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Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 3, 2014

Yasukuni: It's open to interpretation

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Yasukuni Shrine in December stirred outrage at home and abroad because he was perceived as promoting his revisionist views on wartime history and violating the constitutional separation of state and religion.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2014

Ministry official knocks down barriers to overseas study

The success of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's effort to internationalize Japan might depend on a young entrepreneur who runs his own educational business.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2014

Momii's rise tests NHK's reputation

For millions of Japanese, and even Japan-watchers abroad, NHK is a trusted source of information: gray in tone perhaps, but neither black nor white on the issues. This assumption has been put to the test by new NHK Chairman Katsuto Momii, whose recent remarks have led many to wonder whether the public...
EDITORIALS
Feb 1, 2014

Defend dolphins, not a 'tradition'

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's argument that the force of tradition justifies the herding, capturing and slaughtering of dolphins is a flimsy one. It is an inhumane practice that should be stopped.
EDITORIALS
Jan 30, 2014

Repair unraveling Tokyo-Seoul ties

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye should realize that the past year showed nothing positive for bilateral relations, which appear to have entered a blind alley.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 28, 2014

Abe in Diet mum on storm over NHK boss' 'comfort women' stance

Seeking to avoid a political minefield, Prime Minister Shinu00adzo Abe declines to comment on NHK Chairman Kau00adtsuto Momii's recent explosive remark on wartime sexual servitude.
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2014

As games loom, barriers for foreign workers show cracks

Japan's barriers to foreign labor are showing signs of cracking as preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics threaten to exacerbate the worst shortage of construction workers in almost 20 years.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 25, 2014

Spinmeister Abe: crisis-mongering and distractions

The news media tends to hyperventilate because this generates a buzz that attracts attention.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 23, 2014

Abe not painting war with China scenario, Suga assures

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Thursday tried to play down the significance of overseas reports that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe compared the current tension between China and Japan to that of Britain and Germany right before World War I, saying Abe wasn't stressing that a war scenario is possible....
Japan Times
JAPAN / DAVOS SPECIAL 2014
Jan 23, 2014

Impact of 2020 Olympics, Paralympics being felt

The scheduled 2020 Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo have had a tremendously positive impact on Japanese people's mind-set, playing a large part in the return of a brisk economy, said a government official in charge of preparations for the games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2014

Old LDP nemesis rides comeback trail to Tokyo

Morihiro Hosokawa, the former prime minister who rocked and transformed Japanese politics in the early 1990s, is back, this time as a leading candidate for Tokyo governor, running as an anti-nuclear crusader seeking the abolishment of all atomic power plants.
COMMENTARY
Jan 21, 2014

Japan heading for darker days

It's still baffling why the Abe administration was in such a hurry to have the state secrets bill passed when various opinion surveys showed that the bill was opposed by about 80 percnet of respondens on the very day the Upper House voted on it.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2014

Shift to isle defense requires upgrade of all three branches

The Cold War ended about 20 years ago and Japan is finally trying to execute a drastic transformation of the Ground Self-Defense Force by shifting its focus from the north to the southwest — effectively relaxing its guard against Russia and bolstering it against China.
COMMENTARY
Jan 17, 2014

The whitewashing of Sharon

Ariel Sharon, the late former Israeli prime minister, was not called the 'the Bulldozer' for being a fearless leader. Nor do Arabs call him 'the Butcher of Beirut' for simply overseeing the invasion of Lebanon.
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2014

Global economic prospects

As the world watches for signs of stable global economic growth this year, Japan should be ready to take remedial measures for its own economy if the consumption tax increase in April causes negative effects.

Longform

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