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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 8, 2016

Media show Kumamoto was woefully ill-prepared for disabled evacuees

It was heartening to see newspapers focusing on the difficulties disabled people face when disaster strikes, but far less heartening to hear what they had to say about the facts on the ground in Kumamoto.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2016

Examining 'Industry 4.0' opportunities

"Industry 4.0," or the fourth industrial revolution, can offer both opportunities and risks for the Japanese economy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 22, 2016

Lawyers say official misconduct may be hard to prove in Flint tainted water scandal

The lead criminal charge brought on Wednesday against two Michigan state officials in connection with the tainted water supply in Flint, Michigan, could be difficult to prove, lawyers familiar with the state's criminal law said.
EDITORIALS
Apr 21, 2016

Time for Amari to talk

Former economy minister Akira Amari should follow through on his pledge to account for the millions of yen that he and his aides received from a construction company.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 19, 2016

Abe insider wages one-man campaign to challenge foreign media over reporting 'mistakes'

An Internet strategy adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is keeping his eyes peeled for what he calls "mistakes" by foreign media, because he thinks nobody in the government or the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has ever paid proper attention.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2016

The China-Pakistan axis gathers momentum

With India ascending in the global hierarchy and strengthening its ties with the United States, China's relationship with Pakistan will likely grow.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2016

Putin puts an army at his personal command

Once again, instead of opening up and liberalizing, the embattled Putin regime is closing in on itself, and the man sitting on top of it is taking on more and more direct powers.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 12, 2016

U.S.-led offensives drive Islamic State militants back, but worries about what's next persist

As U.S.-led offensives drive back the Islamic State group in Iraq, concern is growing among U.S. and U.N. officials that efforts to stabilize liberated areas are lagging, creating conditions that could help the militants endure as an underground network.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 11, 2016

Kerry becomes first U.S. secretary of state to visit Hiroshima memorial

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry became the first top American diplomat to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum on Monday, offering flowers at the cenotaph inside the park in a move that could pave the way for a possible visit by President Barack Obama during the Group of Seven summit...
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 8, 2016

Diet erupts in outrage as ex-minister's TPP manuscript reveals details Abe kept under wraps

The Democratic Party boycotts Diet talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership after memoirs linked to former farm minister Koya Nishikawa reveal details of the secret trade negotiations.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 5, 2016

Japan, China diplomats present concerted front on North Korea sanctions

China's special representative for the Korean Peninsula, Wu Dawei, met with his Japanese counterpart Tuesday to show a concerted effort to deal with North Korea's growing nuclear ambitions.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 2, 2016

Terrorist 'madmen' must not be allowed to get nuclear material, Obama says at summit

U.S. President Barack Obama urged world leaders on Friday to do more to safeguard vulnerable nuclear facilities to prevent "madmen" in groups like the Islamic State from getting their hands on an atomic weapon or creating a radioactive "dirty bomb."
EDITORIALS
Mar 31, 2016

Half-hearted decentralization effort

The poor results of the Abe administration's attempt to move national government functions out of Tokyo cast doubts as to how serious the administration is about pursuing its much-hyped policy of revitalizing regional economies by creating more jobs outside the capital.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 30, 2016

Evidence mounts of missed red flags in case of former Tokyo teacher facing U.S. child rape charges

Fugitive 'Mr. Wonder' returned to Tokyo in the 1980s and visited St. Mary's International School, witness says.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 28, 2016

Abe offers ¥600 million grant to Zimbabwe in bid to counter Chinese economic offensive

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe a ¥600 million welcome to Japan in the form of an aid pledge intended to lure more Japanese companies back to the former agricultural powerhouse and counter an aggressive foray by China. But the move could also raise eyebrows in the West....
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2016

French innkeepers share 'minpaku' woes with Japan hoteliers

Operators of hotels and inns wary of the government's plan to deregulate vacation rentals are saying in unison: Look at what happened in France.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 16, 2016

Kyoto monk on a mission opens his doors to diversity

Business-savvy Zen abbot invites media attention, praise and criticism with his embrace of same-sex weddings.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 11, 2016

Needs of post-3/11 Tohoku stay in focus for filmmakers

The dramatic imagery that emerged from the disasters of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, documented so extensively by mainstream and social media, is hard to forget. However, there were and still are many stories to be told about the people who were left to pick up the pieces of their lives...
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 7, 2016

New Trump tower funded by rich Chinese who invest cash for visas

Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has attacked China and warned about the dangers of deficient immigrant screening.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 5, 2016

National pride obscures harsh truth about Sharp deal

An object of pride for Japanese consumers during the 2000s was the so-called Kameyama flat-screen television set manufactured by Sharp. Named after the factory in Mie Prefecture where it was assembled, the LCD-TV came with a sticker attesting to its provenance, and many people who bought the model never...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2016

Game app could teach children how to detect potential dangers of smartphones

As the use of smartphones grows in popularity with school children, educators are struggling with ways to teach young people how to recognize and handle the potential dangers they could face, and a smartphone game app called "Soul Negotiator" could be the answer teachers are looking for.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Feb 29, 2016

Chris Rock pulls no punches as host of one of the most socially conscious Academy Awards shows

Comedian Chris Rock launched his return stint as Oscar host on Sunday by immediately and unabashedly confronting the racially charged elephant in the room — the furor over the all-white field of performers nominated for Hollywood's highest honors.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Feb 29, 2016

'Landmark' ruling sent Japan's foreign residents back to welfare limbo

Widely misunderstood 2014 case reaffirmed the decades-old stopgap that means noncitizens can receive support but can't appeal if their application is rejected.

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