For Linda Sieg's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
While U.S. President Donald Trump appears to wage a trade "Cold War" on China, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will promote a thaw with Beijing at a summit this month where business ties will be in the spotlight. A tough line on China helped Abe regain ...
As a Self-Defense Forces recruiter sat patiently at a booth outside a supermarket in Tokyo one recent weekend, she welcomed a rare visitor, high school student Kazuaki Matsumura. But Matsumura, who plans to go to university, wasn't there to sign up. He was just curious. "There ...
When Isao Akutagawa moved to the sleepy riverside community of Mabicho in Okayama Prefecture 45 years ago, it seemed like the perfect suburb to raise his children. In the town, which was merged with the nearby city of Kurashiki in 2005 and is now called ...
Torrential rains unleashed floods and set off landslides in western Japan last week, killing at least 176 people, forcing millions to evacuate and leaving dozens missing in the country's worst weather disaster in 36 years. Below are some reasons for the high death toll: Extreme weather Remnants ...
First lady Akie Abe, once known mainly for embracing progressive causes that put her at odds with her conservative spouse, is now in the hot seat as doubts revive about the murky land sale to nationalist school operator Moritomo Gakuen to which she had ...
Economic talks between the United States and Japan, tackling topics from persimmons and potatoes to energy and infrastructure, have helped keep Tokyo clear of protectionist moves such as those that recently hit Chinese solar panels and South Korean washers. Japan hopes its "let's talk" approach ...
The leader of the small Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, which exceeded expectations in October's snap poll, now hopes that by offering clear policy alternatives he can oust Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition in the next election. One key to achieving that ambitious goal, ...
A fast-growing challenge by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling bloc has highlighted the risk of his gamble on a snap poll.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has achieved much of his conservative security agenda since taking office in 2012, but unless he can revive his flagging popularity, his goal of revising the pacifist Constitution is likely to elude his grasp. Failure to achieve that goal by the ...
He's young, good-looking and the media call him "Japan's Macron," so it is little surprise that lawmakers say Shinjiro Koizumi may be offered a post when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffles his Cabinet next month in a bid to revive his public support, which ...
