Japan

The Dark Past and Uncertain Future of Nuclear Energy in Japan

In October 2020, then-Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide declared that Japan would reach net-zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050, an extremely high hurdle for the country to achieve in just thirty years. Japan is among the world’s largest carbon emitters, with forty percent of its emissions coming from energy production; in 2019, fossil fuels composed 88 […]

Japan’s Failing Immigration System

This article discusses violence, suicide, and self-harm. On March 6, 2021, Wishma Sandamali, a Sri Lankan national who entered Japan on a student visa, died in custody at an Aichi Prefecture immigration detention facility. In August 2020, authorities arrested and detained her for overstaying her visa after seeking help from police officials regarding a domestic […]

Troubled Waters at Fukushima Daiichi

Since the 2011 triple disaster decimated Japan’s northeast Tohoku region, the area surrounding Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has seen the construction of hundreds of massive temporary water storage tanks.  These vessels contain highly contaminated water used to cool melted uranium fuel rods in the sites’s three reactors. In the days following the tsunami, each […]

Episode 18: “Japanese Domestic and International Politics under the new Kishida Administration” with Rintaro Nishimura

Bryan interviews fifth-year Rintaro Nishimura regarding the recent Japanese general and Prime Ministerial elections, discusses the trajectory of several domestic issues under the new administration headed by Fumio Kishida, and the role played by the United States and other partners in international matters, especially within Asia. If you have any questions or comments about NUPR-spectives […]

Cracking Japan’s Systemic Sexual Abuse Culture

This article discusses sexual violence in detail.

Seeking an Answer to Overconcentration in Tokyo

As COVID-19 ravaged the world, Japan’s economy shrank more than at any time since data tracking began in 1980. New Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will undoubtedly make the recovery his top priority. But Suga should also properly address overconcentration in Tokyo, a serious problem that prolonged the pandemic. Immediately after Japan declared a state of […]

Episode 4: “Trouble in the East China Sea” with Rintaro Nishimura

Listen and subscribe to our podcast: Via Spotify | Via Apple Podcasts This week, Max talks with Rintaro Nishimura, one of the co-managing editors at NUPR, about the tensions between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. They explore the history of these islands as well as recent actions taken by Japan and […]

Saying Goodbye to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

It was probably not the way he imagined it would go down.  On August 28, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced he would step down due to health reasons. This came as a shock to many, considering it was just days after he broke the record for the longest uninterrupted tenure as the nation’s leader.  […]

Episode 3: “Death by Overwork” with Beza Zenebe

Listen and subscribe to our podcast: Via Spotify | Via Apple Podcasts This week, Max talks with Beza Zenebe, one of the co-managing editors at NUPR, about confounding problem of overwork in Japan and the rest of the world. We discuss why western media often fixates on overwork in Japan and discuss some potential solutions. […]

Can the “Okinawa Problem” Ever Be Resolved?

In the coming months, Japan and the United States will negotiate over the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), a cost-sharing arrangement for American military presence. These talks will influence the future of Indo-Pacific security and America’s role in the region. In 2019, reports suggested that the US could demand a five-fold payment increase from the current […]