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Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 21, 2019

Abe's push to change Japan's Constitution hits roadblock as parties scrap Diet discussion

LDP sources have said the party has all but given up hope of passing the bill this year, reports have said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 31, 2017

Abe government clashes with U.N. rapporteurs critical of Japan

Weeks after a U.N. special rapporteur released a surprise open letter slamming a state-backed conspiracy bill that critics warn could erode privacy and free speech rights, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has shown no sign of letting up on its targeting of the statement.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2014

North Korea didn't offer delegation any new info on abductees: source

KYODO, STAFF REPORT
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 22, 2014

Anti-Abe forces emerging

Little was heard from Yasuo Fukuda, nor was much said about him, after he stepped down as prime minister in 2008. In recent months, though, he has been sought out by some LDP leaders to help repair the damage to relations with South Korea and China, which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's style of diplomacy is said to have caused.
COMMENTARY
Jul 21, 2001

Campaign reform illusion deserves to die

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Congress appears to have killed so-called campaign reform. Despite all of the wailing, legislators did the right thing. Campaign reform is an illusion which would only rearrange who has political influence.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2001

Inefficient public works projects creaking under debt burden

KOBE -- The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge, looks superb as it spans the Akashi Strait, linking Kobe and Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 27, 2018

Time for Abe to take the offensive on scandals

Where to draw a line of defense is an important decision for any administration. Abe seems to have done a poor job of it.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 25, 2017

North Korea marks foundation of military with huge live-fire drill amid flurry of U.S. activity

North Korea and the U.S. flexed their military muscles Tuesday as Pyongyang marked the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army — without testing a nuclear weapon or conducting a major missile test.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2006

Abe's point woman on abductees firm

Tokyo forums last week involving Japanese, South Koreans and Thais whose kin were kidnapped by Pyongyang have given the abduction issue greater global import, reckons Kyoko Nakayama, the government's point woman, who hopes her past efforts as a diplomat to Central Asia to free Japanese hostages can someday...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Dec 12, 2018

A new law regarding foreign workers brings up old problems

Activists in the field bring up concerns with Japan's new approach to manual laborers from overseas.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 21, 2018

Japan's refugee-screening system sets high bar

Last year, Japan granted refugee status to just 20 out of a record-high 19,629 applicants. After the figure was released in February, global and domestic coverage was noticeably polarized.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 26, 2014

U.S. hospitals unprepared to handle Ebola waste

U.S. hospitals may be unprepared to safely dispose of the infectious waste generated by any Ebola virus disease patient to arrive unannounced in the country, potentially putting the wider community at risk, biosafety experts said.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 1, 2009

Local vote for foreign residents: time ripe?

Permanent foreign residents of Japan may finally face a realistic chance of being granted local-level suffrage under the administration led by the Democratic Party of Japan, which has signaled a willingness to pursue such rights.
JAPAN / OF SOUND MIND
Jun 22, 2001

Ikeda massacre puts judicial psychiatry in spotlight

The June 8 killing of eight children by a knife-wielding man at an Osaka elementary school has inevitably rekindled the old debate about whether — and how much — judicial authorities should be able to intervene when dealing with mental patients accused of committing serious crimes.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 21, 2022

U.S. judge asks Trump's lawyers if he declassified records in FBI search

Roughly 100 of the documents seized in the court-approved Aug. 8 search at Trump's home at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach had classified markings.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un holds a reception for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang on Wednesday. Agreements reached by the two leaders this time were tactical in nature and hardly strategic.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2024

Putin’s Pyongyang visit, pivotal talks and a generational shift reshape regional dynamics

The move by Russia and North Korea this time is tactical in nature and hardly strategic.
A Taliban spokesperson addresses a press conference in Kabul on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2024

Taliban told to 'include women' in public life at U.N. talks

Excluding civil rights groups from the talks was the price for the Taliban government's participation in them.
Japanese media's lack of critical engagement and depth in covering debates can be attributed to Japan's Broadcasting Law, which mandates political impartiality in news coverage.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 12, 2024

How Japanese and U.S. election coverage differs

Japanese media's coverage of U.S. debates tends to be more superficial and uniform, often merely reflecting U.S. media content.
Campaign spending in the U.S. has surged, with dark money and Super PACs dominating elections.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2024

Dark money is a cancer on U.S. lawmakers — but it’s curable

Nearly three-fourths of Americans voters say lobbyists and special interests wield too much influence compared to constituents.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako release young barfin flounder and shrimp into the sea during the 42nd annual national marine convention in the town of Akkeshi in Hokkaido on Sept. 17.
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2023

Talks on imperial succession stall under Kishida administration

The prime minister has said that ensuring stable imperial succession is "an issue that cannot be put off," but no concrete steps have been taken.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (right) met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on her visit to Kyiv on Jan. 7.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 15, 2024

Kamikawa’s surprise visit to Ukraine sent an important signal

As international support for Ukraine's war effort wavers, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa's visit to Kyiv last week showed that Japan remains a key Kyiv ally.
A rancher stands near a door of the wall built under Donald Trump's presidency. A poll completed this week showed that 65% of registered voters believe the U.S. is on the wrong track on immigration policy, with voters favoring Trump's approach.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 25, 2024

U.S. Democratic candidates step up immigration messaging in last weeks

Almost 15% of pro-Democratic messages have addressed immigration or border security, up sharply from the 3% share in the final weeks of the 2022 midterm campaign.
A man stands atop a float holding a portable shrine at this year’s Sanja Festival in Tokyo.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 20, 2023

Why 2023 will be a deciding year for Japan’s iconic summer festivals

As the population gets older do we risk losing the summer festivals that make Japan unique?
A monitor displays a news report about the death of Johnny Kitagawa in July 2019.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2023

Media respond to report on sexual abuse at Johnny and Associates

The committee said Japan's mainstream media chose to ignore Kitagawa’s sexual abuse in order to maintain access to Johnny & Associates' talent pool.
An official shot for this year’s lineup for NHK’s annual “Kohaku Uta Gassen.”
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 22, 2023

Things get warmer with Xi; Johnny’s get the cold shoulder

While Japan and China look to ease tensions, NHK makes things tense with a Johnny’s-less “Kohaku” announcement.
An apartment building construction site in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, on July 19. Officials at Daito Trust Construction, which oversees the building project, say heatstroke dangers are a top concern given their aging workforce.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Jul 30, 2023

In Japan, extreme heat and an aging population are a deadly mix

Heat waves combined with high humidity are weighing particularly heavily on the nation’s 36 million people age 65 and over, who are at much greater risk of severe illness and death.
U.S. President Joe Biden greets Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Woodside, California, on Nov. 15.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 21, 2023

'Offensive' and 'defensive' diplomacy: Managing ties with China

Since the 20th National Congress of the CCP, in October last year, Beijing has been seeking to maintain a balance.
Director of the Akan International Crane Center, Miyuki Kawase, says tourism is incredibly helpful for the birds, but the people who come to take pictures of the birds have to remember they are still wild animals.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 24, 2024

Miyuki Kawase: ‘Experience, whether happy, sad or painful, makes you grow’

The director of the Akan International Crane Center in Hokkaido tells us how she found herself in a career centered around the symbolic white birds.
Two people try to take a selfie under the illuminated cherry blossoms in Kyoto’s Gion district last year.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 25, 2024

Sakura stories revisited: Getting in the mood for hanami

We are revisiting some past content on the science, economics and culture of cherry blossom season.

Longform

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