my class, which is for students who are just starting their major in sociology and anthropology, ...

  February 18, 2024

• 

  Cultural Conundrums / Getting to Friendships: The Challenges of Context-driven Social Relationships

  Friendships sustain us in life, keeping loneliness at bay and providing us with a chance to grow thr...

  February 4, 2024

• 

  A Joyful Paradox: Rethinking Play in the Modern World

  By Sawa Kurotani / Special to The Japan News [posttime] JST, [postdate] I think I was about 10 ...

  January 21, 2024

---

Outside Contributors

• 

  5 Japanese Business Dinner Mistakes to Avoid — and What They Taught Me About Business in Japan

  When I first started doing business in Japan in 2016, the initial cultural lesson was the meishi ...

  December 1, 2025

• 

  U.S. Ambassador Glass: Seizing the Momentum of President Trump’s Visit

  U.S. President Donald Trump was in Japan last week. U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass talks a...

  November 7, 2025

• 

  TICAD Should Keep Focus on Japan Investing in Africa, Not Merely Offering Aid

  For more than 30 years, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) has sto...

  August 20, 2025

  #TICAD

• 

  Is Japanese Really Needed for Doing Business in Japan? / Startups Often Deal with Big Corporations in English

  Late in 2023, a Japanese executive of a major Japanese corporation took me out to a sushi dinner ...

  May 14, 2025

• 

  Trump’s Victim Narrative Makes America Less Great; But Playing on People’s Grudges Does Win Him Votes

  Among the characteristics of U.S. President Donald Trump, what particularly perplexes me is his o...

  May 9, 2025