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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 1, 2019

Taipei blasts 'provocative' Chinese fighter jet incursion across Taiwan Strait line

Taiwan has protested what it called a "reckless" and "provocative" flight by two Chinese fighter jets across the so-called median line of the Taiwan Strait, the country said late Sunday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 1, 2019

Take your Japanese to the point where you can even use 'sae' and 'made' correctly

The particles u307eu3067 and u3055u3048 both emphasize degree, the former expressing the limits of time, space, quantity and so on. By attaching it to a noun (X), the construction Xu307eu3067 can translate to “until X”
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2019

Twitter has its say about Reiwa, Japan's new era name

Twitter erupted in a flood of posts Monday morning as the Japanese government revealed the country's new era name, Reiwa u4ee4u548c, which is set to go into effect starting May 1. Keywords and hashtags related to the revelation captured most of the top trending spots on the social-media network.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2019

Bank of Japan should avoid pushing rates further below zero, head of lenders' association says

The new head of the nation's main banking lobby is warning the Bank of Japan against deepening negative interest rates, signaling that such a move could spur risky investment and put further pressure on lenders' profits.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 1, 2019

Heisei it ain't so! An era of great vocabulary is ending

In the beginning there was the word. More precisely, the prefix. When the Heisei Era officially started, on Jan. 8, 1989, Japan's economy was still merrily bubbling along. That must have been one reason for the popularity of 超 (chō, hyper-). The prefix itself is anything but new, but the idea to make...
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Apr 1, 2019

Pope hits leaders who build walls to keep migrants out, saying they ultimately imprison themselves

Pope Francis said on Sunday that political leaders who want walls and other barriers to keep migrants out "will end up becoming prisoners of the walls they build.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2019

Tokyo taxis show off true colors to make ride-hailing easier

With the Olympics — and an anticipated influx of even more foreign tourists — a little more than a year away, local companies are finding more ways to get in on the act of showcasing Japanese know-how and enhancing the overall experience of visitors.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 1, 2019

Thai king's rebuke of Thaksin points to junta-backed regime taking office

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn issued a rare rebuke of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra about a week after an inconclusive national election, making it more likely that a pro-military party would form a government.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Apr 1, 2019

Border row pitches noninterventionist Mexican president into deep water with Trump

Donald Trump's threat to shut the U.S. border if Mexico does not halt all illegal immigration has exposed the limitations of the new Mexican government's strategy of trying to appease the U.S. president as he gears up for re-election.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 1, 2019

Murdered South Carolina student may have thought car was her Uber ride, say police

A South Carolina man has been charged in the murder of a University of South Carolina student who may have gotten into her killer's car mistakenly believing that it was her Uber ride, police said.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Apr 1, 2019

Trump aides repeat threat to shut down U.S.-Mexico border on 'melting point' migrant crisis

The Trump administration on Sunday doubled down on its threat to shut down the southern border with Mexico, a day after it cut aid to Central American countries which President Donald Trump accused of deliberately sending migrants to the United States.
Japan Times
SATOYAMA CONSORTIUM
Mar 31, 2019

Regional resources spawn fresh initiatives

At the seventh Satoyama Cafe in Tokyo, Naoto Akagi, president of the Ashitaka incorporated association in Maniwa, Okayama Prefecture, spoke about how the association effectively uses the resources of the city's northeastern rural district of Chuka.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Mar 31, 2019

Partnership echoes 'build global, live local' mantra

Boasting a fast-track career trajectory with U.S. e-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc., General Manager Tom White of Uber (Rides), Japan is having the ride of his life.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Mar 31, 2019

ONE Championship makes debut in Japan

Before coming down the ramp for her fight, Mei Yamaguchi, in a nod to her surroundings at Ryogoku Kokugikan, did a brief shiko (where a sumo wrestler lifts his leg high and straight before stamping it down on the ground).
JAPAN / Help Wanted?
Mar 31, 2019

Bumpy ride feared in Japan as new visa types issued to ease labor crunch

Japan will open its doors wider to workers from abroad when the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act takes effect. However, with it comes a host of other issues.
JAPAN / Help Wanted?
Mar 31, 2019

Foreign workers are on the way, but are Japanese businesses ready?

A new visa program designed to lure more workers to Japan takes effect Monday, and government officials and industry leaders hope two new types will help alleviate the national labor shortage.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 31, 2019

Baku Sakashita: In light of good design

Designer and artisan Baku Sakashita sheds light on his striking Suki series of lamps and the history of design in Japan.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Mar 31, 2019

Heisei's legal legacies include greater civic participation

With Emperor Akihito abdicating on April 30, the Heisei Era that began Jan. 8, 1989, after his father's death will also come to an end. With this column I'd like to look back at some of the noteworthy changes that occurred to Japan's laws and legal institutions during the past three decades.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 31, 2019

Can Tokyo and Seoul break their deadlock?

Tokyo and Seoul should consider who will be the losers and more importantly, who will be the winners, from a prolonged division in the bilateral relationship?
EDITORIALS
Mar 31, 2019

Principles needed for autonomous lethal weapons

A legally binding framework for lethal autonomous weapons systems must be developed to ensure that both regulations and norms can guide efforts in this field.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2019

No news is bad news for civil discourse

The disappearance of local newspapers is making national politics more polarized.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 31, 2019

Before mosque attacks, New Zealand failed to record hate crimes for over a decade

Weeks before a gunman killed 50 Muslims in Christchurch, a man had threatened to burn copies of the Quran outside New Zealand mosques, in what community leaders said was the latest in a long list of threatening behavior against religious minorities.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Mar 31, 2019

As new era looms, women still face age-old challenges

Kumi Fujisawa launched her finance career in Tokyo in 1989. It was a notable year: Emperor Akihito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne, the Nikkei average reached its giddy peak and the Sony Walkman was still a hot-selling gadget.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Mar 30, 2019

Jets outplay East rival Brex, extend winning streak to 11

Between them, the Chiba Jets Funabashi and Tochigi Brex have won a remarkable 85 of 102 regular-season games this season.
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Mar 30, 2019

Defining the Heisei Era: Japan deals with death, disasters and a feeling of insecurity

Post-disaster Tohoku has been rife with supernatural sightings.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 30, 2019

When apo-den telephone scams take deadly turns

On Feb. 28, the body of Kuniko Kato, 80, was found in her ransacked apartment in Tokyo's Koto Ward. Her wrists had been bound with clear plastic wrap and her mouth and ankles bound with duct tape. While the specific cause of death has not been made public, she appeared to have suffocated. A police search...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past