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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jan 30, 2017

Ruling coalition reshuffle?

Cracks are beginning to appear in the LDP-Komeito ruling coalition.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 28, 2017

Photographer John Paul Foster: 'Little details separate a good photograph from a great one'

American photographer on geisha cluture and the art of taking a great picture.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2017

Donald Trump unleashed

All administrations lie, spin and deceive, but judging from early indications, the new U.S. team is off the charts.
Reader Mail
Jan 27, 2017

Rall wrongheaded on women's march

Of all the wonderful articles printed about the women's march, how did you decide to run such a misleading, misogynistic piece of opinion by a man ("Failure and hope in Women's March," by Ted Rall in the Jan. 25 edition)?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2017

Russia has a new 'great game' in the Balkans

In one way or another, Russia is involved in every Balkan nation, and that involvement is increasingly active.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 24, 2017

Celtic noh draws on two cultures' essence

Noh is a uniquely Japanese form of musical drama that dates back to at least the 14th century. However, it took 600 years before this performing art surfaced in Western culture — notably with Irish poet William Butler Yeats' noh-inspired 1917 play "At the Hawk's Well."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / GAUGING TRUMP
Jan 23, 2017

Under Trump, Asia 'pivot' security plank may rise from the ashes

With the ascension of Donald Trump to the White House, former U.S. President Barack Obama's "pivot" to Asia appears to have been burned to the ground. Its remains must yet cool, but what may ultimately emerge from the ashes could prove reassuring to Asian allies fearful of an American retreat amid China's...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 23, 2017

Trump poses diplomatic dilemma for May with White House invite

Being the first European leader through the door of Donald Trump's White House is an honor that Theresa May worked hard to get. But it's one that comes with a daunting set of challenges.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 23, 2017

Neighbors see China using tourism as 'diplomatic weapon'

With 6 million Chinese tourists expected to travel abroad over the Lunar New Year break, China's Jan. 27 to Feb. 2 holiday is crucial for Taiwan tour agency operator Li Chi-yueh, who relies on mainland visitors for a third of his revenue.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 21, 2017

Trump is now president, but he still sees himself as leading an insurgency

Donald Trump took over as U.S. president Friday in the same way he conducted his upstart campaign, with a mixture of blustery salesmanship and naked contempt for the established political order.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 21, 2017

U.S. asks South Korea to arrest brother of former U.N. chief Ban

The U.S. government has asked South Korea to arrest a brother of former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on charges that he engaged in a bribery scheme to carry out the sale of a Vietnamese building complex, a U.S. prosecutor said on Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 18, 2017

Re-entry to U.S. can be tough for a Tokyo Man drunk on white privilege

There is a price this former Tokyoite pays for being home. Because in America, being white can be less than a privilege — it is part of a complicated history.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2017

What Obama deserves credit for — and doesn't

Did the departing U.S. president create national dysfunction, or was he just its victim?
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Jan 17, 2017

Hiwatashi aims for top-eight finish at U.S. nationals

Reigning American junior champion Tomoki Hiwatashi will compete in the senior U.S. nationals for the first time this week when he takes the ice at Kansas City's Sprint Center.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 17, 2017

As Kennedy steps down from ambassador post, observers see a mixed legacy

The first woman in the role. The daughter of a U.S. president. In some ways, Caroline Kennedy was a unique ambassador to Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jan 15, 2017

Examining a year in the life of the country's Diet

When not trying to get elected, Japan's 700-plus Diet members (475 in the House of Representatives, 242 in the House of Councilors) conduct the weighty business of the nation. With the 193rd session of the national legislature under the current Constitution scheduled to commence on Jan. 20, let's look...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 13, 2017

China, Russia take aim at U.S. anti-missile system planned for deployment in South Korea

China and Russia have agreed to take unspecified "countermeasures" in response to the planned U.S. deployment of an anti-missile system to South Korea — a move that came as Defense Minister Tomomi Inada inspected a version of the system on the U.S. territory of Guam on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 13, 2017

Why the bulls are wrong about the yen's rise

The yen has started 2017 strongly, but the Bank of Japan is likely to stick with its super-loose money program rather than dismantle it.
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2017

Keep 'comfort women' deal alive

Tokyo and Seoul should take careful steps to prevent an escalation of diplomatic tensions and keep the comfort women agreement alive.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2017

The line between free speech and fake news

Fake news poses a threat to democratic institutions.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Jan 10, 2017

Orser's 'Rink of Champions' has a new one in Cha

This season has seen the emergence of several young stars on the skating scene. Perhaps no one has made as big of an impact as South Korea's Cha Jun-hwan, who became the men's national champion on Sunday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2017

Energy policy needs overhaul

Japan's energy policy is at a crossroads. The government's basic energy plan revised in 2014 — after the March 2011 triple meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power's Fukushima No. 1 plant led to the shutdown of most of the nation's nuclear power reactors — continued the heavy reliance on nuclear power and...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 7, 2017

Are female scholars taken seriously in Japan?

There is a small group of female TV personalities whose claim to fame is that they graduated from the University of Tokyo, the most prestigious institute of higher learning in Japan. Like most TV personalities, these women have no demonstrable talent, and in almost every case when they appear on variety...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 6, 2017

Japan recalls envoys over new 'comfort women' statue in Busan

The Japanese ambassador to South Korea is recalled over a new statue representing the wartime “comfort women” near the Japanese Consul in Busan.
Japan Times
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 6, 2017

Winning F.A. Cup not high on priority list for many

It is F.A. Cup third-round weekend or, as English Premier League clubs call it, a chance to rest the top stars.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 6, 2017

Norway to switch off FM radio in risky, unpopular shift to digital

Norway is set to become the first nation to start switching off its FM radio network next week in a risky and unpopular leap to digital technology that will be closely watched by other countries considering whether to follow suit.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2017

The perils of excessive moralism in foreign policy

The liberal moralistic approach to foreign affairs can be welcome, but there is also an obligation to find the causes of the seemingly immoral behavior of the other side.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 5, 2017

Day after 'economy first' comments, Abe promotes revising postwar Constitution to LDP

A day after stressing that the economy will be his top priority this year, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a different message to members of his party on Thursday, saying he will promote discussion on revising the postwar Constitution.

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