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JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 15, 2013

Tax-free account seeks to spur investment

Starting in January, individuals who invest in stocks and investment trusts in a Nippon Individual Savings Account will be eligible for tax exemptions of up to five years on their financial gains. The new instrument is aimed at getting people used to accumulating financial assets via small-scale investments....
EDITORIALS
Sep 9, 2013

Anti-democratic secrecy bill

A bill to protect government secrets could undermine the fundamental democratic principles of freedom of information and freedom of the press.
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2011

Freedom of information threatened

A government committee headed by Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura on Oct. 7 decided to submit to the Diet in 2012 a bill to mete out severe punishment to people who leak "special secrets" related to diplomacy, national security and public order. The committee says that the purpose of the bill is...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Nov 27, 2009

Festive offerings at Tokyo hotels

As the Christmas season approaches, hotels warm up the mood with sparkling illuminations and gorgeous tree decorations, and prepare a variety of seasonal events and culinary offerings. Here are some of those special Christmas offerings that Tokyo's premium hotels have this year. Find your best way of...
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2000

Hospitals overcharging for rooms

OSAKA -- Hiromi Hase, 58, and her husband, Michio, were shocked last August when they found out they might have overpaid about 4 million yen when she was hospitalized for leukemia in 1996 and 1997.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 4, 2022

In Ukraine, U.S. veterans step in where the military will not

Special Operations veterans are training Ukrainians near the front lines in the fight against Russia, despite warnings from the Pentagon.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2021

Amazon documents reveal company's secret strategy to dodge India's regulators

The revelations could deepen the risks facing the company as it encounters intensifying government scrutiny in one of its fastest-growing markets.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jan 22, 2021

Hosting U.S. jets brought free school meals to Iwakuni, but some question the trade-off

Residents near Iwakuni base cast doubt over deal sealed under watch of then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.
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
Jun 11, 2014

After Crimea, U.S. trains elite troops in Europe

As NATO refocuses on its eastern borders after Russia's annexation of Crimea, the United States is quietly deploying more troops to train special forces in former Soviet bloc states anxious about Moscow's intentions.
EDITORIALS
Aug 2, 2011

Reform of prosecution

The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office on July 8 announced reform of the special investigation squads, which exist at the district public prosecutors offices in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. The reform was prompted by recent irregular events involving investigators of such squads, which have contributed to...
COMMENTARY
May 8, 2007

Groom Japan's gifted students

On April 11, the public broadcaster NHK's program "Close-up Gendai (Current Affairs)" took up the issue of the International Science Olympiads (ISOs) for middle- and high-school students. The competition tests knowledge in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, informatics, astronomy and other areas...
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2003

Mergers lead to formation of 11 new municipalities

Eleven municipalities across Japan came into being Tuesday through municipal mergers, reflecting the acceleration of such consolidation ahead of the March 2005 expiration of the special merger law.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2001

Koreans weigh merits of gaining Japan citizenship

Staff writer One Hokkaido resident is too proud to give up his South Korean nationality despite the disadvantages it brings while living in Japan.
An apartment building construction site in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, on July 19. Officials at Daito Trust Construction, which oversees the building project, say heatstroke dangers are a top concern given their aging workforce.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Jul 30, 2023

In Japan, extreme heat and an aging population are a deadly mix

Heat waves combined with high humidity are weighing particularly heavily on the nation’s 36 million people age 65 and over, who are at much greater risk of severe illness and death.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 4, 2023

Foreign minors born, raised in Japan to be eligible for residency

The move comes in response to a controversial revision to the asylum law that was passed earlier this year.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on July 29
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 6, 2023

U.S. prosecutors ask for protective order, citing threatening Trump post

Despite a history of online bullying, Trump’s campaign issued a statement insisting that he was practicing his First Amendment rights.
Shohei Ohtani's free agency is expected to be among the wildest pursuits of a player in baseball history.
BASEBALL
Aug 9, 2023

Angels hoping to stay in the Shohei Ohtani business

Whether the two-way phenom remains an Angel for two more months, or the rest of his career, is an open question.
Charles McGonigal, formerly the FBI's top counterintelligence official in New York, arrives with his attorney, Seth DuCharme (left), at the Federal District Court in New York on Tuesday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 16, 2023

Ex-FBI official pleads guilty to violations for Russian oligarch

Charles McGonigal had overseen the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division in New York, where he led efforts to root out foreign spies.
A Saudi Aramco oil tank at the Ras Tanura refinery and terminal in Saudi Arabia
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 27, 2023

U.N. experts challenge Saudi Aramco over climate change

The largely state-owned enterprise plans to ramp up national oil production capacity to 13 million barrels per day by 2027.
The Nagor fishing harbor in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India, in 2016
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 28, 2023

Indian fishermen use smartphones to map a vanishing way of life

Port and power plant development plans could beach a flotilla of boats that trawl the waters for mackerel and sea bass.
Oleg Panchurin, 32, head of the Union of Veterans of the Special Military Operation, speaks during an interview in the town of Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, on Aug. 25.
WORLD
Sep 18, 2023

Back from Ukraine war, Russia's veterans begin reintegration

In the last few months, Russian media have reported a rise in incidents involving veterans from the front.
Leaves of marijuana plants from which hemp fibers are extracted at Japan's largest legal marijuana farm in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on July 5, 2016
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 21, 2023

Does a university cannabis scandal point to a larger trend?

A drugs scandal at Japan’s biggest university draws attention to a troubling statistic: Cannabis use among young people is on the rise.
Commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet Vice-Admiral Viktor Sokolov in September 2022
WORLD
Sep 26, 2023

Ukraine says Russian Black Sea Fleet commander killed

If confirmed, Viktor Sokolov's killing would be one of Kyiv's most significant strikes on Crimea.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 27, 2023

Court recognizes 128 plaintiffs as Minamata disease sufferers

Presiding Judge Yuki Tatsuno ordered that ¥2.75 million in damages be paid to each of the 128 people who sued the central government.
Two Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers escort the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson during a transit mission in the Philippine Sea in April 2017.
EDITORIALS
Sep 29, 2023

The South China Sea is a test for Japan

The maritime standoff between the Philippines and China risks breaking out into open conflict, one that could ensnare other countries, including Japan.
The classic Japanese ghost story often features a vengeful female ghost.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 12, 2023

[Rebroadcast] Japan’s got ghosts

This week we discuss a few horror movies before “Uncanny Japan” podcast host Thersa Matsuura tells a classic Japanese ghost story.
Hiruzen Kougei employee Moeko Hirao, craft brewer “Sugichan” and furry friend Tsubu help out with the tomato harvest at 6:37 a.m.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Oct 16, 2023

The farmer's intern: A month in the Japanese countryside

Escaping the chaos of Tokyo for a month, our writer heads to rural Okayama Prefecture and discovers the delights of natural farming.
Single-use bathing wear that comes in the form of a blouse or a dress
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Nov 6, 2023

Breast cancer survivors face tough time at public baths

It is customary in Japan not to take clothing or towels into the water at public baths, and some facilities make it a rule for hygienic reasons.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton has finished the last two races second on track, although he was disqualified from the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin when the car failed post-race checks, and has looked increasingly comfortable in the car.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 2, 2023

Hamilton wants to win in Brazil but has sights on future glory

The 38-year-old great has not triumphed since 2021 but he remained optimistic about the future.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.