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JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 2, 2014

Another low for Japan's gender gap, as only 15% of election candidates are female

So much for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's call to empower women.
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.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 16, 2014

Grisly Sasebo murder defies explanation

Homicides involving dismemberment, referred to in Japanese as bara-bara jiken (scattered incidents), fall into a wider category known as ryōki hanzai (bizarre crimes) — written with kanji meaning "hunting the strange." Typically when minors were involved in such cases they tended to be victims, not...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 30, 2014

Fukushima disaster colors A-bomb anniversaries

Over the past three years, the atomic bombing anniversaries in August have increasingly become a time to ask new questions.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 13, 2014

Man asserts death wish in 'Basuke' threats

A man accused of making hostile threats linked to a popular basketball manga admits full guilt, demands severe punishment and says he wants to kill himself.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / LEARNING CURVE
Feb 23, 2014

Lado’s victory and demise weren’t without their lessons

With decreasing salaries and eroding job security, it may seem as if little has improved for instructors working in Japan's eikaiwa (English conversation) industry.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2014

Abe exploiting window for biggest defense change since war

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, pressed by China and seeking to strengthen ties with the U.S., is considering Japan's biggest change in military engagement rules since World War II.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 7, 2013

Passage of contentious secrets law ends extra Diet session

The extraordinary Diet session effectively closed Saturday morning after the House of Councilors enacted the state secrecy law despite raucous protests from the opposition camp.
Japan Times
PRESS / Corporate Trends
Oct 1, 2013

Sayuri Daimon Named Managing Editor of The Japan Times

The Japan Times today announces the appointment of Sayuri Daimon as the new Managing Editor for The Japan Times. Daimon is the first woman to fill this role in the newspaper’s 116-year history.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 30, 2013

Abe betting this tax hike will be different

It's different this time. The four most dangerous words in markets, according to former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2013

Ex-con on mission to tame recidivism rate

Hiroshi Igarashi remembers feeling like a dinosaur when he was released from prison in 2011 after nine years behind bars. He had no idea how to use IC cards and phones as train tickets. Even the self-serve "drink bar" system in restaurants struck him as an utter enigma.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 10, 2013

Aso's Nazi gaffe tarnishes Abe's agenda for constitutional revision

The other night at my local sushi bar conversation turned to Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso's comments about constitutional revision — specifically, his suggestion there is something to be learned from the way the Nazis revised the Weimar Constitution in 1933.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2013

New America-Japan Society chief looks to expand

It has a well-recognized name and more than a century of history. Many prominent figures from Japan and the United States have been involved in its efforts to nurture friendly ties between the two nations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 24, 2013

Zen master indulges Japanese sword myth

'The one who kills is empty, his sword is empty, and the one who is attacked is empty, too. Thus the one who attacks is not a person. And the sword that strikes is not a sword. For the one who is attacked, it is just like cleaving in a lightning flash the breeze blowing in the spring sky.'
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2012

Refugee pines to go back to, help Myanmar

When Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi announced her trust in President Thein Sein last August, Tin Win Akbar decided it was time to return home after spending almost 16 years as an exile in Japan.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 8, 2012

Buddhist wisdom and questions of science

Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic: A Manifesto for the Mind Sciences and Contemplative Practice, by B. Alan Wallace. Columbia University Press, 2011, 304 pp., $27.95 (hardcover) This book is a stirring attack on the hubris and blind spots of the scientific establishment, combined with an engaging presentation...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 6, 2012

Berlitz court ruling unequivocal on basic right to strike

After hearing more than three years of testimony, the judge took only a minute to read the court's verdict rejecting Berlitz Japan's ¥110 million lawsuit against striking teachers and their union and reaffirming organized labor's right to take industrial action.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2011

Cleanup effort enters new phase

Since the Golden Week holidays in early May, fewer volunteers have gone to the Tohoku region to help it clean up from the devastation caused by the March 11 quake and tsunami.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 25, 2011

Foreign refugees pitch in to help

Myo Myint Swe, a 42-year-old refugee from Myanmar, said that since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, he wanted to help those in the Tohoku region affected by the devastation.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 8, 2011

Hisashi Inoue's great legacy is just the ticket to inspire our best efforts

A beautiful cherry-blossom tree stands right beside the sento (public bath) I religiously go to, and its top branch hangs over an opening in the roof. In early April, petals were falling from the branch down into the water, which comes out of the ground the color of strong coffee.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 15, 2010

Mah-jongg ancient, progressive

Few games may be as addictive as mah-jongg, whose players range from university students to salarymen and tend to go at it all night, often for money.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2010

Can Kan survive the leadership gauntlet?

Japan has gone through prime ministers at a dizzying rate — Naoto Kan is the sixth in the last four years, and 14th over the past two decades — the highest turnover among the major industrialized countries.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 9, 2010

Don't count Ozawa out of the scene yet

When Naoto Kan announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party of Japan presidency last week, he told reporters DPJ kingpin Ichiro Ozawa "should remain silent" for a while after quitting as secretary general, considering how his political money scandals helped speed the downfall of Yukio Hatoyama as...
JAPAN / POSTAL REFORM ROLLBACK
Apr 15, 2010

Reversal on deposit limit a major gamble for DPJ

The Cabinet's recent decision to accept a plan to double the ceiling on postal savings accounts to ¥20 million, as proposed by postal reform minister Shizuka Kamei, marks a drastic policy shift for the Democratic Party of Japan, which in the past argued the maximum should be halved from the current...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 13, 2010

Computer whiz turns 'strangeness' into asset

From his early days in Japan as a destitute student sleeping in train station stairwells to living in a 3-mat room that cost him ¥10,000 a month, Richard Northcott went on to head a mobile software company that now enjoys sales of $2 million a year.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji