Japanese history: Index of articles

The Japan Times, 1966
Kazushige Hirasawa: Non-editor of The Japan Times
Wartime headlines from The Japan Times
Japan Times reports end of Pacific War
Japanese wartime propaganda
Wartime cartoons of Etsuro Kato
Three views of the British in India
The strange case of John Holland
Japan Today, 1945-47
National Geographic goes to Japan, 1946 (Part 1)
National Geographic goes to Japan, 1946 (Part 2)

Reserve Bank's forecasts discouraging

"Worsening global economic conditions have led the Reserve Bank [to] shave nearly 1% off its growth forecasts for the next three years," Rob Hosking reported in The National Business Review of December 8.

"GDP growth is now expected to total 8.3% over the next three years: back in September the Reserve Bank's forecast was for 9.1%. Volatility from the Eurozone and a 'modest' downturn in the hitherto booming Asia-Pacific export markets are all cited as reasons for a more restrained growth path.

"A 'soft' domestic economy is the other main reason.

"Several factors are driving this: the almost daily news diet of economic crises in the north Atlantic economies is having an effect on consumer and — to a lesser extent, surprisingly — business sentiment. The noises of financial panic from offshore will also have a more tangible impact on retail interest rates."

The cartoon is from the Manawatu Standard of December 17, 2011.

Kids queue with Christmas wishes

Cartoon from the Manawatu Standard of December 7, 2011.

NZ Government generous: building more jails

"Compared with other Western democracies, New Zealand seems to be keen on sending its citizens to prison," Roger Brooking comments at Pundit.

"Our prison population has been rising for the last 50 years, and in October 2010 reached a total of 8,892 inmates. New Zealand now locks up 199 people per 100,000 of its population.

"According to the International Centre for Prison Studies at Kings College in London, this gives us the second-highest rate of imprisonment out of 29 countries in the Western world. This is higher than Britain and Canada, even though those countries both have greater rates of violent crime than New Zealand. And it puts us in the company of Third World countries like Gabon, Namibia and Libya (currently in a state of civil war), which have very similar rates of imprisonment to ours. It even puts us higher than Colombia, despite the drug-related murder and violence going on there."

The cartoon is from the Manawatu Standard of November 8, 2011.

National and Labour square off

"Show me the money [that will pay for Labour's policies]," Prime Minister John Key snarls at the hapless Phil Goff, leader of the opposition, shortly before the November 26 general election.

The response comes in no uncertain terms from the electorate (which returned Key's National Party to power nonetheless).

The cartoon is from the Manawatu Standard of November 7, 2011.

A referendum on the operation?

A good point, even though the analogy doesn't really work. If you believe in democracy, you can't oppose the right of the people of any country to have a say on their future. Or do we now believe that democracy is "a luxury we can no longer afford" — like the rule of law?

The cartoon is from the Manawatu Standard of November 4, 2011.

New Zealand's clean, green image fouled

Two farmers survey the MV Rena, which ran aground on Astrolabe Reef, off Tauranga, on October 5, spilling large amounts of oil. Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

The cartoon is from the Manawatu Standard of October 14, 2011.