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Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 22, 2019

Abe's push to amend Japan's Constitution faces uncertain future after Upper House vote

Undaunted by the failure to capture a two-thirds supermajority in the upper chamber, Abe pushes on with his goal to rewrite the charter, with an eye on Article 9.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Apr 29, 2019

Defining the Heisei Era: Just how peaceful were the past 30 years?

Asked what characteristics best summed up the Heisei Era (1989-2019), 79 percent of Japanese people thought it would be best remembered as being “peaceful and without war.”
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2018

Birds of a feather do fall out sometimes

Seasoned diplomats are much subtler and more prudent than badgers of the same stripe.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 4, 2018

Panel balks at proposing the killing of Japan's political fairness clause

The proposal had drawn criticism for potentially opening up the nation's airwaves to a deluge of politically charged programs and internet-driven 'fake news.'
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jan 29, 2018

Let's discuss Tetsuya Komuro's retirement

Music producer Tetsuya Komuro says he will retire from the industry following a recent magazine report about his alleged extramarital affair with a nurse.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 16, 2017

Why do some old men age disgracefully?

It's a universal belief that life is unfair, though there are many ways in which people manifest this belief. Some withdraw from the world, while others engage with it in an attempt to correct imbalances. Sometimes this engagement takes the form of anger.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 22, 2017

Abe's gamble pays off as ruling bloc bags two-thirds majority in Lower House

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition is certain of a resounding victory in the Lower House election that will give it a two-thirds majority.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 3, 2017

Abe, Mattis reaffirm ties on defense

Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis reaffirms Washington's commitment to the U.S.-Japan military alliance amid Japanese concern over the rhetoric of U.S. President Donald Trump.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 4, 2017

The silencing of an anti-U.S. base protester in Okinawa

The extended detention of Hiroji Yamashiro is a shocking display of raw government power.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jul 20, 2016

Readers' letters: Rote learning, vocab and Eiken's aims

Some readers' responses to last month's article by Hans Karlsson, 'Is the Eiken doing Japan's English learners more harm than good?'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 11, 2016

LDP-led ruling bloc, allies clear two-thirds majority hurdle in Upper House poll

The Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition scored a sweeping victory in the Upper House election Sunday that gave the Diet's pro-revision forces the two-thirds majority needed to initiate Japan's first constitutional referendum, final results showed Monday morning.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 2, 2016

What are Shinzo Abe's real three arrows?

In his campaign for the upcoming Upper House elections, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pussyfooting around his plans to revise the Constitution. He is keeping his cards close to his chest because polls have shown that voters oppose constitutional change. Instead, Abe is calling on voters to keep the faith...
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 7, 2016

If formed, a Tokyo assembly committee could pry Masuzoe from governorship

Public calls for Tokyo Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe to step down grow despite his apology a day earlier and a pledge to refund some of the ¥4.4 million he misspent.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 30, 2016

Japan's meek media kowtows to the government

Last week I compared the Catholic Church in Boston and Japan's "nuclear village" of atomic-power advocates — two powerful institutions that stifled embarrassing revelations for some time. The Oscar-winning film "Spotlight" depicts the comeuppance of the church hierarchy after investigative reporters...
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Feb 29, 2016

'Landmark' ruling sent Japan's foreign residents back to welfare limbo

Widely misunderstood 2014 case reaffirmed the decades-old stopgap that means noncitizens can receive support but can't appeal if their application is rejected.
EDITORIALS
Nov 15, 2015

Protecting broadcasters' freedom

Freedom of the press is a pillar of democracy. The administration and the LDP should refrain from trying to control the media.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Oct 5, 2015

Let's discuss 'idols' and marriage

Last week the media obsessed over the story about the 17-year-old girl who was sued by a talent agency for violating the terms of her contract, which stipulated that she could not be involved in any romantic relationships.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jun 28, 2015

Has striking in Japan become extinct?

"Strike." Dear reader, what do you think when you hear this word? What impression do you get? Do you see the blood, sweat and tears? Do you see an angry, vicious mob disturbing our civil society? I bet a majority of Japanese people under the age of 40 have neither a positive nor negative impression of...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 5, 2015

Magazine IDs student suspect in Nagoya slaying, breaking legal taboo

A news magazine defies a ban on identifying minors in criminal cases by running a four-page expose on a student accused of killing an elderly woman in Nagoya.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jan 21, 2015

Forty years after Zainichi labor case victory, is Japan turning back the clock?

Efforts against nationality-based discrimination in Japan have made zero progress in the four decades since a landmark court case against Hitachi.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 8, 2014

Media culture is the driving force behind a lack of critical car-safety stories

Last month, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism released the results of tests to evaluate automatic braking functions that some automobile manufacturers now offer. The purpose of the tests, according to a report in the Asahi Shimbun, was to "provide consumers with a set of references...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
Jun 14, 2014

USOC chief calls for changes in bid voting

Larry Probst, the United States Olympic Committee chairman, won't win a popularity contest within the IOC anytime soon.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 6, 2012

'Hidden children' of politicians no hurdle to success

Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa was acquitted last week of conspiring to file false financial reports for his political group. He can now return full-time to the job he was elected to do, but the sense you get from the mainstream media is that he's through as a politician. The press has...
Reader Mail
Nov 24, 2011

Reports are walloping tourism

The Nov. 18 front-page article "Cesium fallout widespread" states that there has been continued testing of soil throughout Hokkaido since before and after the March 11 nuclear accidents at Fukushima, the results of which can be found at: http://monitoring-hokkaido.info/index.php?lang=en
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 26, 2011

Readers offer 3/11 insights, valuable resources

As Japan has struggled with the physical and emotional challenges of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 11, and the ongoing nuclear crisis that resulted, I have written three Our Planet Earth columns related to those events: one on Japan's response (March 27); one on alternative...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami