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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.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Apr 16, 2006

Editor on a mission for consumers

Some people sarcastically refer to journalists in Japan as "sarariman reporters." That's because even though the Fourth Estate potentially has enormous power and influence, its members are often timid, risk-averse and happy to cozy up with the politicians, government agencies and corporations they cover....
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2003

U.N. voice for 'civil society'

In his opening address in Beijing to the U.N. conference on the question of Palestine on Dec. 16, China's Deputy Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo paid particular at- tention to the role of civil society -- academic and business communities, nongovernmental organizations and others -- in appealing for peace...
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2001

Shinsei Bank in fundraising drive

Shinsei Bank plans to securitize its own loan assets and sell them to investors to diversify its fundraising methods, bank officials said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Feb 19, 2001

Defense issues move to the fore

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, in a policy speech to the Diet Jan. 31, stated: "Emergency legislation (designed to defend Japan in the event of foreign aggression) is necessary to ensure the security of the state and the people. I intend to initiate considerations in this regard." Earlier, on Jan. 26,...
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2000

Japan officials scratch heads over uninvited guest Fujimori

Japanese government officials are vexed over reports that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who disappeared Wednesday afternoon from a Tokyo hotel, hopes to stay in Japan for an extended period of time.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Mar 22, 2000

Won't be fooled again

When asked about the dot-com economy, Tim Dyson was succinct and acid -- almost contemptuous. "There's only one metric," he said. "Stock price."
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Oct 27, 1999

Eyes on the storm

You don't have to be the wonky sort to want to keep tabs on what is going on in Northeast Asia. Yes, diplomacy can be tedious -- although North Korean rhetoric does liven things up a good bit -- but most Japan Times readers live in Japan and that puts them within range of those missiles ostensibly threatening...
JAPAN
Oct 5, 1998

Lower House panel passes JNR debt bills

Bills to dispose of 27.8 trillion yen in debts left by the former Japanese National Railways were passed Monday by a Lower House special committee after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and two opposition parties reached a compromise.The bills, which are expected to be passed by a Lower House plenary...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 24, 2023

Biden nominates North Korea human rights envoy, first since 2017

The White House moved to fill a post that has been empty since 2017 amid debate over how rights issues fit with efforts to counter Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 25, 2022

Key takeaways from the Australia-Japan summit

The Australia-Japan summit in Perth was big on deliverables, focusing on security cooperation, China and values.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 2, 2022

Unification Church and the LDP: A scandal or a witch hunt?

Japan performs a balancing act with political parties and how closely they should be allowed to work with religious groups.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 16, 2022

Why Ukraine war crimes trials could take many years

Long after the fighting ends, any prosecutions and trials arising from it could be barely beginning. Here is a look at the complexities of bringing aggressors to justice.
Special Supplements / COP26 special
Nov 1, 2021

Global efforts for a better tomorrow

For almost three decades, the U.N. has worked to bring as many countries together as possible on a regular basis for the global climate change summits known as COP, short for Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. These events have served to focus the world’s...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 31, 2020

25 days that changed the world: How COVID-19 slipped China’s grasp

China's delayed initial response unleashed the virus on the world and foreshadowed battles between scientists and political leaders that would play out across continents.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 21, 2020

Abortion was on the back burner in the U.S. presidential race — not anymore

An all-out fight over the issue could further alienate the more moderate suburban voters both sides are competing for.

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