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EDITORIALS
Apr 2, 2016

China's tight control of speech

Chinese President Xi Jinping's stringent control of speech and media outlets could increase public frustration — a potential source of social instability.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 7, 2015

Japan has little to gain by resuming its whale hunt

The government's decision to defy the International Court of Justice and send the whaling fleet to the Antarctic is sure to inflame anti-Japan sentiment worldwide.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 14, 2015

Chinese media crucial in public diplomacy effort

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently had a cameo in the animated adult cartoon "South Park." In the episode, Xi (not the real Xi) revealed that Japan decides "who is gay or not" in Asia. The character also said the Japanese "are dogs who refuse not apologize to the Chinese Republic" and then kissed...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 6, 2015

Republicans aside, NRA may be losing its grip

U.S. public opinion on guns seems to be going in the same direction as it did on same-sex marriage — a compete reversal.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 17, 2015

What's in a name? Japan debates whether to allow spouses to adopt separate surnames

Upper House lawmaker Mizuho Fukushima and her partner, Yuichi Kaido, have been together for about 40 years. They don't celebrate any kind of anniversary, however, because they've never been officially married.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Sep 27, 2015

Legal change will make temp purgatory permanent for many Japanese workers

Eight years ago, a TV drama about temporary workers generated a great deal of excitement around Japan. In "Haken no Hinkaku" ("Dignity of a Temp"), model-actress-singer Ryoko Shinohara played Haruko Omae, a "super-temp" who masterfully tackled the myriad troubles that arose in her ¥3,000-an-hour job....
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 9, 2015

The world hates Russia. Russia hates it back

A new report by Pew Research Center show how effectively President Vladimir Putin has managed to isolate Russia and breed a siege mentality in it against the West.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 30, 2015

Nation's political culture stands at major crossroads

Will Japan be dragged down by egocentric anti-intellectualism and suspension of judgment, or will a new civic culture turn the nation into a more mature democracy?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2015

An idiot ready to serve on day 900

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and far too many other would-be U.S. presidents lack a solid grasp of critical domestic and foreign policy issues.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 3, 2015

What would Confucius say about gay marriage?

The U.S. ruling on same-sex marriage has sparked a national discussion on gay rights in China, and the tone, surprisingly, has been generally welcoming.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 30, 2015

For Europe's anti-establishment ranks, Tsipras an unlikely hero

European anti-establishment parties of all political colours are rallying behind Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in his standoff with creditors, which threatens to force Athens out of the eurozone and undermine the single currency.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jun 27, 2015

U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of gay marriage nationwide

The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the U.S. Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry, in a historic triumph for the American gay rights movement.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 11, 2015

Imperial family will pay close attention to Abe's statement

The Abe administration's effort to break away from the postwar regime is a defiant political move to file a formal objection to the postwar Imperial family and to put Japan's best 'knowledgeable and thinking people' into a subordinate position.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 4, 2015

18 looms as new age of majority

Japan's youth will finally get a chance to have their voices heard in politics.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 27, 2015

Why Chinese tourists love Japan

Despite the apparent ill will that Beijing, and occasionally the Chinese public, express toward Tokyo, Chinese tourists can't seem to get enough of Japan. In 2014, Chinese visits to Japan increased 83 percent on the previous year.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2015

Ukraine is worst of Obama's many foreign policy disasters

If U.S. President Barack Obama is to be blamed for errors with Libya, the Mideast and especially Ukraine, it is also true that his foreign policies have reflected a consensus in the U.S. governing class and popular opinion alike that America must always be 'first.'
EDITORIALS
Feb 15, 2015

Questions of self-defense

A legislative package of bills on security — prepared by the ruling coalition with the aim of implementing the Abe Cabinet's decision last July to enable Japan to engage in collective self-defense — will no doubt be the main focus of the current Diet session.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 3, 2015

Greece ruptures 30 years of political consensus in Europe

By catapulting to power an improbable alliance of the hard -left and nationalist far-right, Greece has shaken up Europe's political kaleidoscope and may have signaled the end of an era of centrist consensus.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2015

U.S. economy, military remain strong

Amid the continuing trend of polarization into Democrat or Republican extremes, an increasing flow of immigrants and a waning, but still the strongest military presence, the U.S. will continue to be a superpower, but to a somewhat lesser extent, a group of academic experts recently concluded.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2014

Making obesity a disability will only fuel problem

The decision by Europe's highest court that obesity can be a disability will only give the many overweight people in rich countries legal grounds to feel righteous about their condition, regardless of its causes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / DECISION 2014
Dec 16, 2014

Novelty party in Hokkaido shows that 105,000 voters want 'none of the above'

While many voters struggled to find a party that matched their hopes for the nation's future, voters in Hokkaido had an easy way out: a box marked "No party to support" on the proportional representation section of the ballot.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / ANALYSIS
Oct 29, 2014

Town divided after Sendai nuclear plant restart clears another hurdle

The city hosting the Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture has decided to approve a resumption of operations at the facility, highlighting a conflict between people who benefit from the largesse of the industry and those who do not.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 23, 2014

Top U.S. court upholds Michigan ban on college affirmative action

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday further undermined the use of racial preferences in higher education by upholding a voter-approved Michigan law that banned the practice in decisions on which students to admit to state universities.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 14, 2014

Dahl still drawing on the joys and absurdities of expat life

For over 20 years, Roger Dahl has been making Japan Times readers laugh — and think — with his Opinion Page political cartoons and “Zero Gravity” comic strip, which pokes gentle fun at the foreign experience in this country.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2014

U.S. media losing credibility

The U.S. media's reduction of the recent diplomatic row between New Delhi and Washington to India wrong, America right, is an indictment of their professional integrity.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 9, 2014

In Sochi, a backlash against the backlash emerges

As the sport got under way in earnest in Sochi on Friday, and the first medals were won, the tide of public opinion in Russia and the world began to turn, slowly.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 8, 2014

West Ham appeal over Carroll doomed to failure

West Ham was left with enough egg on its face to make omelettes for its entire squad. The club's appeal against an appeal to try to find a loophole that would enable Andy Carroll to get off his red card ended in predictable failure, leaving the club with a six-figure legal bill.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2014

Tamogami finds right-wing niche

Last Sunday, a week before Tokyo residents go to the polls and choose a new governor, prominent candidates were campaigning hard in Ginza, showcasing their ability to manage a ¥13 trillion annual budget that almost equals Indonesia's national budget.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear