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COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 12, 2014

Readers speak up about the obstacles Japan faces in English education

Letters in response to the Jan. 6 Learning Curve column by Teru Clavel, "English fluency hopes rest on an education overhaul." Letters have been edited for size.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 18, 2011

Russian-held isles: So near, so far

On the morning of Nov. 1, Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian leader to set foot on one of the four islands off Hokkaido seized by the Soviets at the end of World War II that Japan has long wanted returned.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 23, 2010

No one-size-fits-all for foreign suffrage

Support has been surprisingly muted for the Hatoyama administration's push toward suffrage for foreign permanent residents, even among the constituencies such a law would enfranchise. The debate is definitely a hot one, sparking a number of protests against the plan around Tokyo, with opposition logic...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 27, 2009

Immigration showing signs of ninjo

Last month, I was asked to take part in a public panel discussion on the recently released Harrison Ford blockbuster "Crossing Over." In the film, Ford plays an L.A. Immigration and Customs officer with a conscience, increasingly disturbed by the human consequences of his job.
COMMENTARY
Jan 18, 2005

Same old contrived hysteria

Japan seems headed for yet another bout of emotional confrontation with North Korea and China.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

Iraq likely to dominate next Diet session

As former deputy chief Cabinet secretary and House of Councilors member Kosei Ueno prepares for the Upper House election scheduled for mid-July, he is nagged by one major concern: the security situation in Iraq.
COMMENTARY
Jan 30, 2002

Chinese, when convenient

HONG KONG -- In an unusual move, China in recent weeks twice denied visa applications by a group of South Korean lawmakers. Relations between China and South Korea have been good in recent years, so it is strange that Korean legislators who wish to visit China should be denied the chance to do so.
JAPAN
May 22, 2001

Tanaka clams up on Lee visa remark

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka on Monday refused to reveal further details of a comment she reportedly made to her Chinese counterpart earlier this month that Japan will not issue another entry visa to former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui.
JAPAN
May 8, 2001

Prime minister's policy speech

The following is a provisional translation of the policy speech given Monday by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the 151st session of the Diet:
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Constitution turns 54 as battle lines drawn up for and against reform

Groups for and against revision of the Constitution held rallies in Tokyo on Thursday to mark the 54th anniversary of the supreme law amid increasing calls for its revision from political leaders, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2001

Japan's history again haunts future relations

The ongoing controversy between Japan and South Korea over a new textbook for Japanese junior high schools has taken a toll on the bilateral diplomatic calendar.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2001

Making gardens accessible proving a slippery path

Legend has it that when the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden in Bunkyo Ward was built in the early Edo Period, it boasted gigantic rocks and majestic, ancient trees reminiscent of the steep mountains and dark valleys of China.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 17, 2018

Robert Mueller said ready to deliver key findings in Trump probe

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to issue findings on core aspects of his Russia probe soon after the November midterm elections as he faces intensifying pressure to produce more indictments or shut down his investigation, according to two U.S. officials.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 23, 2017

The poverty of politics and tobacco policy

The government is caught in a trap of its own making — how does it stay in the business of selling tobacco while promoting public health?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Feb 5, 2017

No country for old emperors

Brushing over precedents and kicking looming threats down the line, a government-appointed panel has dutifully paved the way for a politically convenient one-off abdication.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2014

Identical twin clings to hope that sister is alive in North Korea

Misa Morimoto spoke to no one for 18 years about her identical twin sister who vanished when they were 20, not even to her own children. On the rare occasions when asked, she lied and said her sister was studying overseas.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2011

Go-ahead for reconstruction

The Upper House on June 20 enacted a basic law for reconstruction of Tohoku-Pacific coastal areas devastated by the March 11 quake and tsunami. Besides the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and other opposition parties supported the bill, while the Japan Communist...
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2011

Bond bill failure fiscal coup de grace

If the Democratic Party of Japan-led government fails to gain passage of a special bill to issue deficit-covering Japanese government bonds, suspicions that the country is unable to ward off a looming fiscal crisis will only deepen, two economists interviewed by The Japan Times warn.
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2010

Clarifying the betrayal of trust

The public prosecutors offices for the Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka districts have special investigation squads — elite teams that specialize in the investigation of corruption involving politicians and bureaucrats and large-scale crimes involving enterprises. Unlike other prosecutors, they make arrests...
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2009

Lower House passes bill revising foreign residency rules

The Lower House passed bills Friday making it easier for the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau to keep tabs on foreigners who have overstayed their visas as well as others residing legally in the country.
COMMENTARY
Nov 14, 2005

Enhanced order of security

Japan and the United States on Oct. 29 issued an interim report agreeing to expand military cooperation in connection with the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. The agreement is intended to adapt the bilateral alliance to better deal with changes in the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region....
EDITORIALS
Sep 30, 2005

Extending the SDF missions

The government has opted to extend by one year the Maritime Self-Defense Force mission to supply fuel in the Indian Ocean to ships of the U.S. Navy and allied nations engaged in antiterrorist activities related to security in Afghanistan. A law specifying a duration of two years -- enacted after the...
COMMENTARY
May 3, 2004

Koizumi's open-ended legac

On April 26 the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi entered its fourth year in power. Following his three-year rule under the slogan "No growth without reform," the Japanese economy is finally on a recovery track.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2004

Kan tells Koizumi to resign over Iraq

Democratic Party of Japan leader Naoto Kan urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday to step down, claiming he has violated the Constitution by dispatching the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2001

Full text of Koizumi's policy speech to Diet

Following is a provisional translation of the policy speech delivered by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to an extraordinary Diet session that opened Thursday for a 72-day session.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 5, 2001

Terrors, real and imagined

August means hot weather and ghost stories to add a little chill to the muggy air. Tonight, on TV Tokyo's "Sunday Big Special" (7 p.m.), host Tsurutaro Kataoka will explore various occultish phenomena for either your terrified delectation or your nonbelieving derision.

Longform

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