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COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2014

'Black money' fairy tale drives Indian adults

Millions of adult Indians enthusiastically propagate a fairy tale that says once a strong government brings billions of dollars of 'black money' home, India will cease being poor and take its rightful place among the superpowers of the world.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
May 4, 2014

Kikokushijo: returnees to a country not yet ready for them

Though the number of returnee students has tripled since 1977, and despite the recent government push to develop 'global human resources,' the existence of this group of globally educated young people has been largely ignored by policymakers.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2013

Today's take on Stalingrad

In one of Moscow's central subway stations — Arbatskaya — the escalator leading up to the city exit ends in a spacious vestibule. On the front wall, a classic frame several meters high is covered with white plaster. It bears no image, and the white paint must be regularly renewed to avoid ugly cracks....
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 11, 2013

Mori isle 'compromise' flatly denied

Tokyo on Thursday moved quickly to reaffirm official policy calling for the return of four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, a day after former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori suggested a compromise that would leave one in Moscow's hands.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Apr 6, 2010

Japan, U.N. share blind spot on 'migrants'

On March 23, I gave a speech to Jorge Bustamante, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, for NGO FRANCA regarding racial discrimination in Japan. Text follows:
COMMENTARY
Sep 19, 2009

Colombo risks squandering Sri Lanka's hard-won peace

If Sri Lanka is to become a tropical paradise again, it must build enduring peace. This will only occur through genuine interethnic equality, and a transition from being a unitary state to being a federation that grants provincial and local autonomy.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2009

Lower House panel takes up contentious immigration bill

A Lower House panel Friday began deliberating a controversial bill that would revise the immigration law by strengthening state control over foreigners and illegal entry by shifting responsibility for alien registration to the central government from municipalities and increasing penalties for violators....
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2008

Ruling bloc OKs ¥2 trillion boost

The government and Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc officially adopted a ¥2 trillion cash handout program Wednesday, but officials said they don't know yet if foreign residents will get a piece of the pie.
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2006

Simplifying disaster communications

Since Japan lies in the path of typhoons, wide areas of the nation suffer from floods and landslides every year. Cloudbursts also wreak havoc in limited areas. Accurate information is crucial in preventing injuries, deaths and property damage when disasters strike. In a welcome move, the Ministry of...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 22, 2006

Japan's fingerprinting law is dumb . . . (and that's just what the government thinks)

On May 18, 2006, a little discussed and little debated law passed the Diet.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Apr 16, 2006

Editor on a mission for consumers

Some people sarcastically refer to journalists in Japan as "sarariman reporters." That's because even though the Fourth Estate potentially has enormous power and influence, its members are often timid, risk-averse and happy to cozy up with the politicians, government agencies and corporations they cover....
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2003

U.N. voice for 'civil society'

In his opening address in Beijing to the U.N. conference on the question of Palestine on Dec. 16, China's Deputy Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo paid particular at- tention to the role of civil society -- academic and business communities, nongovernmental organizations and others -- in appealing for peace...
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2001

Shinsei Bank in fundraising drive

Shinsei Bank plans to securitize its own loan assets and sell them to investors to diversify its fundraising methods, bank officials said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Feb 19, 2001

Defense issues move to the fore

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, in a policy speech to the Diet Jan. 31, stated: "Emergency legislation (designed to defend Japan in the event of foreign aggression) is necessary to ensure the security of the state and the people. I intend to initiate considerations in this regard." Earlier, on Jan. 26,...
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2000

Japan officials scratch heads over uninvited guest Fujimori

Japanese government officials are vexed over reports that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who disappeared Wednesday afternoon from a Tokyo hotel, hopes to stay in Japan for an extended period of time.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Mar 22, 2000

Won't be fooled again

When asked about the dot-com economy, Tim Dyson was succinct and acid -- almost contemptuous. "There's only one metric," he said. "Stock price."
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Oct 27, 1999

Eyes on the storm

You don't have to be the wonky sort to want to keep tabs on what is going on in Northeast Asia. Yes, diplomacy can be tedious -- although North Korean rhetoric does liven things up a good bit -- but most Japan Times readers live in Japan and that puts them within range of those missiles ostensibly threatening...
JAPAN
Oct 5, 1998

Lower House panel passes JNR debt bills

Bills to dispose of 27.8 trillion yen in debts left by the former Japanese National Railways were passed Monday by a Lower House special committee after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and two opposition parties reached a compromise.The bills, which are expected to be passed by a Lower House plenary...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 24, 2023

Biden nominates North Korea human rights envoy, first since 2017

The White House moved to fill a post that has been empty since 2017 amid debate over how rights issues fit with efforts to counter Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 25, 2022

Key takeaways from the Australia-Japan summit

The Australia-Japan summit in Perth was big on deliverables, focusing on security cooperation, China and values.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 2, 2022

Unification Church and the LDP: A scandal or a witch hunt?

Japan performs a balancing act with political parties and how closely they should be allowed to work with religious groups.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 16, 2022

Why Ukraine war crimes trials could take many years

Long after the fighting ends, any prosecutions and trials arising from it could be barely beginning. Here is a look at the complexities of bringing aggressors to justice.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. leaves a meeting in Jakarta on Sept. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 28, 2023

Marcos' challenge of China pressures U.S.

There are questions about how far Manila is willing to go and whether the U.S. would really have its back if the situation escalates.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a policy speech during an extraordinary session of parliament in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 23, 2023

The economy takes center stage in Kishida’s policy speech

"'The economy, the economy, the economy.’ I will focus my attention on the economy more than anything else,” Kishida said in opening remarks.
Israeli soldiers gather around a tank near the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 15. The IDF is preparing to conduct a ground offensive into the Palestinian territory.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 26, 2023

When history rhymes: Are we back in 2003, at the dawn of the Iraq War?

Given the parallels between the Israeli position today and the U.S. invasion of Iraq a decade ago, history can offer important lessons.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 31, 2023

Nihon University staff downplayed drug use problem, report says

The report shows how the university’s system of governance led to the delay in taking action against the American football team’s culture of drug use.
Donald Trump vowed to seek Supreme Court review after Colorado’s top court on Tuesday barred him from the 2024 presidential ballot there.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2023

Trump’s fate rests with the U.S. Supreme Court he shaped

The court will play a pivotal role in determining whether Trump will land in prison — or return to the White House.
While Donald Trump and Joe Biden are both highly unpopular, key economic indicators and recent polls suggest that Biden should be worried about the coming election.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2024

The anatomy of the Biden-Trump rematch

Trump has an energetic base whereas Biden’s re-election bid generates almost no enthusiasm. Still, many Americans strongly oppose a second Trump term.

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