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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2021

How Japan-North Korea relations changed under Kim Jong Un

Last Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un marked 10 years in power. Recent observers have focused on nuclear weapons and diplomacy with South Korea and the United States, but there are under-discussed considerations related to Japan-North Korea ties.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CONTROLS ON FOREIGNERS
Jul 1, 2009

Visa overstayers given too many breaks: rightist

Fourth in a series
COMMENTARY
Oct 17, 2005

Toward a new Constitution

The special constitution research committee of the Lower House has started debate on establishing legislation to make it possible for Japan to hold a national referendum on revising the Constitution.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Dec 25, 2021

Child adoption slowly gains ground in Japan, though prospective parents still face obstacles

Child adoption slowly gains ground in Japan, though prospective parents still face a number of obstacles in trying to expand their families.
EDITORIALS
Feb 22, 2017

Discussions on Imperial abdication

The public should have a say in the discussion on Imperial abdication.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 26, 2011

Living and loving The Alien from Nagoya

The year 1990 might not seem so long ago, but for many reasons, and in Japan especially, it was a completely different world. There was no Internet. There were no mobile telephones. There was hardly any way to get up-to-date English information on places beyond Tokyo and Osaka except by going there....
JAPAN
May 3, 2008

DPJ weighs voting rights for all permanent residents

A group of Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers is drafting a bill that would give foreign nationals with permanent residence status the right to vote in local elections. They plan to gear up after the Golden Week holidays and submit the bill during the current session of the Diet.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2001

Mori highlights reform, recovery, IT

Introduction At the opening of the 151st session of the Diet, as the prime minister of Japan charged with the affairs of state as we mark the turn of the century, I would like to state my views as I once again brace myself to bear forward the burden of responsibility in this historical era.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2001

Mori highlights reform, recovery, IT

Introduction At the opening of the 151st session of the Diet, as the prime minister of Japan charged with the affairs of state as we mark the turn of the century, I would like to state my views as I once again brace myself to bear forward the burden of responsibility in this historical era.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2000

Full text of prime minister's speech to the Diet

Following is the full text of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's policy speech given to the 150th Diet session Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jan 22, 2021

Hosting U.S. jets brought free school meals to Iwakuni, but some question the trade-off

Residents near Iwakuni base cast doubt over deal sealed under watch of then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 10, 2016

Same-sex marriage sparks a 'culture war' in Taiwan

Taiwan is one of the most LGBT friendly societies in Asia, with an active gay community and possibly the largest annual gay pride parade in the region. In recent weeks expectations spiked that it would soon legalize same-sex marriage. On Dec. 3, The Economist opined, "It would be even better if the country...
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2001

Lawmakers cautiously back female ascension

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Monday that although he thinks a female member of the Imperial family should be allowed to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, there should be no rush to amend the male-only succession law, which dates back to the early postwar period.
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2000

Whose Constitution is it?

At a recent meeting of the Diet's Constitutional Review Council, Americans who participated in the drafting of the Japanese Constitution 54 years ago during the Occupation gave testimony. Their statements provided valuable clues to an understanding of the circum- stances that led up to the establishment...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 23, 2023

Trapped in trash: Japan’s hidden hoarders

Behind closed doors, Japan has more houses filled with garbage than you might think — a phenomenon being exacerbated by shifting demographics and pandemic-induced social isolation.
Deer that are kept in a fenced-off area in the city of Nara
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2024

Nara Prefecture to expand area for culling iconic deer

The prefectural panel will discuss culling methods and other details to draw up a new protection program in fiscal 2025.
Japan has entered an era of full-fledged population decline. If current trends remain unchanged, the nation's population is expected to decline by about half from 124 million in 2023 to 63 million by 2100.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 26, 2024

Japan’s shrinking population is a big problem for the nation

An expert panel sounds the alarm on the nation's declining birthrate and population crisis.
Local government and law enforcement officials view the scene of an explosion that occurred during a Catholic mass in a gymnasium at Mindanao State University in Marawi, Philippines, on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2023

The Philippines is battling a resurgent Islamic State threat

The Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals may be driving a new security threat in the Philippines.
Yuki Kondo-Shah beside the U.S. Embassy where she works in London on Dec. 22. As U.S.-China tensions rise, national security employees with ties to Asia say U.S. counterintelligence officers wrongly regard them as potential spies and unfairly ban them from jobs.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 2, 2024

Asian American officials cite unfair treatment in China tensions

Federal employees say they are being blocked from jobs for security reasons because of their ties to Asia, even distant ones.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington in April 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 3, 2024

Alongside the Trump-Russia inquiry, a lesser-known look at Egyptian influence

The Justice Department investigated whether a Trump adviser was part of an Egyptian plan, never proven, to funnel $10 million to the 2016 Trump campaign.
The image of schools as exploitive workplaces where labor regulations are habitually flouted is seen as the biggest factor putting off job applicants for teaching positions.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 14, 2023

Japan panel weighs raising overtime pay for teachers

The government is set to discuss an increase in overtime pay for teachers in a bid to compensate them for long working hours and attract new applicants.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been charged with conspiring to obstruct the results of the 2020 election.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 17, 2023

Musk accused of favoring Trump in battle with DOJ over tweets

The special counsel’s office argued that Twitter was asking for "special" treatment for Trump that wouldn’t be available to other users.
A banner at the entrance to Shibuya’s Center Street makes it clear this is no place for a party.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 26, 2023

The specter of Itaewon has Shibuya spooked

One year on, Elizabeth Beattie joins us to discuss where Itaewon stands after its Halloween disaster, and what its legacy means for celebrations in Japan.
Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza move southward as trucks carrying aid and fuel head toward north Gaza during a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas, near Gaza City on Nov. 27.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 16, 2024

What the Hamas-Israel 'humanitarian pause' really meant

While many civilians have been victimized in the conflict, other countries have been at odds over calls for a break in the conflict.
A sign erected in Hokkaido’s port of Nemuro calls for the return of the Russian-occupied islands that Japan calls the Northern Territories.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 13, 2024

Geopolitical chess: Unpacking the Northern Territories conundrum

While domestic motivation for Tokyo to resolve the Northern Territories dispute may endure, the opposite is true in Moscow.
Naoko Motooka began hunting 10 years ago. Her hobby is one way Hokkaido hopes to curb a current boom in the deer population.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 15, 2024

Hunting in Hokkaido; Taylor Swift comes to Tokyo

You probably don’t think of guns when you think of Japan, but Hokkaido’s hunters do.
Takuya Yokota (second from right), head of a group of families of abductees to North Korea, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 26, 2024

Families of North Korea abductees give Japan breathing room for summit

The group won't oppose Tokyo's lifting of sanctions on Pyongyang if all abductees are returned while their parents' generation is still alive.
Members of the town assembly of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, discuss on Wednesday whether to accept a survey to examine the town's suitability for hosting a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2024

Saga town begins discussions on nuclear waste disposal site survey

If approved by the special committee and the full assembly, the town mayor will need to make the final decision on whether or not to accept the survey.
A health worker puts on an adhesive bandage after inoculating a man with a booster shot of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Manila in January 2022.
WORLD
Jun 14, 2024

U.S. ran secret anti-vaccine campaign to undermine China during pandemic

The clandestine operation aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?