This series focuses on China's Communist Youth League, where young people learn about Chinese-style socialism and communism in practice under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Promising members of the league, who are considered on an “elite career track,” are recruited to join the CPC. For example, both former President Hu Jintao and Premier Li Keqiang once served as first secretary of the league before being recruited by the CPC. This series looks at the league and the high-ranking officials who have risen--and fallen--through its ranks.

According to Greek mythology, it was Prometheus who gave fire to humans. The acquisition of fire allowed humankind to develop civilization. Fire derived from fossil fuels further spurred production capacity. In time, humans attained atomic fire, a feat that was also described as “superior energy.” Playing with fire, however, has presented humans with a dilemma. Humans, who achieved a civilized world through Prometheus, are now troubled by atomic fire. The series of articles contemplate the country, its citizens and electric power in light of the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. “Futaba’s Exodus from Fukushima,” a new series that has run under the overall title of “The Prometheus Trap,” is about the town of Futaba’s bold decision to evacuate residents as well as its municipal office out of Fukushima Prefecture and its aftermath. Titles of the people in this story are those they held at that time.

The Prometheus Trap series investigates how the Japanese coped with the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami of March 11, 2011. This portion of the series, titled "Washington’s Doubts About Japan’s Response," focuses on how Washington perceived the Japanese government’s handling of the Fukushima disaster. These stories uncover facts that indicated U.S. officials were extremely frustrated about the way the administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan dealt with the crisis. The latter part of this coverage also delves into how the Ministry of Defense moved to keep the unfolding nuclear crisis from going out of control.

This series looks into the inner workings of the People's Liberation Army, the 2.3-million-strong military of China—how it operates, what it is trying to achieve and how it is heightening tensions with other countries. With an emphasis on newly uncovered facts, documents and accounts by insiders obtained by The Asahi Shimbun’s investigative reporters, this package focuses on such timely issues as how Japan is being targeted by cyberattacks originating from China, growing tensions involving the increasingly active Chinese Navy, as well as the serious issue of corruption in the military's top echelons. Some articles also reveal new details about the Senkaku Islands dispute between Japan and China in the East China Sea.

The confrontation between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands (known as the Diaoyu islands in China) seems to be here to stay. With little prospect of a solution, this thorny territorial issue seems to demand great political wisdom from both nations. This special section looks in detail at the history of the dispute to help put it into proper perspective.