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EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2018

LDP's proposed electoral system amendment

The LDP's proposed electoral system amendment won't solve the vote-value disparity problem and may conflict with the Constitution's Article 43.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 7, 2016

Japan's taxman sticks his OAR in, looking for leviable expat assets held abroad

Experts answer readers' queries about the overseas assets reporting law aimed at taxing wealth held outside Japan.
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2016

Intimidation via the Broadcast Law

Communications minister Sanae Takaichi's statement strengthens the case for creating a neutral, independent body to take charge of broadcasting administration, including the issuance and withdrawals of licenses.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 3, 2015

Japan's security bills are tactical approach to battle

Lawmakers are due to continue debating two contentious security bills until mid-September, comprising some of the most controversial government-sponsored legislation to reach the Diet in recent years.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 23, 2015

Will Japan become Asia's next autocracy?

The LDP's draft constitution contains elements that would move Japan toward illiberalism and autocracy if it was adopted.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 1, 2015

Readers' letters: Roppongi, Ferguson, 'Massan,' Julien Blanc and more

Some emails received in response to Community articles at the tail end of 2014.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Nov 7, 2014

Readers' letters: carrying ID, subway 'saviors,' JA rackets, Taiji alternatives and goats

A selection of emails received in response to recent Community articles.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 2, 2013

Legislation bureau chief Abe's window to collective defense

The appointment of Ichiro Komatsu as director general of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau is a step toward Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's goal of reinterpreting the Constitution so Japan can engage in collective self-defense.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Aug 19, 2013

Union, business concerns put limits on freedom of speech

Hot on the heels of their romp to victory in the race for control of the House of Councilors, the Liberal Democratic Party is chomping at the bit to overhaul the Constitution, which has not been amended since it was signed into law in 1946. The ruling party proposes gutting Article 9, which forever bans...
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2013

Hashimoto rips Sakai mayor over integration vote

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, coleader of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), criticized on Tuesday a proposal by Sakai Mayor Osami Takeyama to hold a city referendum on participating in an integrated Osaka, calling it nonsense and a political stunt.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Mar 26, 2013

Consensus: Corporal punishment in sports misguided, demoralizing, backward

The following are some readers' responses to the March 12 Foreign Element column by Richard Parker headlined "Right or wrong, corporal punishment can produce winners." See many more in the comment section below the original article.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Mar 5, 2013

Child's quibble with U.S. 'poverty superpower' propaganda unravels a sobering story about insular Japan

Last November, a reader in Hokkaido named Stephanie sent me an article read in Japan's elementary schools. Featured in a sixth-grader magazine called Chagurin (from "child agricultural green") dated December 2012, it was titled "Children of America, the Poverty Superpower" (hinkon taikoku Amerika no...
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 19, 2013

Push to change Constitution gains parties' favor

Political efforts to change a key part of the Constitution that would make it much easier to revise other articles continue to strengthen in the ruling and opposition parties.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Sep 18, 2012

Work-rules verdict jars with laws aimed at leveling playing field for employees

We live our lives bound by rules. As a student, my teachers scolded me to comply with school regulations, which were Draconian by modern standards: "Skirt hems must reach down to within 5 cm above the knees," "Boys must shave their heads" and other meaninglessly strict school regulations were the rule...
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a Democratic Party for the People convention in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, on Feb. 11.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Apr 6, 2025

Breaking with tradition: From the shop floor to fighting for millions

Tomoko Yoshino has rubbed shoulders with political heavyweights and business leaders as the first female leader of Rengo.
U.S. officials have insisted that Washington remains committed to NATO, an alliance that has seen American military might underpin Western security for over seven decades.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2025

NATO presses to keep Trump on board, but is he hobbling alliance?

As the Trump administration savages Europe, undercuts Kyiv and warms to Russia, there is fear that even if the alliance is salvaged, it runs the risk of being hollowed out.
Thailand's national flag is waved by royalists during an event to support the monarchy in Bangkok in 2020.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 10, 2025

Thailand revokes visa of U.S. academic charged with royal insult

The charge is a rare instance of a foreigner falling foul of strict laws that shield King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family from any criticism.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hold a news conference at the White House in Washington on Feb. 7. Tokyo's focus on economic strength to promote security contrasts with Washington's current era of unpredictability.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 15, 2025

For real national security, try a Japanese perspective

Genuine national security starts from a strong economy, one that provides for its citizens, incentivizes growth, production and wealth, and invites foreign participation.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday in Washington.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 16, 2025

Trump calls the U.S.-Japan alliance ‘one-sided.’ Tokyo says otherwise.

Some observers believe the U.S. president’s worldview is stuck in the 1980s, a time when trade deficits with Japan captured the attention of U.S. policymakers.
Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Hanoi on Tuesday. Xi is also visiting Malaysia and Cambodia as part of a charm offensive related to recent U.S. tariffs.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 17, 2025

Cambodia seeking China's financial support as Xi visits amid U.S. tariffs

Phnom Penh is a close partner of China, which has invested billions of dollars in projects including roads and airports and is the country's largest creditor.
U.S. President Donald Trump shows a copy of an article he said is about white South Africans who had been killed, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD
May 23, 2025

Trump's image of dead 'white farmers' did not come from footage of South Africa

The image U.S. President Donald Trump used was pulled from footage shot following deadly battles with Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Voters in Tokyo listen to a speech by a candidate in Japan's Oct. 27, 2024 general election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 13, 2025

Japan news media association pledges accurate news for elections

The statement says that social media platforms should take proactive measures against fake and false information on the internet.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a joint news conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 17, 2025

Outline emerges of Putin's offer to end his war in Ukraine

It was not immediately clear if the proposals by Putin were an opening gambit to serve as a starting point for negotiations or more like a final offer.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint news conference with the European Commission president in Brussels on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 18, 2025

Trump’s peace-deal demands leave Ukraine's Zelenskyy with only bad options

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy faces an existential dilemma as he travels to Washington for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during a news conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, last week.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 22, 2025

Doubts grow on Ukraine security plan as Russia demands role

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow should have a say in security arrangements for Ukraine, which could also involve Beijing.
Warsaw's skyline in July
WORLD
Sep 10, 2025

Poland downs drones, becoming first NATO member to open fire during Ukraine war

Moscow denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior diplomat in Poland saying the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine.
This damaged drone was found in a field near the eastern Polish village of Czosnowka on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2025

Lessons for NATO after Putin sends drones over Poland

The U.S. and Europe have a lot to learn from Russia’s warning shot.
The Pokemon mascot Pikachu wearing a Chicago Cubs jersey attends the Tokyo Series at Tokyo Dome in March. As the world rediscovers Japan, it’s learning that many preconceptions no longer apply.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 1, 2025

Is Japan finally back? That’s the wrong question.

Almost three decades after prices first fell into negative territory, they’ve now risen every month for the past four years.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (center right) and Papua New Guinea leader James Marape pose with officials after the signing of the Pukpuk Treaty at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 6, 2025

With eye on China, Australia and Papua New Guinea ink mutual defense pact

The agreement is mainly intended to offset China’s expanding military clout in the South Pacific and prevent Beijing from projecting power through Australia’s northern approach.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building