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Japan Times
SUMO
Jul 1, 2021

Nagoya Basho could have significant impact on sport

Sumo lovers in central Japan will see their sport return with a bang, as the upcoming tournament is primed to be one of the most significant in recent memory.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 23, 2021

Saudi operatives who killed Jamal Khashoggi received paramilitary training in U.S.

The training, approved by the State Department, underscores the perils of military partnerships with repressive governments.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2020

U.K. has advantage in trade talks with EU

The EU member governments and commission bureaucrats will learn a hard lesson if they consider Britain easy to deal with.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 3, 2019

Wanted: U.S. leadership in Tokyo-Seoul feud

Quelling tensions between Japan and South Korea is critical for the U.S.' broader strategic objectives in the Indo-Pacific.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 8, 2019

Setsubun: Killing two birds with one bean

Changing food consumption patterns takes time, and weighing the significance of Setsubun can trigger the first step forward.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / Deep Dive
Oct 5, 2018

Tokyo's famed Tsukiji fish market, opened in the wake of Kanto quake, reaches an end

Old-fashioned and full of nostalgia, the renowned Tsukiji fish market is at its busiest before dawn.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 29, 2018

Trump attorney discussed pardons for Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort with lawyers: report

An attorney for President Donald Trump raised the idea of the U.S. leader pardoning two of his former top advisers last year as the special counsel in the Russia probe was building a case against them, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 10, 2018

U.S. seeks 'concrete actions' from North Korea before talks

The White House said Friday that President Donald Trump will not meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unless Pyongyang takes "concrete and verifiable actions," stoking confusion as the administration faced criticism for agreeing to talks while receiving few, if any, tangible benefits in return.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 29, 2017

Here comes the sun: Recommended hatsuhinode spots

The first sunrise of the new year represents a chance for a new beginning and so it's hardly surprising that some once viewed the first rays of the sun on Jan. 1 with special reverence. It was believed to be the moment that Toshigami, god of the new year, descends from heaven and bestows happiness on...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 15, 2016

Is Japan leaving the Rohingya out in the cold?

As violence flares around the world's largest group of stateless people in Myanmar, an exile is pleading with Tokyo to come to their aid.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 23, 2015

Any attempt to scale Japan's mountain of rules is doomed

In England of the distant past, the word "doom" was a legal term, referring to a judgment imposing a punishment. Some etymological sources suggest it has common roots with the Sanskrit "dharma," a deeply complex word that can refer to customary social duties or divine law, depending upon the religious...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 11, 2014

Abe's astute Aussie diplomacy needs to be repeated in Asia

The recent joint declaration by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, affirms that both countries have made great strides toward realizing a late 19th-century dream of closer ties.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 8, 2014

How vulnerable is Japan to severe weather?

The deadly mudslides in Hiroshima and other parts of western Japan last month caused by torrential rains have raised concerns about how vulnerable Japan is to such natural disasters, especially given severe weather events due to climate change.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 30, 2014

North's missiles may have sent different message

As Japanese and North Korean envoys prepared to hold talks Tuesday, Tokyo faced the difficulty of assessing Pyongyang's seriousness in its promised inquiry into the fates of abducted citizens while apparently snubbing Japan and other neighbors Sunday with a pair of missiles fired into the ocean.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2014

'Black money' fairy tale drives Indian adults

Millions of adult Indians enthusiastically propagate a fairy tale that says once a strong government brings billions of dollars of 'black money' home, India will cease being poor and take its rightful place among the superpowers of the world.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
May 4, 2014

Kikokushijo: returnees to a country not yet ready for them

Though the number of returnee students has tripled since 1977, and despite the recent government push to develop 'global human resources,' the existence of this group of globally educated young people has been largely ignored by policymakers.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2013

Today's take on Stalingrad

In one of Moscow's central subway stations — Arbatskaya — the escalator leading up to the city exit ends in a spacious vestibule. On the front wall, a classic frame several meters high is covered with white plaster. It bears no image, and the white paint must be regularly renewed to avoid ugly cracks....
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 11, 2013

Mori isle 'compromise' flatly denied

Tokyo on Thursday moved quickly to reaffirm official policy calling for the return of four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, a day after former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori suggested a compromise that would leave one in Moscow's hands.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Apr 6, 2010

Japan, U.N. share blind spot on 'migrants'

On March 23, I gave a speech to Jorge Bustamante, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, for NGO FRANCA regarding racial discrimination in Japan. Text follows:
COMMENTARY
Sep 19, 2009

Colombo risks squandering Sri Lanka's hard-won peace

If Sri Lanka is to become a tropical paradise again, it must build enduring peace. This will only occur through genuine interethnic equality, and a transition from being a unitary state to being a federation that grants provincial and local autonomy.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2009

Lower House panel takes up contentious immigration bill

A Lower House panel Friday began deliberating a controversial bill that would revise the immigration law by strengthening state control over foreigners and illegal entry by shifting responsibility for alien registration to the central government from municipalities and increasing penalties for violators....
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2008

Ruling bloc OKs ¥2 trillion boost

The government and Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc officially adopted a ¥2 trillion cash handout program Wednesday, but officials said they don't know yet if foreign residents will get a piece of the pie.
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2006

Simplifying disaster communications

Since Japan lies in the path of typhoons, wide areas of the nation suffer from floods and landslides every year. Cloudbursts also wreak havoc in limited areas. Accurate information is crucial in preventing injuries, deaths and property damage when disasters strike. In a welcome move, the Ministry of...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 22, 2006

Japan's fingerprinting law is dumb . . . (and that's just what the government thinks)

On May 18, 2006, a little discussed and little debated law passed the Diet.

Longform

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