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Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / GAME OF NUMBERS
Jul 4, 2013

LDP spin team hammers voters with 'Abenomics' mantra

The Upper House election will be a test of the economic strategies being pursued by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition government — or so says his ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 1, 2013

Voting for idols is bigger than politics

Elsewhere in the world, the kind of sōsenkyo (総選挙, general election) that fires up public interest and garners media attention is one where political parties compete for national office. In Japan, however, the sōsenkyo of aidoru gurūpu (アイドルグループ, idol group) AKB48 tends to grab...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Jan 27, 2013

You read about them here first

Ever since 1897 The Japan Times has reported daily in English on people, places and goings-on in and beyond this country. During those 116 years, our articles have often included information that never made it into the Japanese-language press — as in 1934, when the Society Page carried an interview...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Apr 12, 2011

'Judge not,' 'fly-jin' and saving electricity: views from readers

Some readers' responses to Roberto De Vido's "Judge not, lest you be judged" (March 22), Darek Gondor's " 'Fly-jin' face fallout from decision to go" (April 5), and Darryl Magree's March 29 letter:
EDITORIALS
Apr 7, 2008

The secrets of the sea

The investigative unit of the Ground Self-Defense Force has sent up a paper on an Air Self-Defense Force officer to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, accusing him of passing a "defense-related secret" to a Yomiuri Shimbun reporter in connection with a 2005 newspaper article. The unit acted...
EDITORIALS
Feb 22, 2007

'Secrets' with a public interest

The Self-Defense Forces' investigation of an SDF member in connection with a news report of an accident in a Chinese Navy submarine in 2005 raises concerns regarding people's right to know and the freedom of the press. It could lead to limits on basic rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution....
COMMENTARY
Apr 4, 2006

Hope dims for plebiscite bill

Now that the budget bills for fiscal 2006 have cleared both houses of the National Diet, one of the focal issues for the remainder of the current session will be how to reconcile conflicting views between the ruling and opposition parties over legislation on plebiscites, a process indispensable for amending...
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2003

Farm chief sues publisher over allegation of corruption

Agriculture minister Tadamori Oshima filed a lawsuit Thursday against the publisher of a weekly magazine demanding 10 million yen in damages and a published apology over an article that alleged he worked inappropriately for the construction of a vocational school.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 20, 2022

Elon Musk denies report he sexually harassed flight attendant on private jet

Business Insider reported that Musk's SpaceX paid $250,000 in 2018 to settle a sexual harassment claim from an unnamed private jet flight attendant.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2020

What if U.S. forces return to Taiwan?

An ugly but strategically important debate recently erupted between China and the United States over Taiwan.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
May 3, 2020

Necessary or not? The LDP's proposed emergency powers clause for the Constitution

73 years since the Constitution took effect, arguments on revising it have focused on the war-renouncing Article 9. But the coronavirus has prompted a different proposal.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 21, 2020

Let's discuss Hikakin and Yuriko Koike

A Japan Times story looks at the YouTube interview social media personality Hikakin did with Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2019

U.S. version of 'one country, two systems'

Is it time for the U.S. to reintroduce the 'fairness doctrine' to prevent the media from broadcasting extreme views?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 27, 2018

Abe's right — it's time to codify the SDF

The importance of providing legal clarity to decision-makers — especially during times of crisis — cannot be overstated.
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2017

Japan's defense-only posture to 'basically' remain unchanged under proposed constitutional change, Suga says

Japan's security policies, including its defensive posture, would 'basically remain the same' if the Constitution is revised as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proposed last week, claims Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2014

China wages media war around missing jet

A 'news media war' has broken out in China over the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, as loyal local news outlets face an abstract entity commonly known in China as the 'foreign media.'
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Feb 7, 2012

Questions raised about account of Tokyo cop assault

Some readers' responses to the Jan. 24 Zeit Gist column by Simon Scott, headlined "American claims Tokyo cop assaulted son, 8":
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
May 30, 2011

Bedfellows of those 'lax,' 'insular' Japanese

Are some of those who write for The New York Times utterly unaware of the rest of the world — including the United States?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Sep 14, 2010

Is racism coloring debate on Japanese whaling?

Following is a selection of readers' responses to the Aug. 17 Zeit Gist columns headlined "Racist undercurrents taint whaling rhetoric" by Dougal McNeill and "Appeals to culture, tradition ignore the historical facts" by Chris Burgess:
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 31, 2009

A slight unmasking of Japan's flu 'pandemic'

While traveling through Scandinavia two weeks ago, I had scant opportunity to monitor Japan's anxiety over the sudden increase in confirmed cases of H1N1 flu that led to closings of schools in the Kansai region. Europe seemed barely concerned about the new flu and when I caught BBC World in hotel rooms...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 26, 2006

Can NHK keep the air free?

The credibility of public broadcaster NHK is on the line over its handling of political interference by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 27, 2006

'Disguised contracting' gets proper airing in media . . . with results

The main front page story of the July 31 Asahi Shimbun was about the prefectural labor bureaus cracking down on major manufacturers for improper employment practices; in particular, something called giso ukeoi, or "disguised contracting."
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2005

Weekly admits plagiarizing wire poll stories

The weekly magazine Shukan Kinyobi has apologized to Kyodo News and Jiji Press for plagiarizing stories from the two news agencies about the Sept. 11 general election.
COMMENTARY
Mar 4, 2003

Signs of a thaw in cross-Strait relations

HONG KONG -- In a potentially significant move, China is reported to have pulled back some of its missiles along the Fujian coast facing Taiwan, something that the United States and Taiwan have been urging China to do for some time. An article in Taiwan's United Daily News on Thursday reported that "the...
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2000

Falsely accused seek system to make press clean up its act

After his nightmare summer of 1994, when the media branded him the prime suspect in the fatal sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Yoshiyuki Kono embarked on a crusade to end press violations of citizens' rights.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 6, 2023

China took her husband. She was left to uncover his secret cause.

Whether her husband was Program Think is virtually impossible to confirm. He was, however, proudly nonconformist — refusing to use social media or buy new clothes — and intensely private.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 10, 2021

For Trump and America, a final test of accountability

The fresh bid to remove Trump from office and strip him of his power without waiting until his term expires Jan. 20 capped a traumatic week that has rattled Washington.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 26, 2018

China pushes back against criticism of plan for Xi to stay in power

China's plan for President Xi Jinping to remain in office indefinitely has sparked social media opposition, drawing comparisons to North Korea's ruling dynasty and charges of creating a dictator by a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 22, 2017

Public questions Japan's duck and cover drills

On July 7, during a public assembly in Takahama, Fukui Prefecture, Shunichi Tanaka, head of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority, was asked how his organization would respond to a North Korean missile attack. Tanaka replied that it would make more sense for North Korea to hit Tokyo with a missile than...

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.