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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 3, 2018

I want a divorce in Japan, but what about child custody and my mortgage?

A reader writes in with a query about the all-too-familiar subject of divorce, along with a related question about his mortgage.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 1, 2018

Breaking down the Kake Gakuen scandal: Who's lying, Abe or his political opponents?

Opposition camp lawmakers roared in anger. Stenographers were ordered to stop transcribing. The prime minister accused an opposition leader of lying.
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2018

The Spider-Man of Paris is just one of many

Countries can benefit by accepting hard-working migrants who have shown their mettle by surviving their perilous journeys.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2018

How scientists succumb to corruption and cook results

It starts with a dash of temptation. Stir in some rationalization and deception. The final and key ingredient is: stupid systems with perverse incentives.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 28, 2018

May refuses to relax Northern Ireland abortion curbs despite its southern neighbor's historic vote to liberalize

British Prime Minister Theresa May faces a showdown with ministers and lawmakers in her Conservative party after refusing to back reform of Northern Ireland's highly restrictive abortion rules after neighboring Ireland's vote to liberalize its laws.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 26, 2018

Commenting on the debate over hate speech on government websites

On May 2, the Cabinet Office removed the posts on its Government Monitor System (GMS) website, a place where citizens offered comments on government policy. The system was established in 1962 to solicit opinions from the public about government policy, but until 2012 it was a snail mail operation. Thereafter,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 26, 2018

Barbecue in Japan: What's a devotee of low and slow to do?

In conversation with Bashamichi Taproom, Smokehouse and Hatos Bar, three of the OGs of Japan's barbecue scene.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2018

Catching a killer in the family tree

Through DNA samples in online genealogy databases, police have a powerful tool to find the guilty — and exonerate the innocent.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 25, 2018

U.S. conservationists sue Trump administration over migratory bird policy

A coalition of conservation groups sued the Trump administration on Thursday, accusing the government of slashing protections for migratory birds.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2018

Sony's new PlayStation chief hints at return to portable gaming

Sony Corp.'s new PlayStation chief John Kodera said he sees a future in portable gaming, departing from his predecessor's view that there's a limited market for handheld games.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 24, 2018

North Korea issues most direct threat yet to pull out of summit with U.S.

In North Korea’s most direct comment yet that the planned summit with the U.S. may be in jeopardy, a top official from the nuclear-armed country said Thursday that it will reconsider the meeting if Washington continues with “unlawful and outrageous acts” — a reference to a “Libya-style” coerced...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 23, 2018

Zen and the art of Premier League dominance: Buddhist philosophy links Manchester United, Arsenal and Japan

Can the success of Alex Ferguson's 'kids' and Arsene Wenger's 'Invincibles' be linked to Buddhist philosophy? It's worth a try.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 23, 2018

'Give me back my life': Victims of Japan's forced sterilizations demand justice after decades of silence

One day when Saburo Kita was 14, he was taken from an institution for troubled children to see a doctor. Despite protesting that his health was fine, he was ordered to strip, lie down on a table, and was given a local anaesthetic.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2018

#MeToo: A cultural workaround to a legal failure

For the most part, #MeToo targets who stand accused in the court of public opinion for criminal acts will never face them in a court of law.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2018

Russia sets out to sanction Western sanctions

Just as investment banks are cutting their growth forecasts for Russia because of a growing likelihood of new U.S. sanctions, Russian legislators are looking for a strong response.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 19, 2018

Trump nominates Pacific Command chief Harry Harris to be South Korean ambassador

The White House formally nominated Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris on Friday to fill the long-vacant post of ambassador to South Korea, as the U.S. gears up for the planned first-ever talks between a sitting American president and a North Korean leader on June 12 in Singapore.
Reader Mail
May 18, 2018

Rethink Indian bullet train project

The opinion piece in the April 26 edition headlined "Is the Indo-Japan rail project a boondoggle?" was correct and timely.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2018

America's needless collision course with China

The world's most important bilateral relationship is also one of its most inscrutable.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2018

Inspiring terms are simple but 'climate change' isn't

The doubters and believers aren't even talking about the same thing.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2018

Open skies can clear Beijing's 'Orwellian nonsense'

An agreement to expand market access in China would be the best way to Chinese government avoid censorship.
WORLD / Politics
May 14, 2018

May asks for 'trust' with Cabinet at crunch time for Brexit issue

Prime Minister Theresa May faces a crunch week for her leadership and Brexit plan, with ministers and backbenchers in her Conservative Party feuding over Britain's future ties to the European Union.
JAPAN / Politics
May 10, 2018

Former Abe aide admits to meeting with Kake Gakuen officials

Last month Tadao Yanase flatly denied a report that he had met the officials in April 2015, “as far as my memory goes.”
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2018

Address issues raised by lower age of adulthood

Sufficient steps should be taken to avoid any social confusion resulting from an amendment to lower the legal age of adulthood from 20 to 18.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
May 9, 2018

Swedish life coach channels force of positive thinking

The soft sound of bodies moving in thick cotton fabric and naked feet stroking the dojo floor is interrupted by loud shouts, causing a man passing by on his bike to turn his head. Through the large windows, he watches the children and adults as they punch phantom antagonists before of them.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
May 8, 2018

Rafael Arutunian looking forward to coaching teen star Marin Honda

Rafael Arutunian is going through a bit of deja vu right now.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2018

Taking on Fox, Comcast formally notifies Brussels of intent to bid for Sky

U.S. cable operator Comcast has formally notified the European Commission of its intention to bid for Britain's pay-TV group Sky, starting the clock on a review, a regulatory source told Reuters on Monday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 8, 2018

U.S. court blocks transfer, apparently to Saudi Arabia, of alleged American Islamic State fighter held in Iraq

A U.S. appeals court on Monday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from immediately transferring an American citizen accused of being an Islamic State member from military custody in Iraq to an unidentified country, apparently Saudi Arabia.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
May 7, 2018

A formal lesson on informal endings

Introducing the proper use of the sentence-ending particles of u306a(u3042) and u306d(u3048).
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 7, 2018

Singapore likely to host Trump-Kim summit in mid-June, reports say

Singapore has become the most likely site for a landmark summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in mid-June, reports have said, as the two nations move closer to formally announcing a date and location.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?