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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.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 2, 2014

With all parties opposed to tax hike, policy debates ring vague

Official campaigning for the Dec. 14 Lower House election started Tuesday, but voter enthusiasm remains low.
EDITORIALS
Dec 1, 2014

Judging Abe's policies

Along with the bread and butter issues of the economy, voters are urged to take a serious look at the Abe administration's actions in the areas of defense and freedom of information over the past two years.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Nov 23, 2014

Teaching quality, not lesson quantity, may be key to Japan's top math marks

Japan spends less on education than most OECD countries, so why do its students continue to outperform their Western counterparts in math?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Nov 19, 2014

Jamaican sisters come bearing victuals and vibes

Baye McNeil profiles two Jamaican women who have built thriving careers for themselves in the Land of the Rising Sun, half a planet away from the Land of Wood and Water.
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2014

Uber under fire after exec suggests digging up dirt on critical reporters

An executive at Uber Technologies Inc. has come under fire for saying that the mobile car-booking startup should hire a team of opposition researchers to dig up dirt on journalists who are critical of the company.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2014

Girl Scouts who posed for Yokohama statue reunited 52 years later

By the shore of Yamashita Park in Yokohama, the city where Japanese and American culture intersect, there stands a statue of three girls. Two are shaking hands while their other hands are raised to their heads to show respect, and a third girl stands beside them.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 11, 2014

Megabanks start to feel the heat from upstarts

Retailers and IT companies give new meaning to 'full service banking'
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2014

Putin's cronies fight for Russia's textbooks

Larger school textbook publishers who have no problem with Russia's growth into an ideological state under President Vladimir Putin are allowed to make money.
EDITORIALS
Oct 30, 2014

Japanese access to U.S. bases

Japan and the U.S. have agreed 'in substance' on a new accord that paves the way for on-site environmental surveys by Japanese authorities inside U.S. military bases.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 29, 2014

Violence at Burkina Faso rallies protesting leader's plan to extend 27-year-rule rule

Police fired tear gas at rock-throwing protesters after tens of thousands marched through Burkina Faso's capital on Tuesday calling for President Blaise Compaore to scrap plans to change term limits to stay in power.
Reader Mail
Oct 22, 2014

Lawbreakers from the get-go

Regarding Daniel Krieger's Oct. 10 feature article,"Making noise about keeping the decibels down": The Japan Election Law prohibits door-to-door solicitation/campaigning, which is a tremendously good thing. But this explains why candidates have to resort to patrolling the streets shouting their names...
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Oct 20, 2014

Readers tackle the 'Japan clean, yet beach covered in crap' enigma

Some emails received in response to Roberto De Vido's recent Foreign Agenda column about a trash-strewn beach in Kanagawa.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 14, 2014

How employer transportation allowances helped create commuter hell

Why don't more people live closer to their jobs?
EDITORIALS
Oct 8, 2014

Opposition must pressure Abe

The opposition should realize that if it fails to strictly scrutinize the Abe administration's actions in the extraordinary Diet session, it is not fulfilling its duty to serve the public.
Reader Mail
Oct 8, 2014

Protecting kids from predators

Regarding Tomohiro Osaki's Oct. 1 front-page article "Nation reflects on crimes against kids": While recognizing the existing cultural hurdles entrenched in Japanese culture — especially those which pertain to an ingrained work ethic that frowns upon fathers in particular playing a role in parenting...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2014

Central Asia's Great Game

Concerns that U.S. sanctions against President Vladimir Putin is driving Russia and China closer together are unfounded, because neither country trusts the other.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Oct 6, 2014

Range of services rush to fill gaps in Japan's after-school care market

As the government moves to widen access for older children, the private sector offers flexibility and a focus on areas such as English and sports.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Oct 5, 2014

Families run into twin 'walls' as they seek after-school care

The gulf between day care for preschoolers and after-school care for elementary school students can come as a major shock to the system for parents and children alike.
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Oct 4, 2014

Yakuza do what Abe Cabinet pick can't

In most countries, police officers and criminals are supposed to be on opposite sides of the law, especially the higher up the chain of command you go, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe doesn't appear to think this is necessary.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 30, 2014

China censors target Hong Kong protests, but don't always succeed

Chinese censors and opponents of the protests sweeping Hong Kong are engaging in a cat-and-mouse game with demonstrators and commentators in a bid to stop news of the unrest spreading online and, in particular, reaching the mainland.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 27, 2014

Scotland's independence referendum inspires an Okinawan discussion

As sometimes happens when a news story that has nothing to do with Japan becomes topical worldwide, the Japanese media tried to find a local angle for the Sept. 18 Scottish referendum. The coverage fell into two categories: greater autonomy for Okinawa, and the use of referendums.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 27, 2014

India and its incredible pollution problem

Incredible India! is the Indian government's marketing slogan to attract tourism. And I agree. India is truly incredible in countless ways, both captivating and heartbreaking.
Reader Mail
Sep 27, 2014

A feat Indians can cheer about

Regarding the Sept. 24 AP article "India joins elite club by putting spacecraft into Martian orbit": As an Indian, I'm very proud of this moment.
WORLD
Sep 24, 2014

United States defends Syria airstrikes in letter to U.N. chief

The United States told the United Nations on Tuesday it led airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Syria because President Bashar al-Assad's government had failed to wipe out safe havens used by the group to launch attacks on Iraq.
Reader Mail
Sep 17, 2014

A long way from what we were

Regarding Anotole Kaletsky's Sept. 9 article, "As the chances of a U.K. split grow, the true costs become more clear": As a citizen of the Irish Republic, I was disheartened to read his portrayal of "Europe's most durable nation" [Britain] as one not to have suffered invasion, revolution or civil war...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2014

Asahi Shimbun struggles with credibility amid retractions

Self-inflicted wounds to the 135-year-old liberal media flagship may create a tailwind for conservatives who want to recast Japan's wartime past in a less apologetic tone.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Sep 14, 2014

All-Japanese families take a chance on international schools

In a notoriously homogeneous society where parents can face criticism for going against the grain, what drives these parents to shun local schools and instead seek out what the education ministry calls 'foreigner schools'?
Reader Mail
Sep 10, 2014

Indispensable British-U.S. effort

I take issue with Gregory Clark's blanket statement in his Aug. 22 article, "How WWII could have ended," that "anyone who believes the Western powers did much to bring about that defeat [of Nazi Germany] has been watching too many Normandy documentaries and 'Saving Private Ryan' films."

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan