Search - article-news

 
 
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2006

Suit by Japan Highway boss against 'true story' is thrown out

The Tokyo District Court dismissed a libel suit Monday filed by Haruho Fujii, former president of the now-defunct Japan Highway Public Corp., and said a magazine article correctly reported his concealment of the corporation's financial statements.
COMMENTARY
Jan 27, 2004

Changing the Constitution

Constitutional revision looms as a major political issue in Japan. It was a key agenda item at the January conventions of the two largest political parties, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan. The LDP decided to draw up a revision plan in 2005, the 50th anniversary of the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 10, 2021

The domestic media largely moves on from ‘public concern’ over the Olympics

Public anxiety over the Olympics remains high, but the domestic media has moved on to other topics. Why are politicians still complaining about a focus on public concern?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 24, 2021

Is the IOC putting a torch to ‘freedom of speech’?

Press outlets that are not affiliated with the Summer Games are calling foul on a number of directives issued by Olympics bodies.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 20, 2021

The ex-Pfizer scientist who became an anti-vaccination hero

In recent months, Michael Yeadon has emerged as an unlikely hero of the so-called anti-vaxxers, whose adherents question the safety of many vaccines, including for the coronavirus.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 7, 2020

China peddles falsehoods to obscure origin of COVID-19 pandemic

Beijing has distorted comments from foreign experts to falsely suggest that there is broad consensus that the virus first surfaced outside the country.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2020

Lockdowns haven’t proved they’re worth the havoc

The U.S. survived the 1968 pandemic without shutting down society, and there isn't much evidence that shutdowns are truly effective this time.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 27, 2020

Trump campaign says it is suing New York Times over Russia opinion piece

President Donald Trump's re-election campaign said on Wednesday it was filing a libel suit accusing the New York Times of intentionally publishing a false opinion article that suggested Russia and the campaign had an overarching deal in the 2016 U.S. election.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 1, 2018

Iran's global disinformation

Website Nile Net Online promises Egyptians "true news" from its offices in the heart of Cairo's Tahrir Square, "to expand the scope of freedom of expression in the Arab world."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 10, 2018

Ex-Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba formally announces LDP leadership candidacy, pledging 'honest and fair' government

Ishiba touts “a 100-day plan” to reform government in a bid to regain the trust of the people.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2018

LDP lawmaker Mio Sugita faces backlash after describing LGBT people as 'unproductive'

A ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker has drawn a fierce backlash after labeling the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community "unproductive" in terms of childbirth, and warning that a society that accepts same-sex relationships risks "increasing unhappy people."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 14, 2018

Dementia is pushing cancer out of the medical spotlight

 The media love cancer — what causes it, how to prevent it, who has it. Cancer is something that potentially touches everybody in a dramatic way, and therefore public interest is keen.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 15, 2018

Japanese opposition parties DP and Kibo no To agree to join forces

Opposition parties Kibo no To and the Democratic Party strike a deal to team up against the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan in the Diet.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2016

The thrill of victory, the agony of another snub

The refusal of an Egyptian athlete to shake his Israeli counterpart's hand is symbolic of the Arab street's continuing rejection of the legitimacy of the Jewish state.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 2, 2016

China puts Japan in cross hairs with blistering, sustained attack over alleged role in sea ruling

China has claimed to have unmasked Japanese malfeasance and "manipulation" amid a campaign to discredit an international tribunal ruling two weeks ago that largely invalidated Beijing's claims to most of the South China Sea.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 21, 2016

Wrath awaits Japanese women who shun their childbearing 'destiny'

Back in the 1990s, actor Tomoko Yamaguchi often appeared in trendy dramas — TV shows that portrayed the lives of middle-class people who, whether married or not, only worried about what to buy and who to love. Once she turned 35, Yamaguchi was no longer considered suitable for such roles, but trendy...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 23, 2016

Sincerely, Little Nigeria: A reporter signs off

After five years of covering Japan's African community, a writer reflects on progress since 3/11 and speculates about the future.
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2016

Intimidation via the Broadcast Law

Communications minister Sanae Takaichi's statement strengthens the case for creating a neutral, independent body to take charge of broadcasting administration, including the issuance and withdrawals of licenses.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 20, 2016

Japan's economic minister hit with bribery allegations, vows response

Akira Amari swears to answer accusations of a money scandal leveled against him by a weekly tabloid after conducting an investigation.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 2, 2015

Life after work in Japan: tackling readers' pension questions

Among the questions that Japan Times readers send to the Lifelines column, a perennial topic is navigating the Japanese pension system. Here are some answers.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 25, 2015

U.S. towns pulled into Japanese politics

A recurring news story over the past several years concerns claims of the harassment of Japanese nationals residing on the East and West coasts of the United States. Most appear to have originated from municipalities where South Korean immigrants and Korean-Americans have successfully campaigned to erect...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2015

Former Asahi reporter files libel suit over 'comfort women' issue

The former Asahi Shimbun reporter threatened by nationalists and revisionists for covering the “comfort women” issue sues a publisher and a Korea scholar over claims he fabricated his stories.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2014

Daily Asahi Shimbun retracts faulty Fukushima story, sacks top editor

The Asahi Shimbun on Friday carried front page articles and an apology concerning an erroneous article that alleged workers fled the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant during the meltdown crisis in March 2011, retracting the scoop story that drew strong criticism from the public, lawmakers and government...
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 20, 2014

Washington mixes signals about aims toward China

Even while reconfirming its 'pivot to Asia,' Washington tries to construct multifaceted bilateral ties with Beijing, raising questions about the ultimate fate of longtime alliances between the U.S. and a number of Asia-Pacific countries.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 24, 2014

Abe secured only half of key goals at meeting

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe finally gets a U.S. president to state for the first time that the bilateral security treaty applies to the Senkaku Islands.
An activist in Seoul protests Japan’s plan to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 7, 2023

Anger at Fukushima’s wastewater; hope in its renewables

Good news and bad news out of Fukushima.
People read newspapers at a roadside tea stall in Patna, Bihar, India. Newsrooms are being reshaped, journalists say, by India’s richest press barons, many of whom are close to the ruling party and depend on millions of advertising dollars from the government.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 26, 2024

Billionaire press barons are squeezing media freedom in India

Many press barons are close to the ruling party and depend on millions of advertising dollars from the government.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani arrives at Incheon International Airport in South Korea ahead of the MLB's Seoul Series, on Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 19, 2024

All eyes on Ohtani on eve of MLB's Seoul Series

The Dodgers star touched down in South Korea to a welcome worthy of a K-pop act
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.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.