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EDITORIALS
Feb 12, 2016

Beijing's misplaced anger

If Beijing wants to promote peace and security in Asia, it should help counter the sources of instability, instead of denying governments the means to defend themselves.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Feb 10, 2016

Japanese hoops waking up to skill training

Japanese athletes have always been labeled inferior in size and power, forcing them to rely on skill and technique to compete on the international stage.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2016

The danger of oil dictators falling like dominos

This year promises to be interesting — and harrowing — if you happen to be a dictator clinging to power in an oil-exporting country.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2016

Japan's power producers scour forests in search of wood to burn

With almost 70 percent of its land covered by forests, Japan is leading a drive to return to wood as a source of cleaner energy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 4, 2016

Olympics minister denies cash-for-favors allegation involving English teacher dispatch agency

Toshiaki Endo has admitted taking cash from the founder of a Tokyo teacher dispatch agency but said he did nothing wrong.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 2, 2016

UR housing authority at center of Amari scandal contradicts Shukan Bunshun story

The semi-governmental housing corporation at the center of the scandal that forced Akira Amari to step down as economic minister has denied that his secretaries pressured it to favor a Chiba construction firm in a dispute, contradicting the magazine that broke the story.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 1, 2016

Time for Japan's academia and media to wake up

Japan's media and academia are failing in their duty to question government policies.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 1, 2016

'China shock' for U.S. workers was avoidable

What policy steps could the U.S. and other industrialized countries have taken to blunt the worst effects of free trade with China?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 30, 2016

Is society on the cusp of massive change?

Philosopher Tatsuru Uchida, interviewed earlier this month by the Asahi Shimbun, merely confirms what we all know, or sense, when he says: "This is an age of transition. We're going through the confusion characteristic of bedrock change."
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2016

The key to achieving a Syrian accord

Stopping the deliberate slaughter of civilians in Syria is not a byproduct of a peace deal, but a prerequisite for successful negotiations.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2016

Will Obama's immigration overreach be policed?

The Supreme Court justices take up the president's immigration policy.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 25, 2016

With U.S. divided, China struggling, government and business leaders fret about power vacuum

A polarized U.S. presidential race; question marks over China's economic management; and a once-dominant German chancellor suddenly under threat.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jan 24, 2016

Eating crow on the issue of the clever critters we consume

The controversies surrounding the eating of various animals in our modern world are numerous: the hunting of bluefin tuna to near-extinction; eating shark fin soup (in which only the fin is used and the rest of the shark is often discarded); the consumption of dogs in various Asian countries; the use...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 23, 2016

Hiroko Kuniya's ouster deals another blow to quality journalism in Japan

Hiroko Kuniya, the widely respected anchor for NHK's stellar "Close-up Gendai" news analysis program, has been ousted from her position after 23 years with the show. She now joins a growing list of prominent news presenters and commentators who have discovered the apparent perils of not kowtowing to...
Reader Mail
Jan 23, 2016

Abe must explain Futenma's value

During the Lower House Budget Committee's session Jan. 12, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated, as if to cut off Okinawa's wishes across the board, that security-related matters should be decided on by the state, not by a locality based on the outcome of an election.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 20, 2016

'The Walk' brings an infamous tightrope walker to life, in terrifying detail

If you could go back to one particular moment in history, what would it be? Someone (most likely the devil) must have asked Robert Zemeckis that question several times during his career and, in a way, many of his films could be described as different answers. In fact, the films Zemeckis is most well...
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 18, 2016

South China Sea? For Beijing, Taiwan is the No. 1 security issue

For China, whose President Xi Jinping is already taking an increasingly muscular approach to claims in the East and South China seas, the question of Taiwan trumps any other of its territorial assertions in terms of sensitivity and importance.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2016

What happens after China's bubble goes pop?

Will China be a source of stability and strength for the world economy — or the opposite?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2016

Can China avoid turning Japanese?

Beijing is acting like Tokyo, circa 1998, and courting Japanization instead of much needed reforms.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2016

Did Kim just provoke China?

President Xi Jinping should tighten the screws on China's recalcitrant ally after the rogue nation's latest nuclear test.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 9, 2016

Low wages at the heart of foreign labor shortage woes

There has been a lot of discussion recently about allowing more foreign workers into Japan to make up for severe labor shortages in some fields. As of the end of 2014, the labor ministry estimated there were 790,000 foreign nationals working in Japan legally, which is more than the number of national...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2016

Why North Korea's latest blast isn't a game-changer

Ultimately, North Korea's latest nuclear test is a status-quo event.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2016

North Korea bomb claim a new challenge for Clinton campaign

To Republican U.S. presidential contenders, North Korea's claim that it tested a hydrogen bomb may further make the 2016 race what they dearly want it to be: a referendum on President Barack Obama's foreign policy and, by extension, Hillary Clinton's.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 2, 2016

Still dreaming of an end to household drudgery

As amazing as technology's ability to solve our problems is its inability to solve our problems. (Its tendency to create new problems is a subject best left for another day.)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 30, 2015

Del Toro's 'Crimson Peak' alluring but far from scary

Real estate, sexual passion and family secrets are crammed into the atmospheric thriller "Crimson Peak," directed by Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth," "Pacific Rim"). I have an inkling Del Toro dislikes modern society and abhors modern notions of security. His films always unfold in lavish settings...
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Dec 27, 2015

Hashimoto factor keeps political pundits on edge of their seats

Well, that didn't take long. Less than 24 hours after finishing as Osaka mayor, Toru Hashimoto met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Dec. 19.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2015

One God for Christians, Muslims and Jews?

If Christians and Muslims don't worship the same God, then neither do Christians and Jews.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 21, 2015

Japan's married-name law isn't just about names

The Supreme Court's ruling on surnames raises a fascinating question: How much should a constitution reflect the distinctive values of a society and how much should it express universal rights?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2015

Putin up close and personal: not a pretty picture

Vladimir Putin splits the world into friends and loyal allies on one side, and enemies and those who only deserve to be manipulated on the other.

Longform

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