Does the deregulation of working hours contradict measures against the declining birthrate? The flexibility in working hours promoted by the Takaichi administration holds the potential to maximize both the “earning power” and the “time discretion” of child-rearing households. Professor Oguro Kazumasa shines a new light on this controversial policy from the perspective of demographic challenges. The Current Political Debate Over Working Hour Deregulation Since Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae mentioned a “review of the upper limits on working hours,” an intense debate has continued in the Diet. This is undoubtedly driven by the fact that Japan is transitioning into a full-scale labor-shortage economy, with chronic labor shortages persisting across a wide range of sectors—including services, healthcare/nursing care, construction, and logistics—amid a rapidly shrinking working-age population. From the corporate side, there are expectations that allowing flexible work styles will lead to accelerated innovation and better ... [Read more]

World Expositions and the Internationalization of Japanese Culture There are two dimensions to the “internationalization” of culture. One is the proactive dissemination of one’s own culture abroad while engaging in exchanges with other nations. In contrast, the second is what can be termed “internal internationalization”—a process where citizens’ direct exposure to foreign cultures within their own country fosters new forms of exchange and cultural creation with a global consciousness. International expositions, or World Expos, which are held based on international treaties, encompass both of these aspects. On one hand, they provide an opportunity for nations to exhibit their domestic industries and technologies while introducing their cultural and artistic works through events such as National Days. In the context of Japan, the Japan Pavilion and Japan Day at overseas expositions serve as vital platforms for communicating Japanese culture to the world. Conversely, in the host ... [Read more]

On August 31, 2025 a devastating earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan. Peace Japan Medical Services (PMS) and Peshawar-kai immediately launched emergency relief operations. In the mountainous regions, there were people beyond the reach of any aid. When necessary, support was provided directly to the people, bypassing local administrative channels. Our guiding principle of “sustaining life” has earned profound trust.   Around 11:50 PM local time on August 31, 2025, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck with its epicenter in Nurgal District, Kunar Province, eastern Afghanistan, causing catastrophic damage. The affected areas overlap with the irrigation project sites of Peace Japan Medical Services (PMS), which operates out of Jalalabad, Nangarhar Province. Afghanistan is located in the western part of the Himalayan, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush mountain ranges, which were formed by the collision of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. This region is prone to earthquakes and ... [Read more]

What Was Prime Minister Takaichi’s Statement? On November 7, 2025, at the House of Representatives Budget Committee, regarding Japan’s right of collective self-defense, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae was asked by Okada Katsuya, a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), “under what circumstances a survival-threatening situation would occur.” In response, she stated that such a determination should be made “based on the individual and specific circumstances of the actual event, by comprehensively judging all available information.” Furthermore, regarding the content of a survival-threatening situation, she answered, “It is as stated in Article 2, Item (iv) of the Armed Attack Situation Response Act.” That Article 2, Item (iv) stipulates: “a situation where an armed attack against a foreign country that has a close relationship with Japan occurs and as a result, Japan’s survival is threatened and there is a clear danger that the people’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness could be fundamentally overturned.” In response, while confirming whether she was saying ... [Read more]

What Is Conservatism in the First Place? The understandings of the concept of conservatism vary greatly from person to person. Historically, however, conservatism has represented a position that calmly asserts the impracticality of those forces that seek to sweep away an enduring society to construct a new one from a clean slate. Consequently, Edmund Burke (1729–1797), who expressed reservations on the voices praising the French Revolution, and Friedrich Hayek (1899–1992), who denied the feasibility of a socialist planned economy, are regarded as quintessential conservative thinkers. Both the French Revolution and the socialist planned economy were movements that attempted to fundamentally reconstruct society based on specific ideologies. Conservatism is what calmly pointed out the impracticality of such reforms. From a conservative perspective, while the ideologies of reformists—such as social contract theory, the concept of human rights, and historical materialism—certainly possess a degree of logic, they ... [Read more]

China is deepening its relations with Central Asian countries, primarily in the economic sphere. China appears to be pursuing an inclusive strategy toward the region that differs from its approach to East and Southeast Asia. Utilizing both multilateral and bilateral frameworks, such as “Central Asia plus China” Competition with Chinese companies and land-related issues are negatively affecting public sentiment toward China Providing human resource development and meticulous assistance; Japan should further enhance its distinctiveness   Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Central Asian countries have pushed for the diversification of their diplomacy even more vigorously than before. Consequently, attention has been focused on which extra-regional powers would exert their influence within the international relations surrounding Central Asia. Now, more than three and a half years later (as of the time of writing), it appears evident that China is ... [Read more]

The Pacific Island region is seeing rising geopolitical interest from around the world. Located in the western part of this region, Palau has deep ties with Japan in terms of both historical and personal exchanges. Through JICA’s support, we examine the challenges unique to island nations and the ideal form of aid that contributes to realizing “Human Potential.” Infrastructure investment to stimulate economic growth in island regions Resolving multiple vulnerabilities through innovative aid Growing importance of fostering regionalism amid rising geopolitical risks Mine Yoichi: In mid-September 2025, I traveled to Palau with Nakanishi-san to inspect the sites of Japan’s international cooperation. Palau is located at the western edge of Micronesia, east of Mindanao Island in the Philippines. Nakanishi Hiroshi: At the time of our visit, it was a day-long journey via Guam, but with the establishment of a new direct flight from Narita on October 29, ... [Read more]

Every day, news reports of bear damage and sightings are being broadcast within the country. While bears are forest animals, they have recently been appearing in human living areas, causing not only damage to agricultural crops but also human injury and fatalities. According to announcements from the Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOE), as of November 5, 2025, the number of fatal bear accidents for the fiscal year has already reached 13 (11 on Honshu and 2 in Hokkaido). In particular, incidents surged in October, with a total of seven cases in Iwate, Akita, and Miyagi Prefectures in northern Honshu. Human-bear conflicts have escalated to the scale of a natural disaster. It has reached a point where the dispatch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces is being requested. Just as we check the daily weather forecast and prepare our clothing or rain gear before ... [Read more]

Hong Kong’s politics are under the control of the Chinese Communist Party, while its economy remains a capitalist system. In Hong Kong, characterized by a so-called “One City, Two Systems,” “Chinese-style” control is also intensifying within the economic sector. Plans are [underway] for executive-led initiatives to establish high-tech industries in the Northern Metropolis. Private enterprises are struggling, being asked to provide massive amounts of investment. There is also criticism of industrial policies that lack a perspective on the service industry, which is Hong Kong’s strength. In June 2020, the Chinese government enacted the “Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL)” to suppress the intense protests that broke out in Hong Kong in 2019. In the more than five years since then, political repression has raged through Hong Kong. In accordance with the NSL, courts have repeatedly issued rulings criminalizing freedom of expression, sending many commentators, ... [Read more]