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EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2016

Democracy under siege in 2017?

The struggle between democrats and authoritarians will likely be the defining fight of the year to come.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 30, 2016

Leitch leading in Canada's Conservative Party leadership race

Canada's answer to Donald Trump is a pediatric surgeon and former Cabinet minister who, like the U.S. president-elect, is railing against immigration and political elites.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2016

Japan looks to Singapore for ideas as Diet debate over new casino law looms

What are the odds that the public can be convinced of the case for legalized casino gambling?
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 28, 2016

Blood and benefits: Duterte imposes his formula on the Philippines

Rodrigo Duterte has kept his word.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 28, 2016

Crisis of democratic politics

The Abe administration is also riding on the wave of anti-establishment politics that's sweeping the world.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Dec 25, 2016

Train, casino, reactor woes to grab Kansai headlines in '17

A casino, an expo, tourists, trains, and old nuclear power plants. These are just some of the major issues the Kansai region faces in 2017.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 25, 2016

Will Trump's foreign policy push Japan to go nuclear?

Japan is dancing with the devil in thinking of an arms race or the nuclear option to make up for lack of Donald Trump's support.
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2016

Four years of Abe in power

Four years on, Abe's grip on power seems as strong as ever. The question remains how and where he will use his ample political resources.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 17, 2016

Charity in Japan begins at home

Domestic nonprofit organizations face a number of obstacles in their attempts to make a difference in people's lives.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 17, 2016

Undercover journalist infiltrates Uniqlo

In her Dec. 14 Tokyo Shimbun column, media critic Minako Saito mentioned how the press is excited about the buzzword of the year and the kanji of the year. They are much less interested in another annual prize, the Black Company Award for the firm that most egregiously exploits workers. The nominations...
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 16, 2016

Zidane questions video reviews after Madrid's Club World Cup semifinal win

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane voiced concern that FIFA's new video review system "could cause confusion" after guiding his team to the Club World Cup final on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2016

A new Russia policy needs Exxon CEO's skills

The moral satisfaction of not encouraging a dictator may be important, but the Obama administration's policy ended up enabling Putin's most reprehensible gambles and consolidated Putin's domestic support.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 14, 2016

After fall of Aleppo, Syria's Assad still far from regaining his country

When President Bashar Assad turns from the wreckage of Aleppo to assert his authority across a fractured Syria, it will be as a figure who is virtually unassailable by rebels, but still faces great challenges in restoring the power of his state.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Dec 13, 2016

Hanyu adds to legacy with latest triumph

Yuzuru Hanyu's victory at the Grand Prix Final in Marseille, France, on Saturday made it five straight years that a Japanese man has won the title at the event.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Dec 13, 2016

Indonesia transfixed as tearful Jakarta governor appears at blasphemy trial

A tearful governor of Jakarta denied Tuesday he had intended to insult the Quran at the start of his blasphemy trial in the Indonesian capital, which is seen as a test of religious freedom in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 10, 2016

Last splash: How long will the immodest Japanese tradition of mixed bathing continue?

The main reason that mixed baths have endured for so long is that communities have still supported them. When an onsen stops being a gathering place for locals, there's less to stop it slipping into disrepute.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Dec 10, 2016

Meiji Restoration leader's lessons of sincerity

Is there any understanding a man like Saigo Takamori? His spirit seems as vast as his bulk, and his bulk was that of a sumo wrestler. He is "the quintessential hero of modern Japanese history," said historian Ivan Morris.
EDITORIALS
Dec 10, 2016

Keeping Olympic costs down

Solid efforts have been made to cut the cost of hosting the Olympics, but even more should be done.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 9, 2016

Pressure U.S. on free trade

The biggest loser in the U.S. presidential election was free trade.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 9, 2016

China's colleges must serve the Communist Party, Xi says

China's President Xi Jinping has called for allegiance to the ruling Communist Party from the country's colleges and universities, the latest effort by Beijing to tighten its hold on education.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2016

China should heed Pearl Harbor's lessons

Just as Japan did in the 1930s, China is defying international opinion and challenging the maritime status quo in the western Pacific.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 7, 2016

So you want to write about Japan?: the 10 essential tips

Having taken the daring — not reckless or avoidant — step of leaving your home country, you now have a million stories to tell.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 7, 2016

Setting the record straight on war's start

Startling evidence has been unearthed revealing machinations by the Japanese military to shift blame after the war over the surprise attacks that started the conflict.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Dec 6, 2016

Hamada's magic touch getting results, attention

For the second year in a row three skaters who are mentored by the same coach will be representing Japan at this week's Grand Prix Final in Marseille, France.
EDITORIALS
Dec 6, 2016

Europe shaken by Italian vote

Matteo Renzi's decision to resign ushers in a political and economic crisis for Italy — and for Europe.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 6, 2016

U.N. chief Ban may be unwitting loser in South Korean presidential scandal

Besides South Korean President Park Geun-hye, the biggest casualty of the country's mushrooming political corruption scandal may be the presidential aspirations of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Longform

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