Search - opinion

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 2, 2017

Koike's camp clobbers Abe's LDP in historic Tokyo assembly election

Gov. Yuriko Koike's upstart Tomin First party scored a sweeping victory Sunday in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, dethroning the Liberal Democratic Party and damaging Shinzo Abe's prospects for winning another term as prime minister.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jul 2, 2017

'No foreign tenants' — and not much you can do about it

Landlords in Japan are within their rights to refuse to rent to foreign residents, but some services are stepping in to bridge the gap.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 2, 2017

U.S. will pay for Trump's global unpopularity

Being seen as unreliable and 'arrogant, intolerant and dangerous' by a majority of respondents from 37 countries around the world could have concrete policy consequences for U.S. President Donald Trump.
Reader Mail
Jun 30, 2017

Thai prison is real, should be shut down

In his letter to The Japan Times in the June 11 edition, Thai Ambassador Bansarn Bunnag accused Pavin Chachavalpongpun of making unsubstantiated claims when he reported that there is a temporary prison on the grounds of the Daveevattana (Thavi Wattana) Palace of Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn, a prison...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2017

Foreign IT workers seen as solution to industry shortage

There is a rising demand for IT engineers in Japan as many point out there is a shortage of such professionals domestically. An estimate shows that Japan will face a shortage of close to 600,000 IT-related professionals by 2030.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jun 29, 2017

Imperial succession issue neglected

The Imperial family's future is endangered by the male-only paternal lineage succession rules, yet the Abe administration is taking no action.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2017

Despite weak spots in steel, nuclear experts say EDF's Flamanville reactor safe to start: sources

Utility EDF's Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor in northwest France has been cleared by a group of experts for start-up despite weak spots in its steel, confirming the findings of the ASN nuclear regulator, a source close to the situation told Reuters.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jun 28, 2017

U.S. hopes to see Chinese activist Liu treated for cancer 'elsewhere'

Newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad said Wednesday the United States would like to see Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Liu Xiaobo treated elsewhere for cancer, and that the two countries must work together on human rights.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Jun 27, 2017

Olympic champion Kristi Yamaguchi speaks on greatness of Hanyu, Mao, Takahashi

One of the benefits of covering skating for many years has been the high caliber of people I have continually come in contact with. Skaters, coaches, choreographers, executives and parents, they almost always seem to be open and approachable.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 27, 2017

Conservative justices give Trump victory by partially reviving travel ban

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to President Donald Trump by reviving parts of his travel ban on people from six Muslim-majority countries and refugees and agreeing to decide its legality later this year in a major test of presidential powers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2017

Saudi Arabian heir is a dangerous man

Prince Mohammed bin Salman could be too inexperienced and too hotheaded for the fraught situation in the Middle East.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 25, 2017

If al-Baghdadi is dead, next Islamic State leader likely to be Saddam-era officer

If Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is confirmed dead, he is likely to be succeeded by one of his top two lieutenants, both of whom were Iraqi Army officers under late dictator Saddam Hussein.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 24, 2017

Sticky bonds of the media and government

Last month, the United Nations Human Rights Council released a report critical of the Japanese government. The author, David Kaye, expressed concern over the way the media is pressured by the authorities to support their policies. The government objected to the report, saying it has never tried to sway...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 24, 2017

North Korea denies torturing Warmbier, says it is 'biggest victim' in U.S. student's death

North Korea has issued its first comments on the death of U.S. college student Otto Warmbier, who had been held by Pyongyang for more than a year before his June 13 release, calling the 22-year-old's passing "a mystery" and labeling themselves as "the biggest victim of this incident."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 23, 2017

Abe's LDP faces stiff challenge in Tokyo assembly election

With favoritism allegations piling up and his Cabinet's credibility crumbling, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party faces its toughest challenge in years in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2017

Trump's South China Sea policy taking shape

The Trump administration's policy regarding the South China Sea is a continuation of the Obama administration's policy but with more emphasis on the military dimension.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2017

Iran and the Saudi deflection campaign

Donald Trump appears to have no idea that the principal source of support that Salafist terrorists use has Saudi Arabia written all over it.
Reader Mail
Jun 23, 2017

Japanese government upholds freedom of press

The opinion pieces by Jeff Kingston in the June 11 edition and William Pesek in the June 14 paper presented their interpretation of the relations between Japan and special rapporteurs mandated by the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jun 21, 2017

Deafening silence from U.S. government as Okinawa defoliants quietly destroy children's futures

Lt. Col. Kris E. Roberts, who found dozens of barrels of hazardous waste buried at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in 1981, reflects on the consequences of that discovery.
EDITORIALS
Jun 21, 2017

Japan should join negotiations to ban nuclear weapons

Japan's failure to participate in the treaty negotiations could imperil its credibility as a country serious about nuclear disarmament.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2017

Why tower blocks are unfit for public housing

Countries that still house many of their poor in tower blocks need to work on moving them out into human-scale housing that can be maintained more efficiently.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2017

How populists win when they lose

The choices made by established conservative elites, as much as the challenges posed by insurgent outsiders, determine the fate of democracy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2017

Toshiba board, CEO blasted by Glass Lewis for poor governance

Proxy adviser Glass Lewis & Co. blasted Toshiba Corp.'s board for poor governance amid repeated scandals and recommended investors vote against all directors at the company's shareholders meeting this month.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jun 17, 2017

'Flowering of the Bamboo': Revisiting the mass poisoning of 1948

The acronym GUBU (grotesque, unusual, bizarre and unprecedented) fits the mass murder at the Teihoku Bank in Tokyo on Jan. 26, 1948. Sixteen people were deliberately poisoned, including an 8-year-old boy. More money was left behind than stolen.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jun 16, 2017

3x3 PREMIER.EXE hopes to capitalize on game's inclusion in Tokyo Olympics, broaden popularity

With an optimistic outlook, the 3x3 PREMIER.EXE begins its fourth season on Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2017

Tackling Brexit with no one in charge

If the British aim is an eventual clear disassociation from the EU that minimizes disruption, an amended EEA seems the obvious transitional status for a few years

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