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COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Feb 7, 2016

What's in a surname? A court divorced from reality

Here at Law of the Land, I try to share "the Japanese law experience" with general readers. Today's experience is called "The Frustration of Reading Supreme Court Decisions" and takes as examples two of the most significant decisions of 2015: one on a law requiring spouses to have the same surname, the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 18, 2015

National ruckus over security bills puts spotlight on Supreme Court

The verbal war over the national security bills is heating up now that Japan's constitutional scholars have clearly branded Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's reinterpretation of war-renouncing Article 9 and all legislation based on it as unconstitutional.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 12, 2015

Japan security bills reveal irreconcilable divide between scholars, politicians

The full-scale battle over security reform highlights an unbridgeable gap between politicians and scholars that will have to be filled by Japan's less-than-proactive Supreme Court.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Oct 1, 2014

Readers' letters: Ian Thorpe, the Yushukan, racism, teaching English, tipping and sunlight

Some emails received in response to recent Community articles.
EDITORIALS
Jul 14, 2013

Dangers of constitutional revision

If the LDP and and its allies win at least two-thirds of the Upper House seats on July 21, watch for Shinzo Abe to push constitutional revisions.
COMMENTARY
Jul 19, 2003

Hong Kong's democratic hopes vs. authoritarian fears

HONG KONG -- July 1, 2003 -- when at least 500,000 Hong Kongers marched in nonviolent protest -- will live long in memory, provided that Hong Kong remains an oasis of freedom set in China's authoritarian sea. But it was also a day that will almost certainly be expunged from the Chinese collective memory...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2015

Lawyer raps weekly for expose on minor in Kawasaki slaying

When personal information on minors in criminal cases ends up online, that doesn't give the mass media full justification to publicize it, a lawyer says.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 19, 2014

Getting to the heart of Abe's vision for Japan's military

The hottest buzzwords in politics these days are "the right of collective self-defense," now that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's advisory panel on security has released its much-awaited recommendations for reinterpreting the Constitution.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2012

Woodford book chronicles story of coverup

Last summer, Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, the CEO of Olympus Corp., instructed the firm's executives to keep then-President Michael C. Woodford from finding out about a magazine article that exposed the company's dubious transactions, a newly published book by Woodford reveals.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2009

Piracy and the Constitution

Once again the issue of Japanese contributions to international security efforts is the subject of tortured debate. And once again the proposed government policy, and aspects of the debate itself, reveals fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between Article 9 of the Constitution and the relevant...
JAPAN / CHARTER TURNS 60
May 4, 2007

LDP wants to cut freedoms: DPJ

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe doesn't understand the basics of the Constitution and wants to use it to reduce human rights, not protect them, according to the head of a constitutional study panel for the Democratic Party of Japan.
COMMENTARY
Aug 23, 2001

Japan not innately militaristic

At any time of the year, evaluating Japan and its military intentions is like looking through a telescope. From one end, everything appears bigger than it actually is. From the other, everything looks smaller.
JAPAN / Explainer
Jan 21, 2022

Decades on, text governing U.S. forces in Japan is yet to be revised

Scrutiny of the Status of Forces Agreement has been renewed after U.S. military personnel were exempted from Japanese COVID-19 measures and areas around U.S. bases saw rises in cases.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2021

The Black reporter who exposed a lie about the atom bomb

Charles Loeb defied the American military's denials and propaganda to show how deadly radiation from the strike on Hiroshima sickened and killed.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 17, 2019

#StandUpJapan and other hashtags allow for new voices to be heard

On the morning of Jan. 14, 20-year-old women decked out in brightly colored kimono scrambled to catch trains to take them to ceremonies across the country to mark Coming of Age Day.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 7, 2018

More readers' responses to Japan Times Community articles from 2017

A selection of unpublished letters about Community stories from the second half of last year.
JAPAN / Politics / Decision 2017
Oct 19, 2017

'Manifesto' era may be over but election campaigns still rife with rosy pledges and vague bottom lines

Eight years is a long time in Japanese politics and people are quick to forget, but things were vastly different then.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 11, 2016

Abe's constitutional revision hopes ride on July election, right-leaning opposition cooperation

Japan's postwar pacifism will face a critical challenge this year that could drastically change the course of this country forever: the July Upper House election.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 29, 2015

Former Asahi Shimbun reporter says threats against him are getting worse

A former Asahi Shimbun reporter who has sustained a spate of personal attacks relating to his coverage of so-called "comfort women" years ago says the threats against him are growing worse.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jun 25, 2014

Is Japan a haven for expats with psychological problems? Readers discuss

Readers clash on the merits of William Bradbury's recent Foreign Agenda article, 'Japan: a haven for the psychologically troubled.'
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 22, 2013

Fixing the much-admired, reviled Constitution — by breaking it

With Shinzo Abe having called Japan's current Constitution "pathetic" (mittomonai) just a few days before taking charge of a government established under it, constitutional amendment seems likely to be on the agenda of his second go as prime minister. This should not surprise anyone, since "fixing" the...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Mar 27, 2012

JET teacher outfoxes board, Dr. Savoie's Hague prescription: readers' responses

Some responses to Patrick Budmar's Feb. 28 Light Gist column, "Teacher outfoxes board, exposes bid to fleece JETs":
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Sep 13, 2011

The loneliness — or otherwise — of the long-distance foreigner

The Japan Times received a large number of readers' emails in response to Debito Arudou's Just Be Cause column published Aug. 2, headlined "The loneliness of the long-distance foreigner." Here, belatedly, are a selection.
EDITORIALS
May 4, 2011

Triple disaster and the Constitution

Japan on Tuesday marked the 64th anniversary of the enforcement of the postwar Constitution just as the entire nation, including its people, private enterprises, and the central and local governments, is struggling to overcome the consequences of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 19, 2008

Does Emperor pose hurdle to forming a common Asia market?

The slowing United States and its subprime-mortgage woes are promoting the need for economic interdependency in Asia, but various hurdles must be overcome before the widely diverse economies can further solidify regional ties.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 19, 2007

Collective defense: What it means for Japan

Under the initiative of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a new government panel held its first meeting Friday to discuss whether Japan can legally exercise the right to participate in "collective self-defense.''
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2001

Japanese merit peace prize: scholar

A U.S. scholar engaged in spreading the spirit of the Japanese Constitution's war-renouncing Article 9 will propose Thursday in New York that the article and the Japanese people be awarded a special Nobel Peace Prize, his supporters in Japan said.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 1998

Supreme court issues protest on story of Kobe boy's confession

In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court sent a protest letter Tuesday to the publisher of a monthly magazine that printed confidential prosecution documents on the Kobe boy who last year killed and beheaded an 11-year-old boy.
JAPAN / Society / EXPLAINER
Jun 29, 2022

Unpacking Japan's latest ruling on same-sex marriage

While the Osaka and Sapporo courts agreed on one key point, they diverged on whether the lack of same-sex marriage violates the Constitution's equality principle.

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