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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 8, 2016

Philippine fishermen favor strong president to end China's blockade of Scarborough Shoal

Beached on a grass bank overlooking the South China Sea, a 30-foot (9-meter) trawler named "Marvin" has sat idle since China's coast guard began driving away Philippine fishermen after a fierce standoff four years ago.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 7, 2016

Domestic violence: 'Abuse was all I knew'

There's an almost dispassionate matter-of-factness in the way Risa Tanaka describes how she was tortured by her husband.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 7, 2016

Paying for a can of peaches shows North Korean currency escaping regime's grip

For a country that trumpets the success of its economic system and the power of its local currency, it is very difficult as a foreigner in North Korea to buy anything with it.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2016

Britain's Labour suffers losses in regional election

Britain's Labour Party suffered losses on Friday in regional and local elections, especially in Scotland, but waited to see if it would, as expected, capture the big prize of London mayor.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 6, 2016

Expert sees Japan's high level of digital rights offset by public disinclined to curb Big Brother

Japan's restrictions on freedom of expression are growing but its sleepy public might not wake up before it's too late, a U.N. special rapporteur warns.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 4, 2016

Tough-talking Duterte keeps poll lead a week before Philippine elections

A tough-talking mayor running for the presidency of the Philippines has kept his double-digit lead five days before elections, despite allegations he had undeclared millions of pesos in a bank, the latest opinion poll has showed.
EDITORIALS
May 3, 2016

North Korea's political logic

The North Korean regime uses provocations to survive, and the upcoming party congress will applaud the leadership for being so 'shrewd.'
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 3, 2016

Clinton treads on Trump turf in ailing Appalachia, faces backlash over Obama's 'war on coal'

U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton talked to steel workers in the Appalachian region about their economic struggles on Monday, as she tried to win over blue-collar voters in a part of the country where support for Republican Donald Trump is strong.
EDITORIALS
May 2, 2016

The Constitution, 69 years on

Despite Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to convince the public otherwise, there is no need at this time to revise the pacifist Constitution.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 2, 2016

Philippine front-runner open to talks with China on sea dispute

Rodrigo Duterte, the tough-talking Davao City mayor who is leading Philippine presidential polls, said he will hold bilateral talks with China to resolve a territorial dispute in the South China Sea if the current multilateral discussions do not bear fruit within two years.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2016

Trump says it's over for Cruz before Indiana, urges voters to back his 'mandate for genius'

Front-runner Donald Trump said on Sunday that he will have essentially sealed the Republican U.S. presidential nomination if he wins Tuesday's contest in Indiana, where he holds a big lead over chief rival Ted Cruz.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 1, 2016

Muslim is seen as favorite to run London after racially charged mayoral race

Sadiq Khan, a Muslim lawmaker from Britain's opposition Labour Party, is the strong favorite to win London's mayoral election Thursday after a bitter contest marked by religious tensions and accusations of racism.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Apr 30, 2016

Hailing the benefits of raising a stink

In the 1980s, when I was living in northern Nagano Prefecture and hiking the mountains with members of the local Hunters Association, I was always making a lot of fuss about the depredation of ancient forests being instigated by the Forestry Agency — a branch of the national government that, at the...
EDITORIALS
Apr 28, 2016

Supreme Court's probe falls short

The top court's probe into 'special trials' held for leprosy patients accused of criminal offenses failed to address whether the defendants recieved justice.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2016

Sibling rivalry with lawmaker brother threatens Fujimori's bid ahead of Peru vote

A spat between presidential contender Keiko Fujimori and her younger brother over the future leadership of the political movement they inherited from their ex-president father could cost her key votes in Peru's tight June 5 run-off election.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2016

Half of Americans think presidential nominating system 'rigged': poll

More than half of American voters believe that the system U.S. political parties use to pick their candidates for the White House is "rigged" and more than two-thirds want to see the process changed, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2016

Checkered pattern by artist Tokolo chosen as logo for 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizers pick a stark indigo-and-white checkered circle as the games' replacement emblem after the original design was scrapped last year amid claims of plagiarism.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2016

What's up with U.S. black voters?

Unlike Sanders, Clinton has consistently supported policies that have had a devastating impact on African-Americans — yet most black voters support her.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Apr 24, 2016

Shakai hoken shake-up will open up pensions for some but close door on benefits for others

Law will enable some workers to join the employees' health and pension insurance system but will legally freeze out many more.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 24, 2016

Young voters' fear of 'Hell Chosun' puts South Korea's Park on back foot

Spend any time on South Korean social media sites, and you're bound to see the phrase "Hell Chosun." For Korean millennials, that refers to the hellish future that lies ahead. Such youthful disillusionment goes a long way toward explaining the electoral drubbing voters gave President Park Geun-hye's...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 23, 2016

Ebb tide for press freedoms in Shinzo Abe's Japan

A perfect storm is descending on freedom of the press in Japan: The country just sank to No. 72 in the global press freedom ranking issued Wednesday by Reporters Without Borders, down from No. 11 in 2010. And David Kaye, the U.N. special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 22, 2016

Pachinko firm scores with iPhone-cracking digital forensics unit

The hackers at Cellebrite Mobile Synchronization Ltd., the forensics unit of a little-known Japanese pinball company, are fast becoming the go-to guys when law enforcement needs to unlock smartphones. Its group chief has plans to keep the firm on the front lines against terrorism.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 22, 2016

Obama urges 'friend' U.K. to stay in EU but Brexit camp tells him to 'butt out'

U.S. President Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal on Friday for Britain to remain in the European Union, saying membership had magnified Britain's place in the world and made the bloc stronger and more outward looking.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2016

Trump and Clinton gain more than delegates

Hillary Clinton has the Democratic nomination all but locked up, and Donald Trump is back on track.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2016

Japan's government defends against multiple accusations of stifling press freedom

The government is on the back foot in the wake of mounting global criticism to the effect that the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is threatening press freedom in Japan.

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