Japan

In our town, we had the warmth of family life, the deep human bonds of community, festivals heralding each season, traditional culture and buildings passed down through history, as well as riversides where children played. At 8:15 a.m., August 6,…

It was just two months ago that the Japanese parliament passed the bill lowering the voting age from 20 to 18 years old, that is coming into effective in July 2016. The new cohort and soon-to-be voters are now challenging…

By Gary G. Kohls, MD*  August 6, 2015, is the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, a civilian city that had minimal military value, despite the claims of President Truman when he announced the event to the American…

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: Save Japan’s Peace Constitution Global Article 9 Campaign [Read this in French. Also find a previous version in Japanese, Korean,Chinese, Spanish, and Russian.] Today, Japan’s peace constitution is – more than ever – in danger.        Japan’s…

An increasingly tense situation is developing between many countries in the Far East at the moment. China this week has been criticised by the USA for reclaiming land and building harbours and airstrips in the South China Sea. The dispute…

The right-wing newspaper, Washington Times, ran a piece on Monday entitled “The other side to the Okinawa story: The ‘All Okinawa’ opposition to US military presence [occupation] is a leftist ruse”. The hit piece was written by Robert Eldridge (former…

“We were waist deep in the Big Muddy. The big fool said to push on.” — Pete Seeger The NPT member states have to choose between two irreconcilable narratives, and the success of the 2015 Review Conference depends upon their…

As peace activists gather in The Hague, Japan is moving toward taking a more active military role internationally despite having a pacifist constitution. On Tuesday, President Obama hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for a White House state dinner. The…

A local judge has placed an injunction on the re-opening of two nuclear reactors at Japan’s Takahama plant, even though it had passed the country’s new post-Fukushima safety checks. “The new regulations are not reasonable, therefore there is no need…

The State of Affairs and Ongoing Challenges of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: a Civil Society Response Towards Recovery,  intends to answer questions such as: –  What have been the impacts of the Fukushima nuclear disaster? –  What is the current condition…