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Reader Mail
Jan 20, 2017

Osprey training belies treaty provisions

Defense Minister Tomomi Inada confirmed in a rubber-stamping fashion that Ospreys' midair refueling drills in Okinawa would be resumed, even though the cause of the Dec. 13 crash had not yet been fully investigated and detailed to the public.
Reader Mail
Dec 9, 2016

Absurd for Japan to pay more to U.S.

Asked about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's urging on the campaign trail that Japan pay more for the U.S. forces stationed here, Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said at a recent news conference that Japan pays enough for hosting the U.S. military.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 12, 2016

Japan's laundromat bubble shows no sign of bursting

Almost every Japanese household has a washing machine, so why are so many of them using laundromats that cost them extra money?
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Nov 7, 2016

Pepper gets to work in Taiwan

Pepper, SoftBank Corp.'s humanoid robot, has started work at a bank and a life insurer in Taiwan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2016

20 years of North Korean missile strides put Japan's U.S.-reliant defenses on notice

Successful rocket tests have propelled North Korea ahead in its one-sided arms race with Japan, leaving the government unsure it could fend off a missile strike without U.S. help.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 10, 2016

Pricing system offers scant protection as Amazon Japan hacks away at bookstores' benefits

Japan's saihan seido system may not be enough to save the country's remaining bookstores, whose advantages Amazon.jp has systematically worked to nullify over the years.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 11, 2016

Reappraising Japan-U.K. ties

As it prepares to exit the EU, Britain needs a prosperous and politically stable Japan more than ever.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Aug 6, 2016

Resort condos: an option for home buyers

As everyone in Japan now knows, there are millions of vacant houses and apartments throughout the country, many of which are on sale for a song. The money and effort needed to renovate these properties, however, often isn't worth it given how inexpensive new houses can be. That, of course, is the main...
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 5, 2016

Rusty ships and unused aircraft carriers: the other side of Asia's militaries

As China spends billions to upgrade and reorganize the People's Liberation Army, the deficiencies in competing Asia-Pacific militaries are coming into focus. Even some of China's much heralded military advances are drawing attention for their shortcomings. Here is a snapshot of some of Asia's less illustrious...
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2016

How long will Monju limp on?

A glance at Monju's history would leave one wondering why no decision has been made yet to decommission the troubled facility.
Reader Mail
May 14, 2016

Trump and the U.S. military in Japan

Regarding the May 8 article "Trump proposals for Japan will not become U.S. policy, expert says," Donald Trump has thrown a stone to make ripples on the seemingly waveless waters of the Japan-U.S. military alliance.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2016

Bodies of last two ASDF airmen recovered from cliff in Kagoshima

The bodies of the last two crew members and the wreckage of an Air Self-Defense Force airplane have been found on a cliff in Mount Takakuma, Kagoshima Prefecture, defense officials said Friday.
WORLD
Apr 1, 2016

Washington state atomic plant restarts after shutdown over valve mishap

A nuclear power plant in Washington state was restarted on Thursday after being shut down earlier this week after a maintenance test found an issue with a valve.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 13, 2016

Japan is losing its drive to get behind the wheel

Even domestic automakers seem to be concentrating on expanding overseas as the market at home looks bleak.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 8, 2016

U.S. Navy is urged to slow littoral ship deployments until more testing

Two top senators on defense issues say U.S. Navy leaders should consider delaying deployment of the new littoral combat ship (LCS) and tone down their effusive rhetoric about the vessel until it successfully completes more testing.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2016

California gas leak spotlights shoddy regulation of nation's aging underground infrastructure

Long before a natural gas storage well sprung a disastrous leak near Los Angeles, utilities and national industry groups were raising alarms about the danger of aging underground storage infrastructure.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2016

South Korea-Japan ties strengthen in wake of latest North Korean nuclear test

North Korea's nuclear test this week set off alarm bells in Japan and South Korea, but its more enduring outcome may be the cementing of a fragile reconciliation that could lead to military cooperation between the two key U.S. allies.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 9, 2015

Taiwan's likely first female president keeps quiet on possibility of independence from China

Taiwan's elections are just weeks away, with little clarity about how a likely win by a party that traditionally favors independence from China will be viewed in Beijing, which has threatened force to ensure the island never goes it alone.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 16, 2015

Tours provide renewed interest in Japan's oldest hydro power plant

The Miyashiro No. 1 power plant, which houses the country's oldest working hydraulic generator, is attracting public attention after it started offering guided tours last spring.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 30, 2015

Senior official says Japan ready to build all submarines for Canberra in Australia

Japan is ready to match European rivals and build a fleet of submarines for Canberra entirely in Australian shipyards, a senior Japanese official said Tuesday, after stumbling in its effort to win a contract worth 50 billion Australian dollars or $34.76 billion.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2015

ASEAN: moving beyond terrorism fears

A focus on strengthened security and basic law and order will be fundamental to the sustained growth of any ASEAN member- state's tourism sector.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2015

In Africa, good fences make for safe species

An innovative conservation project in Kenya using electric fences is both protecting endangered species from poachers and agricultural crops from foraging animals.
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
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 6, 2015

Verizon shift to wireless puts union ranks, with benefits, at huge disadvantage

Verizon Communications Inc., deadlocked in labor talks over pension benefits and health care that caused a strike in 2011, has gained bargaining power this time around after shedding operations that employ older unionized workers.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 15, 2015

Philippines reinforcing rusting ship on Spratly reef in face of Chinese expansion

The Philippine navy is quietly reinforcing the hull and deck of a rusting ship it ran aground on a disputed South China Sea reef in 1999 to stop it from breaking apart, determined to hold the shoal as Beijing creates a string of man-made islands nearby.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan