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Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 7, 2020

Acquitted Trump unleashes fury at impeachment and all those he deems foes

U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated his acquittal on impeachment charges in a caustic, free-wheeling speech on Thursday that drew on White House pomp to underscore the fact that he remained in office.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 6, 2020

Impeachment trial is over, but the final verdict on Trump is not yet in

In Hollywood, it is called a false ending — where the story appears to be heading to a close but is not yet over.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 2, 2020

Japanese justice: Innocent until proven guilty or innocent until detained?

It's been a month since ex-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn's dramatic escape pushed the Japanese justice system back into the global spotlight. Critics have long called Japan's extended detentions and other legal practices "hostage justice" and an affront to international standards.
CULTURE
Feb 1, 2020

Back to the future: The world celebrates the 50th anniversary of Doraemon

As the blue robot cat turns 50, we examine the past, present and future of a Japanese icon.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 31, 2020

Ox walking, heckling and other strange Diet practices

Understanding Japanese politics, as with many things in Japanese society, is often an exercise of scratching beneath the surface to discover the true meaning.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 25, 2020

Is Japan enjoying a new literary golden age?

The case for Yes
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jan 21, 2020

Let's discuss the casino controversy

A scandal concerning casinos has everyone placing bets on how much trouble the initiative may cause.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 20, 2020

Toshiba Machine shares surge 19% on Murakami's surprise bid

Toshiba Machine Co.'s share price soared Monday after the company said Japan's best-known activist investor, Yoshiaki Murakami, plans a tender offer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 18, 2020

Fleeing in Japan may be more common than many think

Having fled Japan while awaiting trial for alleged financial wrongdoing, former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has probably become the most famous foreign national ever arrested in the country. For a while after his initial detention in November 2018, the media discussed Japan's so-called hostage justice system,...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2020

U.S. Democratic debate: Warren points to women as winners; candidates tangle on Middle East wars

Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday dove into their dispute over whether a woman can win the 2020 presidential election, with Sanders denying he ever said it was impossible. Warren was having none of it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2020

Putin's latest obsession: Rewriting World War II

Russia's leader believes the narrative is shifting in ways that make the Soviet Union a villain.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2020

Japan's Casino Regulatory Commission holds its first meeting amid bribery scandal

The government's Casino Regulatory Commission held its first meeting Friday against the backdrop of a high-profile bribery scandal related to so-called integrated resorts featuring casinos.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 6, 2020

'Low IQ' kids, parental rights and problematic terminology dogged Japan's international community in 2019

Of the issues non-Japanese had to deal with in the past year (and even the past decade), some were major news stories and some fell quietly into the cracks.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2020

Despite risk from the 'Big One,' are Shizuoka and the rest of Japan becoming complacent about earthquakes?

When Hokkaido native Tatsushi Ueda landed a job at the Shizuoka Prefectural Government nearly 40 years ago, he was given a somber send-off that made him feel like he might never see home again.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 1, 2020

Ghosn's escape may see Japan impose stronger bail conditions on defendants

Carlos Ghosn's daring flight from Japan, where he was awaiting trial on charges of financial wrongdoing, has revived global criticism of the nation's "hostage justice" system, but in Japan it is prompting talk of reversing more lenient curbs on defendants.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2019

Fifteen predictions for the new year

The U.S. presidential election will end in a tie and other educated guesses.
EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2019

Collective action needed to meet existential threats

The threats posed by climate change and mass surveillance will worsen if we continue the laissez-faire approach that fails to intervene and bend both phenomena toward more sustainable trajectories.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 25, 2019

JSA needs to look outward for good of sumo

Whatever hopes fans had for a peaceful end to the year were dashed when Japan Sumo Association officials instructed Takagenji to take part in his regularly scheduled bout on Dec. 11 despite the wrestler being diagnosed with influenza earlier in the day.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 22, 2019

North Korean threat looms as China, Japan and South Korea leaders meet

The possibility of a new confrontation between Pyongyang and Washington hangs over meetings involving China, Japan and South Korea as speculation grows North Korean actions could end an uneasy detente and upend recent diplomatic efforts.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 14, 2019

Laughing at life's trials and tribulations in Japan

Life is tragic, life is comic; the glass is half-empty — no, half full. Point of view is all. Two magazines — President and Spa — represent the opposite poles of optimism and pessimism. For President, bad luck and good luck are all in the mind. The former is a failure of will, the latter always...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 12, 2019

North Korea says U.S. criticism has helped it make decision on stalled nuclear talks

North Korea took aim at the United States on Thursday for convening a U.N. Security Council meeting, saying the "provocative act" had helped it decide which path to take in deadlocked nuclear talks.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 5, 2019

Economic priorities beyond Abenomics

Japan must move beyond Abenomics to start a new era of confidence and sustained growth.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Dec 5, 2019

Wat Misaka leaves an admirable legacy

When Wataru "Wat" Misaka passed away on Nov. 20, he left an indelible legacy on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. He showed what was possible for someone who looked like he did on the basketball court. And to his eternal credit, he reached the highest level.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / Commentary
Dec 1, 2019

Aligning interests deepen Japanese-Aussie defense ties

Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds made her first official visit to Tokyo in November, holding talks with her counterpart, Taro Kono, reiterating their commitment to the security relationship between the two countries, and consolidated a series of new measures designed to deepen their defense...
EDITORIALS
Nov 26, 2019

Pope's demand for nuclear disarmament

The Japanese government should welcome the Pope's full-throated endorsement of disarmament.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 25, 2019

Japan wants foreign entrepreneurs, but what's missing?

For foreign entrepreneurs, Japan has never been the easiest place to launch a startup for a number of reasons, including its conservative corporate culture, restrictive visa requirements and daunting language barrier.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 23, 2019

Trump accuses impeachment witness of lying and defends use of personal lawyer on Ukraine

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday accused a witness in the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry of lying and offered an explanation for his controversial use of his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine policy, saying Giuliani's crime-fighting abilities were needed to deal with a corrupt country....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Nov 22, 2019

Hokkaido scholarships for foreign care workers draw nationwide attention amid labor crunch

Three municipalities, including Higashikawa in Hokkaido's Kamikawa subprefecture, and nursing care providers in the prefecture's north introduced in April a scholarship program for non-Japanese attending welfare services schools to encourage them to take up jobs at local nursing homes.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell