Highlighting JAPAN

through articles

By featuring articles written by experts in many different genres, this online magazine provides people all over the world with information on modern Japan.

December 2007

Ageless Life

Ageless Life

Old is the new young in Japan, as elderly people grasp the opportunity "retirement" brings to start new lives and "give something back." The Japan Journal reports on the major changes afoot in Japan's aging society.

A Society of Lifelong Active Duty

Professor Takashi Shiraishi, vice president of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, shares his views on international relations in the ASEAN and broader Asian region today, and on Japan's role in it.

What Japan Thinks

The annual Opinion Survey on Diplomacy is an excellent guide to the mood of the nation. The Japan Journal spotlights some of this year's results.

Keep On Keeping On

One of the factors driving the aging of Japan's population is the so-called baby boom generation born between 1947 and 1949. Journalist Hitoshi Kato, himself a baby boomer, takes a look at Japan's aging society, comparing the country's baby boom generation with the workers and elderly of previous generations.

Homes as Hubs

So-called quality rental housing for elderly people can provide any number of obvious benefits, not least among them the potential to act as a focal point for exchange with local people. The Japan Journal pays a visit to a pioneering home for the elderly in Tokyo, Komorebi Takiyama.

Life in the Co-op

More and more Japanese are taking to the concept of cooperative housing. The Japan Journal investigates why.

Japan's EPA Policy

Shigehiro Tanaka, director for FTA Affairs at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, explains Japan's policy with regard to Economic Partnership Agreements, examines the nature of economic integration within East Asia to date, and introduces Japan's proposal for an "Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia."

Cash in a Flash

Waichi Sekiguchi reports on the rapid rise of electronic money in Japan and considers its impact on consumer spending and the economy.

Robot Invasion

Tony McNicol visits the International Robot Exhibition and sees a mechatronic horde take over Tokyo for a day.

Food Is Function

Estimated to be worth close to 17 billion dollars, Japan's functional food market is by far the world's biggest. Jess Halliday homes in on Japan's health claims legislation and FOSHU (food for specified health uses) market, and weighs up the scope for growth of the global functional foods industry.

Branching Out

Tree shaper Kaori Yamada is breathing new life into the male-dominated world of bonsai cultivation. The Japan Journal reports.

Japanesque Modern

A new initiative of the Japanese government aims to promote the fusion of traditional culture with advanced technology to increase the international competitiveness of Japanese manufacturing. The Japan Journal reports, interviewing Committee Council Chair Shinji Fukukawa and fellow member Tomoyuki Sugiyama (pages 32 & 33).

No article or any part there of may be reproduced without the express permission of the Cabinet Office. Copyright inquiries should be made through this form.