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JAPAN / Politics
May 20, 2014

Divided coalition begins defense talks

The ruling coalition kicked off discussions Tuesday aimed at overcoming a fundamental division on whether the Cabinet should reinterpret the Constitution and upgrade Japan's defense posture in a changing security environment.
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2014

When will Abe learn?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dedicates a 'masakaki' tree offering to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine as if refraining from an actual visit would pre-empt frictions with the U.S. and others. When will he learn?
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2014

Avoid setting dangerous precedent

The Abe administration is trying to kill — by a mere Cabinet decision alone — a constitutional interpretation barring collective self-defense that has been backed by Diet debates for decades.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2014

30% female employment goal in jeopardy

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will fail to meet his goal of having women in 30 percent of management positions in the civil service by 2020 unless candidates are lured from private industry, the gender equality minister said in a recent interview.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 7, 2014

New SDF unit shores up thinly protected cyberborders

Japan has embarked on an effort to improve cybersecurity as an ever-increasing number of sophisticated computer viruses threaten to endanger national security.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 1, 2014

Abe eases weapons export rules

The Cabinet approves eased principles and guidelines for weapons exports, ending a strict ban that lasted nearly 50 years as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sets the stage for Japan to play a more active role in global security.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 12, 2014

Abe rushing to revise ban on arms exports but Komeito remains wary

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration is in a hurry to lift Japan's self-imposed arms export ban, but political ally New Komeito is reluctant to play along.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 7, 2014

Mending Japan-S. Korea ties

The downward spiral in relations between Tokyo and Seoul over history issues cannot continue. But both should not expect the U.S. to mediate their dispute.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 4, 2014

Nationalists press Abe to revisit Kono apology

Right-wing lawmakers are leaning harder on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to re-evaluate the government's 1993 apology for the enslavement of women to serve as prostitutes for Japan's wartime forces, in the face of international criticism against such an effort.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 28, 2014

Record budget clears Lower House

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gets his draft budget for fiscal 2014, worth a record ¥95.88 trillion, through the Lower House, giving him more time to focus on the contentious issue of collective self-defense.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 27, 2014

Murayama raps Abe over sex slaves

Ex-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama blasts Shinu00adzo Abe for considering revising the 1993 Kono statement, the first official acknowledgment that the Imperial Japanese Army forced women into sexual servitude at wartime brothels.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2014

Another test for Erdogan

Today the biggest challenge to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears to emanate from another Islamic leader, Fethullah Gulen, a cleric exiled to the United States who is alleged to have masterminded the investigation of a burgeoning corruption scandal.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2013

Dictatorship of the majority

Japanese civic movements conspicuously picked up steam to oppose the state secrets bill just before its enactment into law, illustrating that many Japanese voters become critical of the Abe administration when it takes up issues other than the economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 23, 2013

Back to the future: Shinto's growing influence in politics

Immaculate and ramrod straight in a crisp, black suit, Japan's education minister, Hakubun Shimomura, speaks like a schoolteacher — slowly and deliberately.
EDITORIALS
Nov 6, 2013

Don't undermine inheritance bill

After weeks of foot-dragging within the conservative ranks, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party finally endorses a bill to strengthen inheritance rights for children born out of wedlock.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2013

Half of public opposes secrecy protection bill: poll

A government bill aimed at toughening penalties for leaking state secrets is opposed by 50.6 percent of the public, a survey says.
EDITORIALS
Sep 21, 2013

Questions surround sales tax raise

As the April 2014 consumption tax increase nears, the Abe has yet to come up with a convincing reform plan to reduce people's worries about their lives in the future.

Longform

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