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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2015

Deconstructing GOP candidate Donald Trump

Donald Trump's announcement of his candidacy for the U.S. presidency is a testament to the vagaries of the capitalist system and the unpredictable turns of history.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2015

Cameron tells EU new terms needed

British Prime Minister David Cameron told European Union leaders Thursday he needs a new deal to keep Britain as a member, opening a struggle over the bloc's future at a summit preoccupied with keeping Greece from crashing out.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2015

Newspapers play a critical role in education

Attempting to shield students from the realities of life that newspapers cover on a daily basis is an exercise in futility.
EDITORIALS
Jun 23, 2015

Time to move bilateral ties forward

Japan and South Korea need to tackle their differences in earnest and move bilateral ties forward.
JAPAN / History / ANALYSIS
Jun 23, 2015

In Okinawa, battle continues over the islands' role in national security

It was apparent at Tuesday's ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa that the past has not faded into history, with issues related to the U.S. military causing tension and sharp differences of opinion with Tokyo over the prefecture's role in maintaining regional...
WORLD
Jun 23, 2015

Australian IS militants who displayed severed heads reportedly killed in Iraq

Australia is close to confirming the reported death in Iraq of two home-grown militants who shot to infamy last year after being photographed holding the severed heads of Syrian soldiers, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 22, 2015

Diet session extended through September as Abe aims to pass contentious security bills

Abe and Komeito's leader decide to extend the Diet session by the most days in postwar history in a bid to enact the controversial security bills.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 20, 2015

Tabloids revel in South Korea's MERS misery

Schadenfreude, a word of German derivation, is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "a feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing or hearing about the troubles of other people." A more succinct definition would be "malicious glee."
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 20, 2015

In search of Japanese and American shared values

There is a good deal of blather about the shared values that are ostensibly the foundation of the alliance between Japan and the United States. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barack Obama invoked this mantra when they met in Washington to finalize new Japan-U.S. defense guidelines that hardly...
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 20, 2015

Slain Charleston pastor to blame for gun deaths, says National Rifle Association executive

A National Rifle Association executive in Texas has come under fire for suggesting that a South Carolina lawmaker and pastor who was slain with eight members of his congregation bears some of the blame for his opposition to permitting concealed handguns in church.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 20, 2015

Obama says church shooting exposes 'blight' of racism, need for gun laws

President Barack Obama on Friday said a mass shooting at a black church in South Carolina exposed the "blight" of racism still present in America, and railed against critics who have accused him of politicizing a tragedy to talk about tougher gun laws.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jun 17, 2015

Indians in Japan — a love story beset with challenges

While the recent increase in the number of Indian residents in Japan might appear substantial, it is small compared to the influx seen in some other countries. So why the big difference?
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 17, 2015

Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood figures sentenced to death over mass jail break

An Egyptian court sentenced deposed President Mohamed Morsi to death on Tuesday over a mass jail break during the country's 2011 uprising and issued sweeping punishments against the leadership of Egypt's oldest Islamic group.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2015

Greece's Tsipras isn't on the side of democracy

The question for Greeks today is whether they think the leftist policies of Syriza will give them a better future with default, capital controls and the drachma.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 16, 2015

Consumer groups skeptical of health claims from new food labels

The first batch of products with new "functional food" labels will hit stores nationwide this week, amid controversy over regulatory policy that critics say is too lax.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Jun 15, 2015

Osaka's assault on ethnic invective stalls

With last week's decision by the Osaka Municipal Assembly to delay a decision on what would have been Japan's first city ordinance to combat hate speech and to issue a nonbinding statement instead, local legal efforts to crack down on racist rhetoric have slowed.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 15, 2015

Jeb Bush runs from Romney's ghost as he readies U.S. presidential bid Monday

When Republican Jeb Bush gathered donors in Miami for an April retreat, it was clear he planned a less-scripted, more-inclusive U.S. presidential campaign bearing little resemblance to that of the unsuccessful 2012 nominee Mitt Romney.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 13, 2015

Above and below the Yamaguchi plains

Three meters above my head, the rectangular offering box of Motonosumi Inari Shrine seems impossibly out of my reach. For the 23rd time, I wind back my arm and attempt to lob my chosen donation between the narrow slats. For the 23rd time, the coin takes on a trajectory I'm certain I didn't intend ......
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Jun 12, 2015

Times advisory board meets, offers recommendations

COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2015

Algorithms give us what we want, but little else

Algorithms may take the guesswork out of marketing, crime prevention and even romance. But they also take the guesswork out of life itself, making it predictably dull.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 11, 2015

Security bills' credibility hobbled by suspicious explanations and reporting: scholars

As the Diet continues debate over a raft of contentious bills that would upend Japan's postwar security regime, some scholars and experts are noting the need for at least some changes to the nation's defense posture considering the security climate in the region — and a more transparent approach to...
EDITORIALS
Jun 9, 2015

Legal doubts over security bills

The Abe administration must address key questions if it's serious about winning the public's support and understanding of its security legislation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 8, 2015

Sincere climate pledge or 'sleight of hand'?

Last week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet announced Japan would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent by 2030, based on 2013 levels. The plan will be presented to delegates at a United Nations conference on climate change in Paris this December.
EDITORIALS
Jun 7, 2015

Abe should heed Onaga's words

To avoid an all-out confrontation with Okinawa, the Abe administration needs to search in earnest for an alternative plan to building a new U.S. Marine base in Henoko.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 6, 2015

New interleague format divides opinion

We're already more than halfway through Japan's interleague season, and I overheard a member of the Japanese media say last week, "The interleague games are not interesting."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 5, 2015

Experts' tongue-lashing rekindles Diet debate on reinterpreted Constitution

The surprise tongue-lashing in the Diet meted out by three noted constitutional scholars has reignited debate on whether the Cabinet's reinterpretation of Article 9 last year was legitimate.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 5, 2015

Relatives in China ship disaster say they were beaten by police

Relatives of passengers missing in the sinking of the Eastern Star cruise ship on the Yangtze River have accused Chinese police of beating them when they sought more information about the disaster.

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