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COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2014

Who'll pay for the Iraq sins?

Will the purveyors of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq ever do penance for their sins of warmongering?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 30, 2014

China suffers karoshi, as white-collar workers die from overwork

Chinese banking regulator Li Jianhua literally worked himself to death. After 26 years of "always putting the cause of the party and the people" first, his employer said this month, the 48-year-old official died rushing to finish a report before the sun came up.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 28, 2014

Sexist remarks seen through a clouded lens

It's assumed that the heckling of Tokyo assembly member Ayaka Shiomura by some of her male colleagues on June 18 became a major news story in Japan only after the foreign press picked it up as an example of intractable Japanese sexism. The situation is more nuanced than how Western media described it,...
COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 28, 2014

Abe's nuclear renaissance ignores stiff opposition

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's nuclear renaissance involves downplaying risks, restarting reactors, building new ones, and exporting reactor technology and equipment. A number of hurdles remain before he can rev up the reactors, but the summer of 2014 will probably be Japan's last nuclear-free one for decades...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 27, 2014

Collective defense deal near

The ruling coalition closes in on three new standards that would let the Japanese military use force in cases other than when Japan is under attack.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jun 27, 2014

Outlook grim for England following debacle in Brazil

I have rarely been so pessimistic about the future of the England national team.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 27, 2014

'Reinterpreting' Article 9 endangers Japan's rule of law

The most serious problem with the recommendations of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's advisory panel on reinterpreting Article 9 of the Consititution is that they reflect a result-oriented analysis driven by national security imperatives rather than constitutional law principles.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2014

Legal tussle over parental ties

Japan's Supreme Court next month is scheduled to hear two cases that challenge the traditional legal presumption of a father-child relationship when DNA test results deny the existence of blood ties.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2014

Tepco shrugs off activist investors

Tokyo Electric Power Co. shot down a bevy of anti-nuclear policy proposals lobbed up by irate shareholders at its annual meeting Thursday in Tokyo and vowed instead to restart its idled reactors.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2014

Deceptive labor shortages

Is Japan experiencing a real economic recovery or an attempt by the Abe administration to cheer people up with the appearance of lively labor markets?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 26, 2014

Beer garden season begins with a hearty 'kanpai'

When the first Biergarten (beer gardens) started popping up in Germany's Bavarian region in the late 19th century, who would've thought that they would one day come to represent summer in Japan. Well, I guess it's not that unbelievable.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 25, 2014

Sexist slurs present chance to improve decorum in politics

Discriminatory remarks in the assembly hall aren't rare in the world of Japanese politics, but a recent incident involving sexist slurs may offer the chance to end a shameful tradition.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jun 25, 2014

Is Japan a haven for expats with psychological problems? Readers discuss

Readers clash on the merits of William Bradbury's recent Foreign Agenda article, 'Japan: a haven for the psychologically troubled.'
EDITORIALS
Jun 25, 2014

Stop undermining Kono statement

A government panel has reported that some parts of the 1993 statement by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono concerning the "comfort women" at Japan's wartime frontline brothels were the product of diplomatic negotiations between Tokyo and Seoul. Still, the panel's findings do not change the basic...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 24, 2014

Humanoid robot exhibit opens in Tokyo

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan) on Tuesday unveiled three humanoid robots that are to be put on display so visitors can interact with them.
EDITORIALS
Jun 24, 2014

Funding the corporate tax cut

The Abe administration's decision to cut corporate taxes as a key feature of its economic growth strategy doesn't indicate how a fiscally weak government will make up the lost tax revenue even as households face another consumption tax hike next year.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 23, 2014

War history lessons ignored

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is ignoring history as he tries to have the Constitution reintrepreted to enable Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2014

Ironies of Iraq without end despite the best-laid plans

For President Barack Obama to stay true to his vision, judgment and instinct, he must ride out the extremely uncomfortable unpopularity of openly conceding that the Iraq war — of which he is now the prime custodian — never made sense.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2014

Tea party hangs on to its seat at the kids' table

Despite its recent big win, the tea party wing in the U.S. Congress has no more than the ability to say no, to wreak havoc and to generally make House Speaker John Boehner's life miserable. Insiders still set the agenda.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 22, 2014

In Japan's courts, even verbal job offers count

An employer needs a very good reason to legally retract a job offer they have already submitted, whether it be written or verbal.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2014

Bewildering take on the American job market

With the U.S. government's latest monthly employment report, the American job market has entered a bewildering phase. The U.S. may be closer to 'full employment' than is commonly supposed, but the weak recovery since 2009 is hardly typical of economic cycles since World War II.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 22, 2014

Protocol breaches 'led to Anthrax exposure'

The safety breach at a government lab that may have exposed 84 workers to live anthrax centered on a pivotal lapse in procedure: researchers working with the bacteria waited 24 hours to be sure they had killed the pathogens, half the time required by a new scientific protocol.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Jun 21, 2014

The man accused of poisoning Matsumoto's civilians

It is difficult to fathom that a religious group might be behind a poison gas attack on hundreds of civilians. More likely, logic suggests, it would either be the result of a terrible accident or the work of a deranged individual. When confronted with such a scenario in Matsumoto in 1994, the Nagano...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 21, 2014

Advances in robotics present singular worry

'Singularity' is an odd word. Originally it meant peculiarity. Then 20th-century physicists got hold of it and situated it at the very boundary of space-time, to the eternal bafflement of the lay mind.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jun 21, 2014

Inside and Other Short Fiction

The tagline on the cover of this provocative anthology pretty much sums it up in a nutshell: "Japanese women by Japanese women." Featuring eight short stories and a foreword by novelist Ruth Ozeki, "Inside and Other Short Fiction" is a gritty introduction to contemporary writers who explore the issue...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 21, 2014

Does an increase in summer bonuses mean a healthier economy?

Average bonus amounts are going up this summer, but the number of bonuses are going down.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 20, 2014

Confident LDP plays up victories as Diet session comes to a close

A confident Liberal Democratic Party trumpets its achievements as the 186th Diet session winds down as laying strong foundations for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's security and political goals.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2014

Son commits to Wi-Fi spots for foreign visitors

SoftBank Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son said Friday the company will offer free Wi-Fi to foreign tourists in Japan.

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