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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Dec 31, 2015

The issues that grabbed you or got your goat in the Year of the Sheep

Readers praise and pan Community articles from the past 12 months.
COMMENTARY / World / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Sep 1, 2014

U.S. media coverage reveals a pro-Israel bias

Imagine Boston, including its coast, hemmed in by a relentlessly hostile superior power ready to attack it anytime from air, land and sea. Boston is about a third of the Gaza Strip in land area, but the same in population density.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 6, 2013

Female novelist says pregnant women should quit work

The plight of Japan's working women is a subject that often pops up in the media. Female politicians and company executives voice the opinion that it would be good to harness the power of women in Japan, and that the garasu no tenjō (ガラスの天井, glass ceiling) needs to be smashed. But meanwhile,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 22, 2013

One-party rule back but Abe could blow it

The Liberal Democratic Party's sweeping Upper House election victory ends the divided Diet, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe still faces a battle in tackling vexing issues.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 2, 2013

Media polls on constitutional change reveal bias

In a democracy, the people's will is conveyed through representative government. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to rewrite the Constitution, but Article 96 requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the national assembly to do that, so in order to hasten the process he first wants to change Article...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 1, 2013

Inose apologizes for slurring Muslims

Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose on Tuesday apologized for and retracted comments perceived as critical of Islamic countries that appeared in a recent New York Times article concerning Tokyo's 2020 bid for the Summer Olympics.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jul 5, 2011

Disunited 'English-speaking diaspora' bites back

The Community Page received a large number of emails in response to Debito Arudou's June 7 Just Be Cause column, headlined " 'English-speaking diaspora' should unite, not backbite."
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Feb 8, 2011

Hooked on U.S., Japan risks going down with it: responses

Following are responses to "Hooked on U.S., Japan risks going down with it" by Brian Victoria (Hotline to Nagatacho, Jan. 4):
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jan 18, 2011

Mind the gap, get over it: readers' views

Following are are a selection of readers' responses to "Mind the gap, get over it" by Charles Lewis (Zeit Gist, Dec. 28):
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2007

Collective self-defense and collective security: what the differences mean for Japan

As the debate in Japan heats up over whether and how to amend Article 9 of the Constitution, the terms "collective self-defense" and "collective security" are often used in the same breath, almost as though they were synonymous. Often the terms are avoided altogether. The 2007 Defense White Paper uses...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2007

Who will defend Japan's Constitution?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced at the beginning of April that the government was establishing a "panel of experts" to examine the question of whether to "revise the current interpretation of the Constitution," in order to permit Japan to engage in collective self-defense activities.
Japan Times
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.
BUSINESS
Nov 25, 2005

EBC frets corporate law amendment

The European Business Council in Japan issued an annual white paper on the nation's business environment Thursday that recommends changing an article in the revised corporation law it fears could make the structure of some European companies here illegal.
COMMENTARY
May 2, 2005

Caldron of simmering views

In advance of Constitution Day, on Tuesday, research commissions on constitutional reform from both houses of the Diet last month adopted final reports summarizing five years of debate. The Lower House panel focused on amending the supreme law, including revision of the war-renouncing Article 9.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 1, 2004

Koizumi: Robot? Dummy? Dictator? All three?

A comedy troupe called The Newspaper has recently been lampooning Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's performance at the last G-8 summit. According to the weekly magazine Aera, in one skit, a member dressed as Koizumi explains why he committed Japanese troops to a multinational force without first consulting...
EDITORIALS
Jul 7, 2004

Constitution remains a major issue

The debate over constitutional reform -- supposedly a crucial issue in Sunday's Upper House election -- remains low-key even as the campaign enters the home stretch. It is fairly clear, though, where main parties stand on this subject -- particularly on war-renouncing Article 9. This election, therefore,...
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
PODCAST / deep dive
Jun 14, 2023

How the climate crisis is supercharging Japan’s rainy season

When you think of natural disasters do you think of guerrilla rainstorms, landslides and heatwaves? You should, since that’s in the forecast for Japan’s climate-crisis-charged rainy seasons.
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2018

LDP's proposed electoral system amendment

The LDP's proposed electoral system amendment won't solve the vote-value disparity problem and may conflict with the Constitution's Article 43.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 7, 2016

Japan's taxman sticks his OAR in, looking for leviable expat assets held abroad

Experts answer readers' queries about the overseas assets reporting law aimed at taxing wealth held outside Japan.
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 Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 3, 2015

Japan's security bills are tactical approach to battle

Lawmakers are due to continue debating two contentious security bills until mid-September, comprising some of the most controversial government-sponsored legislation to reach the Diet in recent years.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 23, 2015

Will Japan become Asia's next autocracy?

The LDP's draft constitution contains elements that would move Japan toward illiberalism and autocracy if it was adopted.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 1, 2015

Readers' letters: Roppongi, Ferguson, 'Massan,' Julien Blanc and more

Some emails received in response to Community articles at the tail end of 2014.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Nov 7, 2014

Readers' letters: carrying ID, subway 'saviors,' JA rackets, Taiji alternatives and goats

A selection of emails received in response to recent Community articles.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 2, 2013

Legislation bureau chief Abe's window to collective defense

The appointment of Ichiro Komatsu as director general of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau is a step toward Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's goal of reinterpreting the Constitution so Japan can engage in collective self-defense.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Aug 19, 2013

Union, business concerns put limits on freedom of speech

Hot on the heels of their romp to victory in the race for control of the House of Councilors, the Liberal Democratic Party is chomping at the bit to overhaul the Constitution, which has not been amended since it was signed into law in 1946. The ruling party proposes gutting Article 9, which forever bans...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2013

Hashimoto rips Sakai mayor over integration vote

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, coleader of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), criticized on Tuesday a proposal by Sakai Mayor Osami Takeyama to hold a city referendum on participating in an integrated Osaka, calling it nonsense and a political stunt.

Longform

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