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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 27, 2018

A Japan-U.S. pact looks like the opposite of free trade

Abe can't yield much on agriculture, while U.S. cars face few barriers — and few buyers — in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 26, 2018

Is Japan heading for a leadership vacuum?

The lack of an LDP heir apparent and the absence of a credible opposition force means that Japan may face a leadership vacuum when Abe's tenure ends.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2018

Trump's U.N. speech almost adds up to a doctrine

The U.S. president makes his best case yet for the importance of American sovereignty.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 26, 2018

Seiko Oomori: J-pop's reigning rule-breaker

Pop music often opts for positivity rather than confronting the uncomfortable, but Seiko Oomori has never really adhered to J-pop norms.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2018

Jeff Sessions hears from states on privacy threat from tech firms amid alleged bias

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with a group of state attorneys general on how to protect consumers from dominant technology companies, though they didn't decide to open an investigation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 25, 2018

Japan's economy is starting a new chapter

Look what happened over two decades while the world was distracted by China.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 25, 2018

How Abe should spend the next three years

The country still needs to reform its labor market, deal with an aging population and press for gender equality.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 23, 2018

May vows to stand strong against EU bloc after Brexit talks hit impasse

Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain would not flinch in an impasse with the European Union about its departure from the bloc, as French and German ministers suggested the next move in the negotiations should come from London.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 22, 2018

Haruki Murakami's 'Underground' still holds chilling lessons about Japan

Haruki Murakami's sole foray into journalism, 'Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche,' celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. What lessons does it hold today about where Japan has gone as a society?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 21, 2018

Clear strategy needed for inviting foreign labor

Japan's gradual approach to welcoming unskilled labor from abroad helps ensure the maintenance of social harmony.
Reader Mail
Sep 21, 2018

Look at independent viewpoints on climate change

Faye Flam in her Sept. 13 opinion piece urges caution regarding connecting the dots between climate change and hurricanes.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 21, 2018

Britain's anti-EU party UKIP launches populist manifesto demanding clean Brexit

Britain's anti-European Union U.K. Independence Party (UKIP) launched a set of populist policies on Friday hoping to revive their dwindling political influence and capitalize on outrage over the government's handling of Brexit.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 20, 2018

Constitutional revision, fraught with risk, tops agenda for Abe's next term

As was widely expected, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won Thursday's presidential election to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, allowing him to continue as prime minister for up to three more years if all goes according to the party's plans.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 20, 2018

Man accused of killing Iowa student pleads not guilty in case that drew Trump's scorn over immigration

The accused killer of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts, whose disappearance produced national headlines, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder at a court appearance on Wednesday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 19, 2018

Abe should strike while the iron's hot on revising Article 9

At the height of his political power, now is an opportune time for Abe to attempt constitutional revision.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 18, 2018

Merkel rolls dice with Germany's new immigration law

German Chancellor Angela Merkel hopes a new immigration law will make it easier for foreign workers to find jobs, but her push to fill a record number of vacancies risks angering voters who still resent her open-door refugee policy.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2018

Legacies of the financial crisis

We can no longer rule out the possibility of another great depression.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2018

Why Putin is softening on internet memes

The Kremlin is having second thoughts about jailing people for silly social media posts it calls 'extremist.' It wants to look scary, not ridiculous.
Japan Times
JAPAN / IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition
Sep 14, 2018

Nation hopes to share international water technology

Tokyo will host the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition 2018 from Sunday to Friday. The event is expected to attract 6,000 people from more than 100 countries to discuss technology, public policies, international collaboration and other subjects to achieve sustainable water management practices.
Reader Mail
Sep 14, 2018

Troubling word choice in article

Regarding the opinion piece "How much damage was done?" in the Sept. 11 edition, the author writes that Naomi Osaka "speaks primitive Japanese."
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 13, 2018

Slamming the door: How Trump restricted U.S. refugee program

On Jan. 19, 2017, Aden Hassan's long wait to start a new life ended when he stepped off a plane in Columbus, Ohio, half a world away from the Kenyan refugee camp where he had lived for a decade.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 13, 2018

Oslo Accords peace hopes a fading memory 25 years on amid unresolved issues, new tensions

As Palestinians prepare to lower the flag over their shuttered mission in Washington, no one can predict when they will return to the city where just a quarter of a century ago a diplomatic triumph was celebrated on a sunlit White House lawn.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2018

Climate, hurricanes and the hazards of connecting dots

Warming certainly effects tropical storms, but how?
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 12, 2018

China urges U.S. to 'abandon prejudice' over Xinjiang

China urged the United States on Wednesday to abandon its "prejudice" over Xinjiang, as the Trump administration considers sanctions against Chinese officials and companies linked to allegations of human rights abuses in the Chinese region.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 12, 2018

Trump to target foreign meddling in U.S. elections with sanctions order: sources

President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order as soon as Wednesday that will slap sanctions on any foreign companies or people who interfere in U.S. elections, based on intelligence agency findings, two sources said.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2018

What wild sheep can teach humans about leadership

Do certain bighorns pioneer migrations? Or do herds tap into crowd wisdom?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2018

The Swedish vote is another populist failure

The election was a warning to centrists to do more to integrate immigrants.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 11, 2018

Sweden faces political impasse after far-right election gains

Sweden faces a political impasse after its mainstream center-left and center-right blocs virtually tied in an election Sunday, while the far-right — which neither wants to deal with — made gains on a hard-line anti-immigration platform.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 11, 2018

LDP contenders Abe, Ishiba joust over policy in first pre-election face-off

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe repeated on Monday that he wants to revise war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution to clarify the ambiguous status of Japan's military if re-elected president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Sept. 20.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years