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Ellen Nakashima
For Ellen Nakashima's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
WORLD
Dec 22, 2013
U.S. reasserts need to keep domestic surveillance secret
The government Friday reasserted its claim of state-secrets privilege to keep under wraps what it says are operational details in two long-running lawsuits alleging the National Security Agency's surveillance of Americans' emails and phone calls is unlawful.
WORLD
Dec 21, 2013
NSA, GCHQ targeted foreign interests, allies, heads of aid groups
British and United States spy agencies targeted the office of an Israeli prime minister, the heads of international aid organizations and a European Union official who oversees antitrust issues involving U.S. technology firms, according to secret documents.
WORLD
Nov 30, 2013
Key officials back splitting NSA, Cyber Command
Key senior administration officials have advocated splitting the leadership of the largest U.S. spy agency from that of the military's cyberwarfare command as a final White House decision nears, according to individuals briefed on the discussions.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 23, 2013
ACLU seeks termination of NSA's call-records program
Civil liberties advocates on Friday asked a federal court in New York to end the National Security Agency counterterrorism program that collects data on billions of phone calls by Americans, arguing that it violates the Constitution and was not authorized by Congress.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 30, 2013
NSA chief: European spy agencies gave us data
The director of the National Security Agency on Tuesday dismissed as "completely false" reports that his agency swept up millions of phone records of European citizens, and he revealed that data collected by NATO allies were shared with the United States.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 29, 2013
NSA bills let Congress choose: End amassing of phone records or OK it
After nearly five months of controversy and debate, the U.S. Congress may face a clear choice over the National Security Agencyu2019s program to collect the phone records of nearly every American: endorse it or shut it down.
WORLD
Oct 25, 2013
Foreign services told that Snowden has files on cooperation with U.S.
U.S. officials are alerting some foreign intelligence services that documents detailing their secret cooperation with the United States have been obtained by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, according to government officials.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 10, 2013
'Broad standard' OKs NSA snooping
The Obama administration on Friday asserted a bold and broad power to collect the phone records of millions of Americans to search for a nugget of information that might thwart a terrorist attack.
WORLD
Jul 9, 2013
U.S. Web-monitoring devices in Iran, Sudan
American-made devices used for Internet monitoring have been detected on government and commercial computer networks in Iran and Sudan, in apparent violation of U.S. sanctions that ban the sale of goods, services or technology to the autocratic states, according to new research.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 7, 2013
Strict rules help U.S. access data traffic on undersea cables
The U.S. government had a problem: Spying in the digital age required access to the fiber-optic cables traversing the world's oceans, carrying torrents of data at the speed of light. And one of the biggest operators of those cables was being sold to an Asian firm, which might complicate American surveillance efforts.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Jun 26, 2013
Snowden files stoke U.S. security concerns
The ability of contractor-turned-fugitive Edward Snowden to evade arrest is raising new concerns among U.S. officials about the security of top-secret documents he is believed to have in his possession — and about the possibility that he could willingly share them with those who assist his escape.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 24, 2013
State photo-ID databases become troves for police
The faces of more than 120 million people are in searchable photo databases that state officials assembled to prevent driver's license fraud but that increasingly are used by police to identify suspects, accomplices and even innocent bystanders in a wide range of criminal investigations.
WORLD
Jun 23, 2013
Questions on NSA spying raised in court
Four days before a sweeping government surveillance law was set to expire last year, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Intelligence Committee, took to the Senate floor. She touted the 2008 law's value by listing some of the terrorist attacks it had helped thwart, including "a plot to bomb a downtown Chicago bar" that fall.
WORLD
Jun 13, 2013
U.S. quietly sabotages al-Qaida's flashy online magazine
U.S. intelligence operatives covertly sabotaged a prominent al-Qaida online magazine last month in an apparent attempt to sow confusion among the group's followers, according to officials.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 4, 2013
Manning 'harvested' secret papers: prosecution
Opening the court-martial of U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, a military prosecutor charged Monday that he "harvested" a massive trove of classified information from secure networks and made it available to America's enemies by dumping it onto the Internet.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
May 28, 2013
U.S. weapons designs 'compromised' by Chinese cyberspies
Designs for many of America's most sensitive advanced weapons systems have been compromised by Chinese hackers, according to a report prepared for the Pentagon.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 21, 2013
China tapped Google server secrets
Chinese hackers who breached Google's servers several years ago gained access to a sensitive database with years' worth of information about U.S. surveillance targets, according to current and former government officials.
WORLD
Apr 29, 2013
U.S. wary of warning Iran on cyber-attacks
The United States, concerned that Iran is behind a string of cyber-attacks against U.S. banking sites, has considered delivering a formal warning through diplomatic channels, but has not pursued the idea out of fears that doing so could escalate hostilities, according to American officials.

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A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world