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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 31, 2016

Despite military build-up, China struggles with warplane engine technology

China has built a potent military machine over the past 30 years but is struggling to develop advanced engines that would allow its warplanes to match Western fighters in combat, foreign and Chinese industry sources said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jan 15, 2016

Sake workshops in Tokyo spotlight Japan's lesser known regional breweries

On a recent chilly evening, I found myself in the heart of Tokyo's touristy Asakusa district for the first time in many years. I came to visit Kurand Sake Market, a popular standing bar that specializes in the offerings of local brewers, where Chris Hughes, a U.K. sake expert who is helping Kurand reach...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 11, 2015

Secrets law, one year later

The controversial state secret law that took effect last year has already had a chilling effect on the media: no one is even talking about it anymore.
WORLD
Dec 7, 2015

Turkey says it won't send more troops to Iraq unless Baghdad gives its OK

Turkey shelved military plans to send more troops to support allies in northern Iraq, after the government in Baghdad said it may appeal to the United Nations to secure the withdrawal of Turkish soldiers deployed recently to the country.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 30, 2015

Declaring a 'new beginning,' EU and Turkey seal migrant deal

Turkey promised to help stem the flow of migrants to Europe in return for cash, visas and renewed talks on joining the EU in a deal struck on Sunday that the Turkish prime minister called a "new beginning" for the uneasy neighbors.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Nov 25, 2015

Ban blasts Balkan border curbs, 'profiling' of refugees; Greece arrivals ebb

The United Nations on Tuesday condemned new restrictions on refugees that have left around 1,000 migrants stuck at the main border crossing into Macedonia from Greece, denied entry due to their nationalities in violation of international law.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2015

Putin wants victory against IS, not detente

Putin wants to win the war against Islamic State and be acknowledged as the leader who brought about victory.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2015

Russian Navy's red tide rising

Short of naval assets but wanting to flex its muscles at sea, Russia is employing a maritime version of the 'hybrid warfare' it used to take control of Crimea.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 14, 2015

Chinese media crucial in public diplomacy effort

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently had a cameo in the animated adult cartoon "South Park." In the episode, Xi (not the real Xi) revealed that Japan decides "who is gay or not" in Asia. The character also said the Japanese "are dogs who refuse not apologize to the Chinese Republic" and then kissed...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 1, 2015

Chinese supersonic ship killer makes U.S. Navy's job harder

Increased interactions between the Chinese and U.S. Navy in the contested South China Sea risk becoming more complicated by the increasingly sophisticated missiles being carried by submarines.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 1, 2015

With vast number of ships, Beijing takes quantity over quality approach in South China Sea

When a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer sailed near one of Beijing's artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea last week, it was operating in a maritime domain bristling with Chinese ships.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 29, 2015

Despite labor crunch, Japanese firms slow to accept disabled applicants

Law graduate Yusuke Hatsuse says he thought his college degree and national sports success would make him an attractive recruit for Japan's best-known employers. When none invited him for interviews, he applied for virtually every job he could find.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 20, 2015

Abe eroding Japan's soft power

Japan's considerable soft power is being undermined by political insensitivity, provocative policies and a reluctance or inability to explain and justify.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2015

Tokyo mulls cutting UNESCO funding after U.N. body registers Nanking Massacre documents

The U.N. body's acceptance of Beijing's documents on the Nanking Massacre prompts Tokyo to consider reducing or discontinuing funds.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 30, 2015

China's Xi struggles to show softer side during U.S. charm offensive

Before Xi Jinping flew to the U.S., his foreign minister promised a "people first visit" that would showcase the Chinese president's "extensive outreach to the American people."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2015

Several groups urge Abe to pledge to accept Syrian refugees

Private organizations supporting refugees on Monday urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to express during his upcoming speech at the annual U.N. General Assembly session Japan's pledge to accept Syrian asylum seekers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 14, 2015

China unveils details of state-firm reforms as growth sputters

China unveiled details on Sunday of how it would restructure its state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including partial privatization, as data pointed to a cooling in the world's second-largest economy.
WORLD
Sep 12, 2015

IAEA officials to be present when Iran takes Parchin nuclear samples

United Nations inspectors will be present with Iranian technicians as they take samples from a key military site, two Western diplomats said, undercutting an objection by U.S. Republicans to the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 9, 2015

Failure of Syria diplomacy exposes enduring divisions over Assad

While the desperate flight of Syrians from their country's war was dominating news bulletins this summer, yet another diplomatic push to end the 4-year-old conflict was quietly running into the sand.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 1, 2015

Child thyroid cancer unlikely to rise in Fukushima but extent of radiation exposure unclear: IAEA

An increase in thyroid cancer among children is unlikely after the disaster at the Fukushima No 1 nuclear plant four years ago, but it remains unclear exactly how much radiation children in the vicinity were exposed to, International Atomic Energy Agency said in a new report.
EDITORIALS
Aug 24, 2015

Regulating virtual currencies

Along with preventing the abuse of the virtual currency transactions for money laundering and criminal purposes, new cybermoney regulations should aim to protect the interests of its users.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 17, 2015

Bubka targets doping fight as IAAF's top priority

Former Olympic champion Sergey Bubka thinks the fight against doping is the main task facing whoever triumphs in Wednesday's IAAF presidential election, a vote he is still confident he will win.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Aug 17, 2015

U.S. marine wins compensation for Okinawa toxin exposure and calls for tests on residents near Futenma

The U.S. government has awarded compensation to the ailing former marine at the center of allegations that Agent Orange was dumped on Futenma Air Base in Okinawa.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 29, 2015

U.S. Congress' egocentric strategem in the TPP talks

With the passage of the Trade Promotion Authority Act, the U.S. will become increasingly self-centered in pursuit of its national interests in international trade negotiations, including the TPP.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 13, 2015

China targets rights lawyers as crackdown on activists widens

Chinese authorities have widened a crackdown on human rights groups, detaining or questioning more than 50 lawyers and activists in a sweep over the past few days, rights groups say.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2015

Time for the European Union to let Greece go

The world, which owes much to ancient Athens' legacy, including the idea of democracy, is indebted to today's Athens for the reminder that reality does not respect a democracy's delusions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 16, 2015

Unfortunately, corporate Japan thinks it's 1985

Japan's biggest companies are greeting reforms aimed at improving corporate governance with a halfhearted shrug.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 10, 2015

Foreign same-sex couples here enjoy rights that Japanese don't

Gay and lesbian non-Japanese couples married abroad can register as spouses with authorities here, but Immigration has mixed messages for foreigners married to Japanese same-sex partners.

Longform

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