In a recent interview with The New York Times, Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose committed a verbal faux pas that raises serious questions about Tokyo's appropriateness as a possible host of the Olympic Games.

The relationship between Japan and South Korea is reminiscent of the Greek myth of Sisyphus, the ancient king condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only to see it roll down again.

Yasukuni Shrine is a place for bereaved families and citizens to calmly pay their respects to the war dead.

Hot on the heels of visits by three Abe Cabinet members, dozens of lawmakers from the ruling and opposition camps paid homage at Yasukuni Shrine, where Japan's war dead and Class-A war criminals are honored, on April 23.

Top financial policymakers of the Group of 20 major countries recently gave their acquiescence to Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s aggressive monetary easing. The focus of discussions at the latest G-20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers, held in Washington, was Kuroda’s radical policy, which he himself has described as “monetary easing of a different dimension,” and the yen’s rapid depreciation against the dollar triggered by his policy.

Preparations until recently were in full swing for a summit meeting among Japan, China and South Korea in late May. It now appears that the trilateral gathering will be put off because of China's reluctance to sit at the same table as Japan, according to reports.

The Supreme Court on April 16 recognized a woman posthumously as a Minamata disease sufferer, challenging the government's traditional reluctance to certify patients and sending the message that it should return to the starting point in providing relief.

When Japan's Supreme Court ruled in 1959 that U.S. forces should be allowed to remain in Japan despite the pacifist Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, what went on behind the scenes?

The Nuclear Regulation Authority's proposal for new regulation standards, released on April 10, shows specifically which nuclear reactors should be short-listed as unfit to be put back online for safety reasons.

The pain of the March 2011 nuclear disaster will be shared not only by people serviced by Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, but also by those living in other regions.