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COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 14, 2015

Japan's public diplomacy is expensive and errant

Global understanding does not come cheaply. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has budgeted ¥70 billion — yes, that's more than $500 million — to help get the word out about Japan and ensure that China and South Korea aren't the only ones controlling the narrative.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 13, 2015

Uranium-rich Australia puts its nuclear taboo under review

While Australia is home to the world's largest uranium reserves, it has never had a nuclear power plant. Now, amid growing concerns over climate change, the government is weighing whether to reverse its long-held ban.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2015

Author Sono calls for racial segregation in op-ed piece

A prominent author and former government adviser calls for Japan to adopt a system to force immigrants to live separately from Japanese in zones based on race.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 11, 2015

The U.S.-India nuclear breakthrough that wasn't

Nuclear power faces an uncertain future, with few new reactors under construction in the West. Yet India has continued to place the nuclear deal at the hub of its relationship with America.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 11, 2015

Has Australia caught the revolving leader bug?

With three prime ministers in the past two years and maybe a fourth before long, has Australia caught the dreaded Japanese disease of revolving leaders?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 11, 2015

A search for meaning in the arc of Goto’s life and the horror of his death

The frenzy of the hostage crisis and the visceral terror of the Islamic State group's executions have for a moment ushered Syria into Japanese youth's sphere of concern.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 10, 2015

Netanyahu considering changes to Congress speech after criticism

Israeli officials are considering amending the format of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned address to the U.S. Congress next month to try to calm some of the partisan furor the Iran-focused speech has provoked.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 8, 2015

Is Australia ready to import Japan’s revolving-door-style politics?

Australian politics has worked itself into a frenzy. Prime Minister Tony Abbott, after ridiculing the previous Labor government for its public infighting, faces a leadership challenge from inside his own Liberal Party.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 7, 2015

In violent times, young Japanese just shrug

The weekly Shukan Kinyobi discerns a "new fatalism" among young people. Meaning what? A feeling that effort reaps no rewards and so is not worth making; that the world is what it is and cannot be changed — at least not by me, even if I felt like changing it, which I don't; that luck or inborn talent...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 7, 2015

Abe acts quickly to exploit Japan's 'nightmare'

On adjacent televisions at my gym, I watched breaking news on the beheading of journalist Kenji Goto by the Islamic State group next to a "One Piece" anime segment in which fresh-faced youth defended their boat from marauding pirates. The kids routed them in a jiffy and suffered no casualties, a metaphorical...
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2015

Hostage crisis over, Abe looks to 2016 to launch constitutional amendment drive

With the Islamic State hostage crisis over, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his long-sought goal of revising the Constitution should be chased in summer 2016.
MORE SPORTS / TYSON-DOUGLAS SHOCKER REVISITED
Feb 5, 2015

Whiting says booming economy brought Tyson-Douglas bout to Tokyo

Best-selling author Robert Whiting, who penned an epic series for The Japan Times examining the legacy of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics last fall, has lived in Tokyo for decades. He is a keen observer of the ties that bind the United States and Japan, especially through the prism of sports.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / TYSON-DOUGLAS SHOCKER REVISITED
Feb 5, 2015

Seeing Douglas shock Tyson gave Lewis confidence

Editor's note: Looking back at one of the greatest upsets in sports history, The Japan Times is featuring a series of stories over the next several days to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Mike Tyson-James "Buster" Douglas fight on Feb. 11, 1990, at Tokyo Dome.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 4, 2015

Sending arms to Kiev would be big gamble for U.S.

By considering giving weapons to Ukraine, the United States is contemplating a risky venture that advocates say would help end the conflict in Ukraine but opponents warn might fan the flames of war.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 4, 2015

Multivitamins may help ward off common cold

Vitamin and mineral supplements are big business in Japan, but are they really any use?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 3, 2015

Hostage crisis could influence Japan's Mideast priorities

As shock waves over the execution of two Japanese hostages by the Islamic State group continue to reverberate, questions emerge about the effect the crisis may have on Japan's Middle East policies.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 3, 2015

Anti-Islam group PEGIDA holds first Austria march

PEGIDA, the anti-Islam movement born in Germany, drew hundreds of supporters and counterdemonstrators to the streets of Vienna when it held its first march in neighboring Austria on Monday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices
Feb 2, 2015

Tokyo: Does anyone else share responsibility for the death of Kenji Goto?

After the killing of a second Japanese hostage, Kenji Goto, by the Islamic State group, Mark Buckton asked people whether others share some culpability in his death. Some interviewees declined to have their pictures and surnames published.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2015

Conflict-zone scribes fear fallout from intrepid journalist's death

The tragic death of Kenji Goto highlights a dilemma that the journalism community in Japan has long struggled with: how much of a risk reporters should take on when working in dangerous conflict zones.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 1, 2015

Australian state election bodes ill for Abbott government

Australia's opposition Labor party pulled off a huge electoral turnaround in a key state on Saturday, positioning it to oust the ruling Liberal-National Party in a voter backlash that threatens the future of Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 31, 2015

Texas Governor to declare Feb. 2 'Chris Kyle Day' in honor of 'American Sniper'

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday he would officially declare Feb. 2 "Chris Kyle Day" in the state, in honor of the late U.S. Navy Seal sharpshooter portrayed in the film "American Sniper."
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 30, 2015

BOJ doesn't need more stimulus: top-rated economist

Japan's top-rated economist says the central bank doesn't need more stimulus, defying the consensus.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 30, 2015

U.S. poll finds gaping chasm in views between public, scientists

American scientists and the general public hold vastly different views on key scientific issues including the role of people in causing climate change, the safety of genetically modified food, and evolution, a poll released on Thursday showed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2015

Goto gets sunset deadline extension

A new audio message purportedly from hostage Kenji Goto on Thursday morning declared that Jordan must present female prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi at the Turkish border by sunset on Thursday, or Jordanian air force pilot Mu’ath al-Kaseasbeh would be executed immediately.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 28, 2015

Making your U.S. tax filing from Japan that little bit less ... taxing

Calvin Tong, an American taxation expert and long-term Japan resident, explains recent changes in U.S. taxation laws that have left many Americans here confused.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 28, 2015

Syriza win forces Europe's center-left to reconsider austerity

European politicians at opposite ends of the spectrum celebrated the election victory of Greece's anti-austerity Syriza party on Monday, but Alexis Tsipras' post-communist triumph is forcing mainstream leftists to reconsider their position.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 26, 2015

Japan's media grapple with free speech, faith and immigration after Charlie Hebdo attack

What does the Japanese media have to say about the recent events in France? The weeklies have got something for everyone.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jan 26, 2015

Tokyo: Should Japan be negotiating with Islamic State for the release of Kenji Goto?

After the apparent killing of hostage Haruna Yukawa, Mark Buckton asked people in Tokyo whether the government should be talking to the terrorists holding journalist Kenji Goto.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 26, 2015

Where's the milk? School lunches no longer sacred cows

The cost of a school lunch is now higher than the average salaryman's lunch.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Jan 25, 2015

Kansai spearheads campaign against hate speech

On Feb. 24, 2013, Osaka's Tsuruhashi district, home to one of Japan's largest concentrations of ethnic Koreans and in recent years a major tourist destination, was the scene of a shocking incident.

Longform

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