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LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jun 15, 2015

Let's discuss voting age limits in the news

The move to lower the voting age will give an estimated 2.4 million people aged 18 and 19 suffrage.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Jun 12, 2015

Times advisory board meets, offers recommendations

Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 9, 2015

On European Commission leader's watch list, EU struggles to curb Hungary's Orban

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban took it as a joke but his supporters at home were furious when European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker saluted him with an audible "Hello dictator" before the world's cameras last month.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jun 8, 2015

Let's discuss Otsuka Kagu in the news

Aiming to shake off its image as an expensive members-only store, furniture retailer Otsuka Kagu Ltd. on Friday unveiled its renovated flagship store in Tokyo's upscale Ginza shopping district, offering a more welcoming atmosphere.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jun 1, 2015

Let's discuss drones in the news

Despite a spate of headlines showing drone users to be reckless attention-seekers or outright dangerous, the industry believes the sky is the limit for demand for unmanned copters.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 23, 2015

Shifting the scales of juvenile justice

In light of 13-year-old Ryota Uemura's recent murder in Kawasaki, the country is once again split over whether or not to revise the law governing crimes committed by minors.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 23, 2015

Lowball nuclear pitch is fooling no one

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced the results of a review of energy production costs, which concluded that nuclear will remain the cheapest alternative for Japan over the next 15 years while pointing out that the calculations took into consideration the...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 23, 2015

The 'Abe Doctrine' transforms security policy

The ink was barely dry on the new Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation, which were unveiled during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Washington last month, when Sen. John McCain, chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a wake-up call to the Japanese people. He said he...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 15, 2015

Experts split on proposed SDF reforms; poll suggests public wary

Two noted experts interviewed by The Japan Times have contrasting views of Prime Minister Abe's ambitions to alter Japan's postwar security posture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 14, 2015

Maya Inoue makes a play to refine her father's theatrical legacy

Hisashi Inoue's death at the age of 75 on April 9, 2010, at his home in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, was a major event in the postwar Japanese theater world. It moved many dramatists to stage works by the great author and playwright who combined comedy and searing social and political commentary into...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2015

Americans understand free trade's dark side

The American people are intelligent and grown-up enough to hear the basic case against free trade, as well as the case in favor.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
May 4, 2015

Let's discuss caregivers in the news

A total of 78 people from the Philippines and Indonesia have passed the caregiver certification exam for fiscal 2014, the welfare ministry said Thursday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
May 3, 2015

'Sunagawa Struggle' ignited anti-U.S. base resistance across Japan

On May 4, 1955, a black car rolled into the Tokyo suburb of Sunagawa and sparked one of biggest anti-U.S. base protests in history.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 28, 2015

Defense cooperation guidelines with U.S. present new roles, risks for Japan

The new rules have divided security analysts in Japan, with some fearing the country could be dragged into a conflict overseas, presumably involving the U.S. military.
EDITORIALS
Apr 26, 2015

Civilian control over the SDF

Lawmakers should confirm the importance of civilian control of the SDF and pursue ways to strengthen the system rather than to undermine it.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 20, 2015

Let's discuss studying abroad in the news

As part of efforts to give its younger workers an incentive to acquire skills that will benefit their future careers at the company, Sony Corp. said Friday it will allow its junior employees to study abroad for two years.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 18, 2015

State of the reunion: Evaluating the Hague pact's success

As most parents know, there is nothing quite so life changing as having children. Imagine the pain a parent feels, then, if their children are taken from them. Now imagine the shock a parent feels if the person who abducted their children was their own spouse, a trusted partner who fled the country and...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2015

In Russia, Hillary Clinton would already have lost

If Hillary Clinton had just announced her candidacy to run for president in Russia, rather than in America, she'd already be in deep trouble.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 30, 2015

The Battle of Okinawa: America's good war gone bad

Seventy years after the final epic clash of World War II, has the U.S. betrayed the ideals its service members died fighting for?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 25, 2015

Frenemies, screenagers, kidults — kondo your English with these trending terms

How up-to-date is your English vocabulary? New words reflect a changing society and, as a result, new words are coined every day. Reading English newspapers and media from around the world can help you keep up with the changes. Here are some words I picked up recently on my travels.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2015

Stepping back from the edge

There is a solution to the crisis in Ukraine, which is to leave well enough alone before something really bad happens.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 2, 2015

Questions raised over keeping teen suspects anonymous

The involvement of three teen-aged suspects in the death of a boy in Kawasaki is fueling debate about the anonymity granted to minors in cases of this kind.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 28, 2015

Shibuya's same-sex move kicks off debate

On Feb. 13, Asahi Shimbun's daily Vox Populi, Vox Dei column mentioned Morizo and Kiccoro, the official mascots of the 2005 World Expo held in Aichi Prefecture. These two "woodland fairies" supposedly hailed from Seto, which issued them the same resident cards (jūminhyō) held by everyone who lives...
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 27, 2015

U.K. authorities linked 'Jihadi John' to militant killed by U.S. drone in Somalia

British authorities have linked Mohammed Emwazi, a Londoner identified by U.S. national security sources as "Jihadi John," the knife-wielding militant who appeared in videos depicting the beheadings of Western hostages, to another British militant killed in Somalia in a U.S. drone attack.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Feb 25, 2015

Under Japanese law, breaks are sacred and standby counts as work

If your employer is keeping you waiting long hours on standby without paying you and calling it 'break time,' they are breaking the law.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Feb 23, 2015

Badges of honor: What Japan's legal lapel pins really mean

I finally have a lapel badge. After almost two decades of working in Japan-related law jobs, this is a big deal.

Longform

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