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Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 19, 2013

Manning trial judge declines to dismiss key charge he 'aided the enemy'

A U.S. military judge on Thursday declined to dismiss a key charge against the army private responsible for the largest leak of classified material in American history, a decision with significant implications for the future publication of secret government material.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2013

U.S. intelligence in bed with business

Thousands of technology, finance and manufacturing companies are working closely with U.S. national security agencies, providing sensitive information and in return receiving benefits that include access to classified intelligence, four people familiar with the process said.
WORLD
Jun 12, 2013

U.S. tech giants urge NSA transparency

Technology companies stung by the controversy over the National Security Agency's sweeping Internet surveillance program are calling on U.S. officials to ease the secrecy surrounding national security investigations and lift long-standing gag orders covering the nature and extent of information collected about Internet users.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 11, 2013

New ID system for keeping tax tabs, finding cheats

The Diet passed the "common number" bill May 24, paving the way for every resident, including foreigners, to be assigned a personal identification number.
WORLD
Jun 7, 2013

U.S. spies track all Verizon calls

The National Security Agency appears to be collecting the telephone records of millions of American customers of Verizon, one of the nation's largest phone companies, under a top-secret court order issued in April.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2012

Key crisis contact heads for London

As deputy Cabinet secretary for public affairs, Noriyuki Shikata instantly realized his workload would skyrocket when the Great East Japan Earthquake struck, but admits being taken aback by the flood of requests that started pouring in from overseas media.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 3, 2012

Volunteers struggle to track neediest residents

Welfare commissioners cover a broad array of tasks, including regularly checking in on elderly and disabled residents, looking for signs of child abuse, providing local residents with information about services, and even helping them dispose of garbage.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 16, 2011

Smartphones new security battlefield

Smartphones have become a global phenomenon and in Japan in particular people are rapidly replacing their old cellphones with new handsets that are more like small computers with ever-increasing applications.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2009

Managing fads, frenzies and finance markets

BARCELONA — The financial crisis, credit crunch and ensuing economic downturn have severely damaged the credibility of financial markets, institutions and traders. More and more people are claiming that markets are characterized by irrationality, bubbles, fads and frenzies, and that economic actors...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 10, 2008

Making quality the key to Web searches

NEW YORK — In the not-so-distant future, students will be able to graduate from high school without ever touching a book. Twenty years ago, they could graduate from high school without ever using a computer. In only a few decades, computer technology and the Internet have transformed the core principles...
EDITORIALS
Apr 7, 2008

The secrets of the sea

The investigative unit of the Ground Self-Defense Force has sent up a paper on an Air Self-Defense Force officer to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, accusing him of passing a "defense-related secret" to a Yomiuri Shimbun reporter in connection with a 2005 newspaper article. The unit acted...
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2008

Privacy vs. Juki Net

The Supreme Court earlier this month declared as constitutional the nationwide Juki Net residency registry network, ruling against residents who had filed four separate lawsuits. Citing the possible danger of information leakage and use of information for illegitimate purposes, residents from Osaka,...
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2005

James Bond goes Japanese? Tokyo eyes MI6-style spy agency

The idea of a Japanese James Bond may sound hilarious, but serious discussions are under way in Japan on whether to create a secret intelligence service along the lines of Britain's MI6 to conduct overseas espionage.
Japan Times
Features
May 8, 2005

Where to go for a lark in the park

There may be no place better than home to haul in friends for a good grilling -- if you have a big enough balcony or a garden. But for those lacking such spaces, or those who just enjoy getting out, here are some barbecue sites where your group may not be alone, but you'll likely be in good company....
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2005

Laws to protect personal info kick in, criticized

Laws to protect personal information took effect Friday, banning the public and private sectors from using information on a person other than for its intended purpose and from providing it to a third party without permission.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2004

Multilingual broadcasting gives support to all disaster survivors

FM Nagaoka in the quake-hit city of Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, began broadcasting earthquake-information programs in different languages Monday, in a growing trend to provide more emergency services for foreign residents.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 8, 2002

Info brokers have got your number, among other things

In the spring of 1999, Haruo Tanaka (not his real name) became interested in buying a condominium and visited several showrooms in Tokyo. Each time, he was asked to fill out a questionnaire. He provided his name, age, address and phone number as well as his annual income.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2001

Tanaka-bureaucrat standoff yet to let up

Despite the announcement Wednesday of Foreign Ministry reform plans and the lifting Monday of a "freeze" on personnel transfers, the standoff between Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka and senior bureaucrats is showing no signs of abating.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2001

Progress alone won't be enough

IT, shorthand for information technology, was a buzzword in Japan in 2000. Never before had computers and the Internet caused such a furor in the media. To be sure, IT had created a boom several times in the past, but its impact had been confined to the corporate sector. In contrast, the latest boom...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Oct 24, 2000

Okinawan sounds old and new resonate through the mainland

For a reason that has so far confounded me, October and November usually herald a spate of Okinawan concerts and releases on the mainland, leading to unfortunate clashes of dates. This year is no exception: The Ryukyu Festival in Tokyo (previewed in this column) in early October unfortunately fell on...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2000

Report on data privacy gets nod, exempts press

A government committee formalized a blueprint on Wednesday for basic legislation designed to protect personal information held by private organizations but explicitly exempting the media.
JAPAN
May 7, 1999

Disclosure worries persist in Kansai

OSAKA -- Passage of the freedom-of-information bill Friday was welcomed here with caution by members of supporting citizens' groups, who expressed concern over just how the law will be applied.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 1998

Cabinet sends info disclosure bill to Diet

The Cabinet approved a bill March 27 that would require government ministries and agencies to disclose information on their activities at the public's request -- a step toward a more democratized society.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 1998

Local efforts serving as wedge for disclosure

Second in a series
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 16, 2023

U.S. airman who leaked files is indicted on charges of mishandling secrets

Jack Teixeira’s disclosures have bared rifts between the United States and its allies and given Russia information about intelligence-gathering methods.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 9, 2023

Japan, long a prime target for spying, seeks to improve handling of sensitive info

The lack of a comprehensive security clearance system for individuals, including government and private-sector officials eligible for handling sensitive information, is creating headaches.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visit an exhibition of military equipment on July 27.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 8, 2023

North Korean hackers breached top Russian missile-maker

Experts say the incident shows how the isolated country will even target its allies in a bid to acquire critical technologies.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake