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Reader Mail
Jan 8, 2016

Thai government on road to reform

Regarding the opinion piece by Pavin Chachavalpongpun in the Dec. 21 edition titled "Thailand in 2015: a year of spinning its wheels," I wish to make the following clarifications:
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 7, 2016

Abe, Park leverage newly improved bilateral ties to condemn North Korea

Demonstrating the recent improvement in their bilateral relationship, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye have agreed to jointly condemn North Korea’s latest nuclear test.
EDITORIALS
Jan 7, 2016

North Korea's latest nuclear blast

If North Korea set off its latest nuclear test to gain political and economic concessions, the international community needs to be united to make sure it doesn't pay off.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2016

'Zainichi' Koreans say North Korean nuclear test may fuel discrimination in Japan

Korean residents in Japan expressed anger and disappointment at North Korea, saying its test could fuel anti-Korean sentiment.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Jan 6, 2016

For Japan's English teachers, rays of hope amid the race to the bottom

The major economic engines of Japan Inc. — car manufacturers, appliance giants and the like — have often been caught price-fixing: colluding to keep an even market share, squeeze competitors out and maintain "harmony." Similarly, the commercial English-teaching business could be accused of wage-fixing:...
WORLD / Society
Jan 6, 2016

Illinois college moves to fire professor who said Muslims, Christians worship same God

Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian university outside of Chicago, said on Tuesday it was taking steps to fire a tenured political science professor after she wrote in a Facebook post that Muslims and Christians worship the same God.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 6, 2016

Parliament to debate petition seeking to bar Trump from U.K. over Muslim slur but no vote planned

British lawmakers are to hold a debate on a petition signed by more than half a million people calling for U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to be barred from Britain after his proposal to stop Muslims entering the United States.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AT A GLANCE
Jan 5, 2016

Japan's public baths hope foreign tourists will help keep the taps running

Japan's public baths, known as sento, represent an institution with hundreds of years of history. They provided an important public service in the days before homes had their own hot-water bathtubs.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 5, 2016

Oregon protesters find support and scorn on social media

A group of self-styled militiamen occupying the headquarters of a U.S. national wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon to protest the imminent imprisonment of two ranchers took to social media on Monday to drum up support for their cause.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2016

Japan's rural temples see the light in luxury tourism

Deep in a forest in Fukui Prefecture, a 13th century Buddhist temple where Steve Jobs once dreamed of becoming a Zen monk has teamed up with a Tokyo skyscraper builder to seek the commercial enlightenment of foreign tourist dollars.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES
Jan 4, 2016

Isolation a real danger for men caring for an elderly relative

Like many people who care for elderly family members at home, Norio Watanabe, 51, struggled to deal with the physical and mental burdens of looking after his father, who had dementia.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 4, 2016

Head of Western-backed Syrian opposition to visit China this week

The head of the Western-backed opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) will visit China this week, as Beijing seeks to deepen ties with all sides in the conflict to help bring about a peaceful resolution.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 3, 2016

Battles over history, the media and the message scar 2015

A rundown of the top 10 human rights issues of the past year as they affected non-Japanese residents.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2016

Modi's surprise Christmas Day visit to Pakistan

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again shows his talent for the spectacular with an impromptu stopover in Pakistan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES
Jan 3, 2016

Options available to mitigate dangers of living alone with dementia

At first glance, it's hard to tell what's wrong with Keiko Sawada. As casual exchanges continue, however, it becomes increasingly clear the former bar hostess has serious memory problems.
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2015

The 'comfort women' agreement

The 'comfort women' accord may only be the beginning of a process that will test Japan and South Korea's readiness to overcome differences and build mutual trust.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 31, 2015

Microsoft failed to warn victims of Chinese email hack: former employees

Microsoft experts concluded several years ago that Chinese authorities had hacked into more than a thousand Hotmail email accounts, targeting international leaders of China's Tibetan and Uighur minorities in particular — but it decided not to tell the victims, allowing the hackers to continue their...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2015

Transformation to a more sustainable and just world

While bad news often dominated headlines in 2015, it was also a year of progress and breakthroughs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 29, 2015

'Comfort women' deal likely to fuel Tokyo-Seoul military cooperation, aid Obama pivot

Japan and South Korea's landmark accord to end the divisive "comfort women" dispute will lead to increased economic and military cooperation between the U.S. allies, complementing the Obama administration's efforts to counter China's rise and North Korea's nuclear saber-rattling.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 29, 2015

Time traveling back to the major screwups of 2015

From the fizzling out of Abenomics to China's stock fiasco, here are five of Asia's policy missteps this year.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2015

U.N. improves its leadership selection process

The selection of the new secretary-general is arguably one of the most important decisions that the international community will make for the next 10 years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 27, 2015

'Star Wars' takes Chinese social media by storm ahead of release

After a mammoth marketing campaign, the growing online chatter in China around "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" suggests that the latest installment of the hit film franchise has a shot at breaking box-office records in the world's second-largest movie market.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 26, 2015

'Ōsōji': ways to keep your home spick and span

Three experts discuss their philosophy on the New Year's chore that everybody loves — cleaning.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Dec 26, 2015

Catching the last of the season’s leaves at Shiba Daimon

When I exit the Oedo Subway Line's Daimon Station, I find myself inside an ebullient throng of Chinese tourists headed in the direction of the prominent Jodo-shu (Pure Land Sect) Buddhist Zojoji Temple. The temple's oldest structure, the elegant 1622 red-lacquered Sangedatsumon gate, is a National Important...
Reader Mail
Dec 26, 2015

Learning from past best way to move forward

Criticism is always fair game. When it borders on make-believe it is worth correcting. In his Dec. 20 letter to the editor regarding the article "50 Japanese scholars fire back in McGraw-Hill sex slave row" in the Dec. 12 issue, Jason Morgan's intentionally misreads my words to create scurrilous fantasy....

Longform

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