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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 22, 2020

North Korea confirms new defense chief amid leadership shake-up

North Korea confirmed Wednesday that an official who has overseen leader Kim Jong Un's pet construction projects has been named the nuclear-armed country's new defense minister.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 22, 2020

Ministry rebuts accusations of 'hostage justice' in Japan

The Justice Ministry published explanatory information about the nation's justice system on its website on Tuesday, rebutting international criticism of Japan's prosecutorial approach.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 21, 2020

Time for Japan to take on a new role

Japan must successfully hedge itself between a less engaged America and a more aggressive China.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2020

U.S. has long been a master at meddling in Russia

When the U.S. worries about Russia messing with its internal politics it sounds a lot like psychological projection. Or just desserts.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 16, 2020

Japan-China ties, according to Beijing

Beijing's perceptions of the state of Japan-China relations and Japan-U.S. relations reflect an aspiration of what they hope to manifest.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2020

The real China challenge

Japan has long struggled to find balance in its relations with Beijing; that effort continues.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 7, 2020

Why China won't join an Iran-Russia coalition against Trump

Beijing's muted response to the U.S. killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani suggests China still isn't ready to join Russia in taking a more direct role in the Middle East's entrenched conflicts.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 6, 2020

Mike Pompeo defends U.S. killing of Iranian general as Democrats ask 'Why now?'

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's decision to kill Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, as Democratic lawmakers questioned whether the action was justified and the United States braced for retaliation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2020

Trump trial is Chief Justice Roberts' nightmare

The U.S. Supreme Court leader desperately wants to seem apolitical, but good luck with that.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 4, 2020

From hangover cures to prairie dogs, tabloids end 2019 with a bang

For their final issues of December, the weeklies — their covers trimmed in gold color (except for the Sunday Mainichi, which came out in yellow-orange) — typically publish two-week bumper issues with extra pages. This gives many of them leeway to write about lots of timely topics. For instance, journalist...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / Outlook 2020
Jan 2, 2020

What will Abe do to cement his legacy?

If you look at Japan's 2020 political calendar now, it will look like it is going to be a relatively quiet one.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 1, 2020

20 Questions: The best answers of 2019

Craig Mod
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2019

Facebook removes misleading HIV drug ads after outcry

Facebook said on Monday it had removed some ads that contained misleading information about HIV prevention drugs following an outcry from activists, health experts and U.S. lawmakers.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 20, 2019

'Obamacare' ruling likely to haunt Trump in 2020

While the eyes of America were on the House vote to impeach President Donald Trump, a court ruling to leave the fate of the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," up in the air may be a bigger risk to his 2020 re-election hopes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 20, 2019

Working mom fights the odds to become sole female LDP lawmaker in Kyushu

On a recent chilly November morning, aspiring politician Maiko Takahashi was undergoing a trial by fire as she stumped for just the second time in her life, addressing an ebb and flow of commuters near Oita Station.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / 2019 in Review
Dec 19, 2019

2019 saw just a few glimmers of hope in an otherwise mediocre year for Japanese film

The year predictably saw new iterations of long-running anime favorites top the box office, but the year's truly interesting films lay much further down the financial rankings.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / 2019 in Review
Dec 17, 2019

Creative expression stifled by 'safety concerns' in Japan

As the taboo-busting comic Joan Rivers used to say after pressing her audience's buttons, 'Can we talk?' On the evidence of this year's Aichi Triennale, if it's about World War II atrocities, the answer seems to be 'no.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Dec 17, 2019

What would a 'kanji of the decade' say about the state of Japan?

This year's kanji of the year is 'u4ee4,' but writer Paul Dargan posits a guess as to what the kanji of the decade might be while looking back on the annual tradition and what the top picks say about the state of the country.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2019

On Nagano's Lake Suwa, climate change unravels 600 years of history held dear

Kiyoshi Miyasaka climbs the stone steps of his shrine, autumn leaves crunching under his feet. The Shinto priest, dressed in white, aims an orange leaf blower at a row of cobblestones and clears the path of fallen leaves.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 15, 2019

Could merger talks finally produce a credible opposition force in Japan?

With the close of the extraordinary Diet session on Dec. 9, some of the largest opposition parties once again entered talks about merging before year's end, with an eye toward increasing their seats in the next general election. Here's a look at the talks and what they might mean for Japan's political...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Dec 12, 2019

Working with the Japanese at a senior level when you're a non-Japanese woman

While stories about mandatory heels and a ban on glasses are making the rounds in the media, the reality of working at a Japanese firm when you're a woman is not as bad as you may think.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Dec 10, 2019

Yuzuru Hanyu must find formula to defeat ascending Nathan Chen

Yuzuru Hanyu incurred his largest defeat in more than 10 years at the Grand Prix Final on Saturday to American Nathan Chen.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2019

Brexit underlines perils of populist politics

The standoff between equally matched camps may solidify into a deep rupture in the national fabric.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 30, 2019

Taro Yamamoto blurs the popular line on climate change

Climate change is not much of a social issue in Japan. Even in the wake of three recent weather-related disasters, there has been little discussion across the political spectrum that climate change contributed to them. In Europe and the United States, left-leaning groups demand action to mitigate the...
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Nov 28, 2019

Yuzuru Hanyu shows he is much more than a great skater

Yuzuru Hanyu's destruction of the opposition at the NHK Trophy last weekend came as no surprise. The two-time Olympic champion is fully healthy and back in top form as witnessed by his 55-point victory.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 28, 2019

Revisiting Japan's nuclear arms debate

As long as the U.S. nuclear umbrella exists, the Japanese government will not have the political impetus to change its policy on nuclear weapons.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?