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EDITORIALS
Jun 16, 2011

Weapons-export ban threatened

In meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Singapore on June 3, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa told him that Japan would allow the United States to export to other countries an anti-missile missile being jointly developed by Japan and the U.S. if certain conditions are met.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 14, 2011

Tokai Big One still tops in speculation

Seismologists have warned of the likelihood of a Tokai region earthquake for years.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2011

Besieged Kan marks milestone: one year

The first anniversary of Naoto Kan's prime ministership arrived Wednesday amid a whirlwind of political maneuvering and speculation over when he would step down and whether the ruling and opposition parties can form a grand coalition.
EDITORIALS
Jun 8, 2011

Fukushima investigation

The Kan Cabinet on May 24 established a third-party panel to investigate the accidents at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The move was extremely tardy, coming 2? months after the start of the nuclear crisis and nearly one month after Prime Minister Naoto Kan's announcement...
EDITORIALS
Jun 6, 2011

Child abduction convention

The Kan Cabinet on May 20 endorsed a policy of Japan joining the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which sets procedures for settling cross-border child custody disputes.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 3, 2011

Kan buys time but cedes advantage to opposition

Prime Minister Naoto Kan handily prevailed over an opposition-backed no-confidence motion Thursday, in part because he compromised with foes within his Democratic Party of Japan to step down in the near future after he feels he has accomplished his disaster-response duties.
EDITORIALS
Jun 3, 2011

Back to basics with Russia

Prime Minister Naoto Kan met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on May 27 in the French seaside resort of Deauville shortly after a two-day Group of Eight summit held there. No substantive development came out of the meeting concerning a long-standing bilateral territorial dispute, except that Mr....
JAPAN
May 25, 2011

Independent panel created to probe cause of crisis

The government established an independent panel Tuesday to probe the cause of the nuclear crisis with the aim of preventing future disasters and coming up with proposals for limiting the damage at the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
COMMENTARY / World
May 24, 2011

India's stirring middle class

India is on the move, with millions climbing into middle class status and a growing pool of super-rich billionaires. Yet it also has more poor, hungry and illiterate people than any other country in the world; access to safe water and sanitation remains a pipedream for most people and disease is endemic;...
EDITORIALS
May 24, 2011

Japan's GDP takes a hit

The Cabinet Office on May 19 said that Japan's gross domestic product in real terms in the January-March period declined 0.9 percent from the October-December period in 2010 or an annualized 3.7 percent, marking negative growth in two consecutive quarters. GDP in nominal terms, which reflects changes...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 17, 2011

Tepco CDSs leap on loan writeoff remark

Credit-default swaps on Tokyo Electric Power Co. are trading at a three-week high after the government's chief spokesman said public pressure may force lenders to write off loans to the troubled utility.
EDITORIALS
May 14, 2011

Modest U.S.-China progress

This week the U.S. and China held their third Strategic and Economic Dialogue, an annual forum that brings together hundreds of officials for talks on issues of concern for the two nations. While conspiracy-minded observers are wont to see the get-together as the germ of a Group of Two that will one...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 14, 2011

Finding fulfillment the hard way through NGOs, activism

The tiny Amnesty International Japan headquarters is hidden on the fourth floor of a nondescript building in a dull business district not far from Ochanomizu, in central Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 11, 2011

Tepco turns to government for cash

Embattled Tokyo Electric Co. President Masataka Shimizu officially asked the government Tuesday to help shoulder the burden of compensating people affected by the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2011

Task for post-disaster politics

As more than 40 days have passed since the massive earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan, politicians must remind themselves that their priority task is to help the victims and to end the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis as soon as possible.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2011

Kan, Edano suit up for normalcy

Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano shed their light blue worker uniforms Friday to assure the public the eastern half of the country is recovering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat