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Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 31, 2015

No exit in sight from Futenma quagmire, where local resentment is deep

In early August, it appeared Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga might use his authority to cancel permission for the central government's landfill work on a U.S. facility in Henoko, where personnel from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma are supposed to be relocated.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 26, 2015

Osaka governor demands Ishin no To secretary-general resign as party division intensifies

Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party), the second largest opposition party, is on the brink of disintegration once again as a confrontation between its Osaka-based and Tokyo-based members intensified Wednesday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2015

The value of China's devaluation

China's currency devaluation has advanced its strategic goal of turning the RMB into an international reserve currency — and, in the long term, into a credible global challenger to the U.S. dollar.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 22, 2015

Surviving the postwar Soviet detention camps

Japan's surrender on Aug. 15, 1945, marked the end of the most devastating global conflict in history.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 22, 2015

Abe catches heat from the weeklies in the dog days of summer

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces such a constant stream of stumbles and irritants, it's hard to identify which of them is causing his biggest headache.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 22, 2015

The same old story on rural depopulation

A story that is constantly upbeat quickly becomes tiring. Conflict and resolution are necessary to maintain interest, and while happy endings are still more popular than depressing ones, characters should go through some sort of emotional turmoil before arriving at them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / 70 YEARS AFTER THE WAR'S END
Aug 14, 2015

Abe's nationalism reflected in conservative political movement, but polls show voter dissent

The hot political season is back as the nation observes Aug. 15, which is always an emotional date as it marks Japan's surrender in World War II — and this year is the 70th anniversary of that fateful event.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2015

Heed Pope Francis' call to protect the Amazon

When world leaders meet at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris later this year to craft a response to the challenges of global warming, they should put in place policies to protect tropical forests and the people who make them their home.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 10, 2015

Japan's military that isn't: a short primer in self-defense doublespeak

Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, which renounces war, has been interpreted as permitting the maintenance and use of military force for self-defense, but this has led to some interesting linguistic gymnastics.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 8, 2015

Truth hurts: censorship in the media

"Truth, it has been said, is the first casualty of war." — Philip Snowden, July 1916
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 28, 2015

Erdogan seen taking big gamble fighting Islamic State and restive Kurds in Iraq

Forced into battle against Islamic State as it presses on Turkey's borders, President Tayyip Erdogan is seizing the chance to keep another foe in check, bombing Kurdish militants he sees as a threat to the integrity of the Turkish state.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 21, 2015

Heads roll at Toshiba as scandal claims top brass

President Hisao Tanaka resigns over the accounting scandal that saw the firm allegedly pad its profits over the past seven years.
Reader Mail
Jul 16, 2015

Thailand doing all it can for refugees

I deeply regret that the column "Rohingya Refugee crisis shames Southeast Asia" by Pavin Chachavalpongpun in the May 22 edition does very little to contribute to putting the issue in its proper perspective.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jul 13, 2015

Backlash spreads as supporters of Confederate flag rise up to defend embattled symbol

An eight-mile convoy of pickups, motorcycles and cars wound through a central Florida town on Sunday in a show of support for the Confederate flag, as a backlash against its banishment from public landmarks across the South picks up steam.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 4, 2015

Will hot-selling book bring Kobe killer in from the cold?

'June 28, 1997. I ceased being me. It was the day I was expelled forever from the world of sunshine. Up to then, I had nonchalantly spent my days unaltruistically, each passing day framed by the next as in a film, until the day when, suddenly, I began to be stigmatized as an enigmatic being.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 3, 2015

Rice organization uses fried food and folklore to revive a Shinto purification ritual

Traditions are just innovations that happened to catch on. Culinary traditions are no different. Some self-organize out of circumstance, such as yakisoba (literally "fried noodles"), which triumphantly emerged as the iconic food of summer festivals in large part thanks to a particular combination of...
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 3, 2015

North Korea appears to play for time on abductions probe

A year after opening a second probe into the issue, Pyongyang tells Tokyo it needs more time to find the rest of the Japanese it abducted decades ago.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 27, 2015

Fertility experts divided over benefits of freezing eggs cryogenically

Public broadcaster NHK aired a current affairs program on fertility in 2012 that caused a stir nationwide. Titled "The Impact of Aging Eggs," the program warned viewers that women in their 30s and 40s were flirting with disappointment by delaying any attempt to conceive until they are older.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2015

University autonomy under fire

Education minister Hakubun Shimomura and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are moving dangerously close to trampling on the academic independence of universities.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2015

Why the pope cares about the Earth

By invoking St. Francis in his encyclical on the environment, the pope calls us to remember the fundamental interdependence of all life.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2015

China's pursuit of a new world economic order

Whether the renminbi is added to the SDR basket this October, a gradual transformation of the global system to accommodate China seems all but inevitable.
EDITORIALS
May 28, 2015

Juvenile crime and punishment

At a time when juvenile crime is decreasing, efforts to punish youthful offenders more harshly are misplaced.
EDITORIALS
May 26, 2015

Disappointing NPT conference

Japan must seriously consider how it can fulfill its special responsibility as the sole victim of atomic bombings in the global efforts to reduce and eventually eliminate the dangers posed by nuclear weapons.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
May 24, 2015

Society helps sustain Japan's sordid sexual trade in schoolgirls

When you hear the expression "JK business," do you have any idea what kind of work this refers to? JK stands for joshi kōsei (high school girls). In Japan, JK is a very powerful brand — and high school girls are a highly valued commodity.
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...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 17, 2015

Osakans cast ballots in historic referendum

Osaka voters head to the polls in a historic plebiscite that will decide the future structure of the city government.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
May 16, 2015

South Korean spy agency under scrutiny after reporting execution by Pyongyang

The South Korean spy agency's assertion that North Korea purged its defense chief and executed him with anti-aircraft fire is one of its boldest claims ever and, given the agency's checkered history, has come under growing scrutiny.

Longform

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