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Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Nov 23, 2017

'Boys' for rent in Tokyo: Sex, lies and vulnerable young lives

Ignorance about STDs, exploitation and camaraderie found in the sex-worker bars of Shinjuku's Ni-chome gay district.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 23, 2017

Putin wins backing of Iranian and Turkish leaders for new Syrian peace push

Russian President Vladimir Putin won the backing of Turkey and Iran on Wednesday to host a Syrian peace congress, taking the central role in a major diplomatic push to finally end a civil war all but won by Moscow's ally, President Bashar Assad.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2017

China doesn't want to go to war with America

By exhausting the whole city's resources to charm Trump and his wife, Xi has sent a clear message to the U.S.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2017

Ex-White House chief strategist Steve Bannon hails Japan's 'natural evolution' toward rearming

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon hails as a “natural evolution” Japan's push to play a more active role in global defense and security issues.
EDITORIALS
Nov 15, 2017

Encouraging climate science, discouraging climate politics

The U.S. failure to lead on the issue of climate change gives other governments the chance to do so.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 14, 2017

North Korea, caught in a 'time warp,' must send signs of change, Seoul top diplomat says

North Korea, an impoverished country in a "time warp" that feeds paranoia at home with propaganda about a hostile world, should secure its future by laying the groundwork for talks on its nuclear weapons program, according to South Korea's foreign minister.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2017

Tokyo pushes back on 'bizarre' death tax that deters expats

Considering a work stint in Japan? You'd better make it short, and you'd better stay alive.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 8, 2017

Texas gunman escaped mental facility in 2012, caught smuggling arms into U.S. Air Force base

The man who carried out one of the deadliest U.S. mass shootings escaped from a mental health facility in 2012, the same year he was convicted by a U.S. Air Force court-martial of domestic abuse, according to a police report.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2017

Tokyo International Film Festival closes with social issues in the spotlight

The Tokyo International Film Festival has always struggled to distinguish itself from other big film events. It doesn't have the cultural cachet of Venice, Cannes or Toronto, and even within Asia it falls behind Busan and Hong Kong in terms of the caliber of works it sometimes attracts. But it always...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2017

Rich nations need to find a cure for baby bust

Child-care subsidies and paid parental leave boost fertility rates by reducing the economic and opportunity costs of having children.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 31, 2017

Trump's former campaign manager Manafort faces a stark choice: Cooperate or risk years in prison

U.S. prosecutors filed a straightforward, easy-to-prove criminal case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, leaving him with a stark choice: cooperate or fight the charges and, if he loses, face years in prison.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 30, 2017

Taiwan to boost defense spending as U.S. expresses concern over possible military imbalance with China

Taiwan will increase defense spending by 2 percent a year, President Tsai Ing-wen said during a visit to Hawaii where the United States expressed concern over a possible military imbalance in the Taiwan Straits, Taiwan media reported.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 23, 2017

Catalonia warns of civil disobedience as Madrid readies direct rule

Catalonia said Monday it was confident all officials including police would defy attempts by Madrid to enforce direct rule on the region, in an escalating dispute that has raised fears of unrest among Spain's European allies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / Decision 2017
Oct 19, 2017

'Manifesto' era may be over but election campaigns still rife with rosy pledges and vague bottom lines

Eight years is a long time in Japanese politics and people are quick to forget, but things were vastly different then.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 13, 2017

China bars British activist from Hong Kong, says territory's affairs are 'purely internal matter'

China said on Thursday it had the right to bar people from Hong Kong, a day after a British activist was denied entry into the former British colony, and that it had complained to Britain after it demanded an explanation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 5, 2017

In the shadow of Yuriko Koike's rise, some insiders see an isolated populist

Koike appears to have carved out a position as the most popular politician in Japan, but insiders see a starkly different image of the media-savvy leader.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 27, 2017

Yuriko Koike's new party, Kibo no To, vows to alter Japan's political landscape

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike launches a new political party, promising to “reset” Japan and restore its international prestige, while also posing a powerful threat to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 23, 2017

A ruff guide to Seeing Eye dogs in Japan

Ariel is a devoted labrador. Named after the title character in Disney's "The Little Mermaid," Ariel can’t get enough of her user, 37-year-old Kanako Suzuki. Ariel rolls on her back, begging to be petted, and when Suzuki joins her on the floor, the animal jumps onto her lap — all 24 kilograms of...
EDITORIALS
Sep 23, 2017

Folly of quake predictions

The government should not rely on planning, not predictions, when it comes to earthquake preparation.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 16, 2017

Ruling bloc says extraordinary Diet session to kick off Sept. 28

A package of bills related to work-life reforms, including one aimed at rectifying long working hours, are expected to be a key issue during the session.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 12, 2017

Trump advisers propose strategy to allow more aggressive U.S. response to Iran: sources

President Donald Trump is weighing a strategy that could allow more aggressive U.S. responses to Iran's forces, its Shiite Muslim proxies in Iraq and Syria, and its support for militant groups, according to six current and former U.S. officials.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 9, 2017

Abe's extremism undermines Japan's interests

Alas, Japan's extremists have still not given up trying to find honor in the nation's 1945 wartime defeat and and the ideology that led to it.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 8, 2017

U.S. may need new law to address political advertising on social media sites: senator

U.S. legislation may be needed to require social media companies to disclose more about how their platforms are used for political advertising, a senior Democratic lawmaker said Thursday, after new signs of Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Sep 7, 2017

Osaka hospital will review 300-hour monthly overtime limit after document's release

Doctors and nurses at a national hospital could theoretically rack up monthly overtime at three times higher than the government threshold, a labor-management agreement shows.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Sep 3, 2017

Some schools in Japan get air conditioning while others are left to nature's whim

Government data shows air conditioning is becoming standard in most Japanese public schools, but a handful of cities and prefectures are resisting the trend for questionable reasons.

Longform

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