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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 24, 2016

Beijing, four ASEAN nations reach 'consensus' that South China Sea shouldn't affect ties

China has reached an agreement with Brunei, Cambodia and Laos that the South China Sea dispute "should not affect relations" with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2016

Politics threaten global economy

The global economy is slowing, and political problems are as much to blame as economic ones.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 11, 2016

Kerry becomes first U.S. secretary of state to visit Hiroshima memorial

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry became the first top American diplomat to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum on Monday, offering flowers at the cenotaph inside the park in a move that could pave the way for a possible visit by President Barack Obama during the Group of Seven summit...
EDITORIALS
Apr 7, 2016

Zuma adds to South Africa's woes

An economic recovery will be impossible for South Africa as long as it has a leader who is viewed as tainted and unreliable.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 6, 2016

Beijing opens new lighthouse on man-made island in South China Sea

Beijing announced Tuesday that it has begun operating a lighthouse on the man-made island in the contested South China Sea that the U.S. sailed a warship near last October as part of its so-called freedom of navigation program.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 6, 2016

Amnesty slams Japan over death penalty as global executions soar

A human rights group says recorded executions worldwide surged by more than 50 percent last year to the highest level in a quarter-century.
WORLD
Apr 5, 2016

Just 10% of global military spending could make big impact on poverty: think tank

World military spending rose 1 percent in 2015, the first annual increase in four years, a Stockholm think tank said Tuesday as it estimated 10 percent of this could cover the costs of global goals aiming to end poverty and hunger in 15 years.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 2, 2016

Japan's inescapable 'comfort women' problem

Tokyo and Seoul may believe they have resolved the "comfort women" problem after signing a joint agreement in December, but it's wishful thinking and confronts mounting evidence that this diplomatic deceit is already unraveling and falls short of the grand gesture needed to restore dignity to these victims...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2016

Mammoth burger? Ghostbuster device? Japan enjoys a range of April fools

Japanese firms served up lots of fun on April Fools' Day for those sharp enough to spot the joke.
WORLD
Mar 30, 2016

Iran missile tests were 'in defiance of' U.N. resolution: U.S., allies

By launching nuclear-capable missiles, Iran has defied a United Nations Security Council resolution that endorsed last year's historic nuclear deal, the United States and its European allies said in a joint letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2016

French innkeepers share 'minpaku' woes with Japan hoteliers

Operators of hotels and inns wary of the government's plan to deregulate vacation rentals are saying in unison: Look at what happened in France.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2016

Negative rates have helped global economy: IMF's Lagarde

The world economy would be worse off without negative interest rates, according to International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 18, 2016

Tokyo condemns latest North Korean missile tests

North Korea fires two missiles into the Sea of Japan just days after the defiant Kim Jong Un threatens to carry out more nuclear tests and missile launches.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 16, 2016

Argentina coast guard sinks Chinese trawler fishing illegally

Argentina's coast guard has sunk a Chinese trawler that was fishing illegally within the nation's territorial waters, officials from the South American country said on Tuesday, marking a first test of relations between President Mauricio Macri and Beijing.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 16, 2016

Abenomics seen stalling with Toyota pushback against raise

To understand what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is up against in trying to spring Japan from the deflationary trap stunting its economy, consider the pushback by its most prominent industrialist Akio Toyoda at the wage negotiating table this month.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 15, 2016

BOJ's negative rate move proving a gold mine for bullion retailers

The nation's negative interest rates are boosting demand for gold, according to its biggest bullion retailer.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 13, 2016

U.S. serves up Korean 'rocket salad' in war drill response to North's threats

There's more to do in South Korea's heavily forested Rocket Valley, just a few kilometers from the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, than fire rockets. In quieter times, people tend vegetable patches along ice-cold streams.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 11, 2016

BOJ negative rate seen as top tool by analysts, with cut by July

The Bank of Japan's new negative rate is the most likely tool for any expansion of stimulus, with a majority of economists in a survey forecasting additional easing by July.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 11, 2016

Iran executions hit 20-year high in 2015, U.N. investigator says

Iran executed nearly 1,000 prisoners last year, the highest number in two decades, and hundreds of journalists, activists and opposition figures languish in custody, a United Nations investigator said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 8, 2016

China's sweeping military reform

Given the huge size of its armed forces and military spending, China needs to be transparent about its defense policy.
JAPAN / History
Mar 8, 2016

Suga slams findings of U.N. panel on discrimination, cites U.S., U.K. support for 'comfort women' deal

The view of a United Nations committee criticizing the recent "comfort women" agreement between Seoul and Tokyo is "extremely regrettable and unacceptable," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Mar 8, 2016

Xi's handwritten note betrays paradox at the core of Chinese policy

The order came down from the highest levels of China's government, in a handwritten message from President Xi Jinping to officials charged with fixing the country's crashing stock market: Make sure to protect the interests of small and mid-level investors.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 4, 2016

A new maritime balance in Indo-Pacific region

India is conceiving a new and more ambitious role for itself in East Asia and Indo-U.S. interests in the region are converging at an unprecedented rate.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 3, 2016

Nanny who beheaded Russian girl cites revenge for Putin's Syria strikes

A woman who brandished the severed head of a 4-year-old girl in her care outside a Moscow metro station has said she beheaded the child to avenge Muslims killed in the Kremlin's campaign of airstrikes in Syria.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 3, 2016

U.N. sanctions against North toughest yet, but critics say still not enough

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved the toughest sanctions against North Korea in two decades following its nuclear test and missile launch.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 1, 2016

Japan pushes ahead with Hokkaido carbon capture test despite quake concerns

Japan is preparing to test its biggest project yet for capturing and storing greenhouse gas pollution under the seabed despite concerns about cost and the safety of pursuing the technology in a region prone to earthquakes.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan