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Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 14, 2014

At America's court of last resort, a handful of lawyers now dominates the docket

The marble facade of the U.S. Supreme Court building proclaims a high ideal: "Equal Justice Under Law."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 13, 2014

From a hostess club to a mountain village: Five notable Japanese photo books of 2014

While selecting some of the best photography books released in 2014, I was struck by the range of specific places that Japanese photographers captured — from a pleasure district to a mountain village and an old rooftop. Photo books with such a geographic focus might be a good way to store up energies...
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 10, 2014

Ishin no To's campaign haunted by voter discontent in Kinki, Tokyo-Kanagawa

With several polls indicating that the ruling coalition may win over 300 of the 480 seats in Sunday's Lower House race, the Liberal Democratic Party is poised to be the big winner — and Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party) the main loser.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / DECISION 2014
Dec 10, 2014

Japan's persisting gender gap leaves many single moms in poverty

Yuka Suzuki, 47, has virtually no savings, earns about half the average national wage and cannot see where the money will come from to retire one day.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 10, 2014

Prosecutions for CIA torture still seem unlikely after Senate report

Minutes after a U.S. Senate intelligence panel released details of the CIA's torture of terrorism suspects, President Barack Obama suggested the country should move on.
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2014

Citigroup expenses send total costs to $13 Billion during Corbat's watch

Citigroup Inc.'s fourth-quarter legal expenses and costs for shrinking the business will bring the total for those items under Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat to $13.3 billion, more than half of the bank's earnings in his 26-month tenure.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 9, 2014

'Abenomics' in the spotlight

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe blames the opposition camp for criticizing 'Abenomics' without presenting lternatives. But finding a way to put today's economy on a virtuous circle is akin to trying to create something out of nothing.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 9, 2014

Methamphetamine use soars in Iran as lifestyles speed up

Women in headscarves and men in tatty clothes puff on a glass pipe as smoke swirls around their faces. The pictures published by Iranian media and blogs in recent months are a sign of a new drug epidemic: shishe, or methamphetamine.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 9, 2014

NASA Mars rover Curiosity finds key evidence for lake at landing site

Billions of years ago, a lake once filled the 96-mile- (154-km) wide crater being explored by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, bolstering evidence that the planet most like Earth in the solar system was suitable for microbial life, scientists said on Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 8, 2014

Cosmetics market shifts up in age

The cosmetics industry is looking at potentially booming business.
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2014

Amending the Constitution

The political landscape emerging from the Dec. 14 Lower House election will impact when or whether a revision to Japan's Constitution becomes a major agenda item.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 8, 2014

In one Osaka district, only women are running

In an election where female candidates account for less than 17 percent of the total, all three vying for a Lower House seat in the Osaka No. 7 district are women.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 8, 2014

Nintendo heads for a happy Christmas with Wii U revival

Nintendo Co. looks like it is finally going to be able to celebrate this Christmas.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 7, 2014

Putin allies channeled billions to Ukraine oligarch with sweetheart deals

In Russia, powerful friends helped him make a fortune. In the United States, officials want him extradited and put behind bars. In Austria, where he is currently free on bail of $155 million, authorities have yet to decide what to do with him.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 6, 2014

Hot-air Abe can't campaign on 'womenomics'

For a guy with a two-thirds majority in the Diet, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has accomplished remarkably little since 2012.
EDITORIALS
Dec 5, 2014

Keep safety nets in place

Postponement of the consumption tax rate hike must not be used as an excuse to reduce funding of social security programs for low-income people, children from poor families and child-rearing households.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 3, 2014

For 'Once,' Broadway spurns glitz

Written and directed by John Carney, the award-winning 2006 musical film "Once" — a simple, bittersweet love story set in his hometown of Dublin and featuring wonderful music by co-stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova — was perfect on its own. Wouldn't a Broadway stage treatment ruin the quiet,...
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2014

Ishin no To is fighting for its political life

Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), co-headed by populist Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, captured 54 seats in the December 2012 Lower House election, making it, and him, national political forces.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2014

In rural Akita, skeptics doubt 'Abenomics' will cure ills

Mihoko Asaka wants to know how candidates in this month's election will create jobs and halt the drastic population decline that is bleeding her home region of youth and vitality, but she has little hope they will offer real solutions.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2014

OPEC's other problem: weak demand for oil

Sluggish demand growth in response to the quadrupling of oil prices between 2002 and 2012 is at least as a big a challenge for OPEC as rising shale output.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 27, 2014

Shinzo Abe's political agenda

People should be aware that Japan has such an unstable person in its leadership position, who can make the final decision for the nation to take military action.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 27, 2014

Get a taste of Georgian wine at Festivin

In the four years since it started, Festivin has grown from an intimate gathering of natural wine enthusiasts to one of the most eagerly anticipated wine celebrations in Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 26, 2014

Supreme Court assails vote disparity in 2013 election but doesn't nullify results

The Upper House election in the summer of 2013 was borderline unconstitutional due to an “outrageous” disparity in the weight of votes between districts, the Supreme Court said.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 26, 2014

Court rejects Osaka mayor's bid to ban unions from using school buildings

The Osaka District Court ruled Wednesday that a city ordinance banning labor unions from using public facilities such as school buildings for meetings was illegal and unconstitutional, ordering the city to pay a union around ¥417,000 in compensation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 25, 2014

A losing bet on green energy

A decision by power utilities to not buy electricity generated by renewable energy sources has caused huge problems for companies that invested heavily in the solar power business.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Nov 25, 2014

U.N. report says number of female human traffickers 'exceptionally high'

Nearly three in 10 convicted human traffickers worldwide are female, according to a U.N. report Monday which found that women play a bigger role in trafficking than other major crimes such as murder or robbery.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami