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Japan Times
JAPAN
May 16, 2013

TPP-fearing farmers get lip service?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sees participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a way to bolster Japan-U.S. relations but the requirement to scrap tariffs across the board alarms farmers, who want assurances of a safety net to make up for, according to the latest government estimates, a loss in production...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 16, 2013

Okinawa women's groups condemn Hashimoto justification of sex slaves

Women's groups and other parties in Okinawa Prefecture on Wednesday protested Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's contentious remarks about the wartime sex slaves, with some calling for his immediate resignation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
May 15, 2013

Hashimoto takes flak for sex slave rationale

The backlash against Osaka political maverick Toru Hashimoto escalates over his remarks justifying Japan's wartime sex slave system and his suggestion that U.S. soldiers in Okinawa use more prostitutes.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2013

Disarm Syria to stabilize it

At this stage, arming the opposition in Syria would not serve American interests. Instead, the U.S. should focus on working with Russia and others to disarm Syria.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 14, 2013

Hashimoto struggles to keep Nippon Ishin no Kai relevant, distinct from LDP

The survival of Nippon Ishin no Kai is thrown into doubt as coleader Toru Hashimoto gropes for ways to keep it relevant and distinct from the ruling LDP.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 14, 2013

Suga rushes to smother LDP's latest brush fire over war

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga leaps into damage control mode after the LDP's policy chief says President Shinzo Abe disagrees with the findings of the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
May 14, 2013

Turks in Kansai fear Inose gaffe indicative of wider ignorance about culture

'Stupid', 'shockingly provincial' and 'a sign of how little Japanese people really understand that part of the world' were among the reactions of Turkish residents in Kansai to Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose's comments about Turkey and the wider Muslim world.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 13, 2013

J. League's opening game stirs memories 20 years on

Players involved in the J. League's first-ever game share their recollections of the beginning of a new era for Japanese soccer.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 13, 2013

Upper House poll to test public will on economy, TPP and Constitution

The House of Councilors election will be held within three months, and the focus is on whether the split in the Diet — where the two chambers of the legislature are controlled by different camps — will finally be mended.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2013

The changing map of Mideast political power

The eruption of the Arab revolts in 2010-2011 put power relations among Middle East countries in a state of flux. Both winners and losers have emerged.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2013

Attacks in Iraq threatening gains from 'surge'

The places in Iraq where violence has erupted of late are eerily familiar, as many were strongholds of al-Qaida in Iraq at the outset of the American-led 'surge' in 2007.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 10, 2013

Ideas to trump names on TEDxTokyo stage

TEDxTokyo is set to kick off its fifth annual event on May 11 at Hikarie Hall in Shibuya Ward, featuring a bevy of talented speakers, among whom are many you've likely never heard of.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 9, 2013

LA and Tokyo mix it up at Dublab

As cities, Tokyo and Los Angeles could not be more different. But as creative places, both cities resonate with one another as creative partners.
Japan Times
WORLD / EU SPECIAL 2013
May 9, 2013

Croatia set to become 28th EU member

Following the successful ratification of its European Union Accession Treaty by the national parliaments of the 27 Member States, the Republic of Croatia is set to join the EU as the 28th member on July 1 this year. This event will mark an end to the Croatian EU integration journey, which formally started...
Japan Times
WORLD / EU SPECIAL 2013
May 9, 2013

Europa House one-day event opens doors to all

The Delegation of the EU to Japan will open its premises to the public during the Europa House Open Day event on May 25.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 8, 2013

Britain's ports put wind in investors' sails

Methil port north of Edinburgh, once the focus of Scotland's coal exports, is set to tap a greener kind of energy as Samsung Heavy Industry Co. constructs the world's biggest wind turbine in the town's faded harbor.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 6, 2013

The shifting strategy of battlefield preservation

In 1988, Sen. Dale Bumpers of Arkansas pleaded with his colleagues to pass legislation that would prevent a new shopping mall on land integral to the Second Battle of Manassas. He imagined a future in which ever more commercial development encroached on land in Virginia preserved by the National Park...
COMMENTARY / World
May 6, 2013

Austerity era appears over (for now)

Something remarkable has happened in the last few weeks. It looks like world financial leaders are focusing on too few jobs instead of the risks from government debt.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
May 5, 2013

Our tree dragon fires new hopes for tsunami survivors

Ever since the massive Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, and the catastrophic tsunami it triggered, badly hit villages, towns and cities in the Tohoku region of northeastern Honshu have been struggling to recover and rebuild.
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2013

Tokyo Rainbow Week

Tokyo Rainbow Week, inaugurated April 27 and financially backed by several corporations, saw events aimed at supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals.
WORLD / Politics
May 4, 2013

German chancellor urges U.K. to crack down on tax havens

The coalition's plans to crack down on Britain's tax havens were discussed April 13 at a meeting between British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, amid growing concerns in Germany.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 3, 2013

'Tabidachi no Shima Uta — Jugo no Haru (Leaving on the 15th Spring)'

Goodbyes aren't what they used to be. Kids moving away for school today can be in constant contact with friends and family back home, texting as soon as the train doors close on a waving Mom and Dad.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / SWEET INSPIRATIONS
May 3, 2013

Custard treats are anything but square

How long does it take a business to achieve cult status in Tokyo? Years or decades in most cases. For Omotesando Koffee it was barely a matter of weeks.
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2013

Selective rights, illegal wars

One cannot help thinking these days that the legal, political and even moral blind spots that exist in the United States must always somehow involve Muslims.
WORLD
May 3, 2013

Single motherhood in U.S. rises sharply

More than six out of 10 women who give birth in their early 20s are unmarried, the U.S. Census Bureau said Wednesday.
Reader Mail
May 2, 2013

Modicum of remorse isn't there

The recent visits of Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and other Cabinet ministers to Yasukuni Shrine defy common sense. At least one of the ministers said he was making the visit in both a private and public capacity, a blatant contradiction. It is hard to know why these visits are made when the government...

Longform

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