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COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2016

Trump sets a terrible precedent — just ask Japan

The U.S. economy has long been based on transparency, rule of law and free enterprise. It should stay that way.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 4, 2016

Singapore may prove a tough nut for China to crack over regional security

As the impounding of Singaporean troop carriers in Hong Kong exposes rising tensions between China and Singapore, the Lion City is unlikely to budge on core security interests concerning Beijing: its military relationship with Taiwan, worries over the South China Sea and its hosting of the U.S. military....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 30, 2016

'Japanese Girls Never Die': They want to have more than just fun

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he wants to build a society in which "all women can shine." But as Daigo Matsui graphically shows in his new film "Japanese Girls Never Die," women in Japan are still living in a male-dominated society that, in everything from unequal pay to blatant sexual harassment,...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2016

Six reasons why Trump's win wasn't a surprise

As with any large-scale disaster, the ascent of a spectacularly unqualified buffoon to the most powerful political office on Earth came about as the result of numerous system failures and operator errors.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2016

Recruiter criticized over list ranking foreign trainees by nationality

The list named six different East Asian countries and scored them based on eight categories such as religion, fondness for Japan and Japanese language capability.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2016

Enlist mother nature to fight global warming

As countries pursue strategies to meet their emissions-reduction targets, they should restore and expand the powerful, natural tools in their own backyards.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 23, 2016

Will Trump's foreign policies hurt or help his business empire?

Any moves by Donald Trump to ban Muslims from entering the United States or bring back waterboarding to interrogate suspects could have repercussions for some of his sprawling foreign business interests — from his golf course in Scotland to luxury resorts in Indonesia.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 22, 2016

Takata sale said to progress with Autoliv, Key Safety in lead

Takata Corp. has homed in on bids from Autoliv Inc. and Key Safety Systems Inc. as the air bag maker behind the biggest auto safety recall ever progresses toward a final round of negotiating a sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2016

Trump's fascism picks up where Obama's left off

Fascism under Trump will merely continue Obama's fascism with a smiley face — a fascism that we let him get away with for far too long.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 19, 2016

The shifting sexual norms in Japan's literary history

More than 3,000 women and almost 900 men — that's the number of lovers the main protagonist in Ihara Saikaku's 1682 novel "Koshoku Ichidai Otoko" ("The Life of an Amorous Man") tallies up as he reminisces. Saikaku, born in Osaka in 1642, became a renowned poet who wrote about the fluid, open sexuality...
Japan Times
SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Nov 15, 2016

Booker has Suns on rise following a season to forget

The 2015-16 season was one from hell for the Phoenix Suns.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 12, 2016

Japan's laundromat bubble shows no sign of bursting

Almost every Japanese household has a washing machine, so why are so many of them using laundromats that cost them extra money?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 10, 2016

Abenomics hits new hurdle as Trump win roils outlook

The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement was expected to spark the structural reforms long promised under Abenomics, but Donald Trump's victory has all but doomed it.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 8, 2016

SoftBank's profit improves as Sprint gets on track

SoftBank Group Corp. reported a better-than-projected second-quarter profit, with the wireless and internet businesses in Japan bringing in cash while Sprint Corp. shows signs of improvement.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 6, 2016

Consensus rule blunts ASEAN's effectiveness

Although the requirement that all decisions be made by consensus enables disparate member states to unite while protecting their national interests, it also limits ASEAN's effectiveness in dealing with emerging security threats.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 5, 2016

Japan's war against medical marijuana

Former actress Saya Takagi was arrested in Okinawa on Oct. 25 for possession of marijuana, three months after she unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Upper House election on a platform to legalize pot for medical purposes. She insists the contraband was not hers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2016

Brace for the ultimate Washington gridlock

News of another FBI review of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's emails may not change the outcome of the election. But it could poison a Clinton presidency.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 2, 2016

Raising university rankings

The quality of an educational institution is determined by the skills and abilities of the teachers and their educational philosophy.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2016

Farmers have tech, but weeds have evolution

Some 12,000 years ago, humans started a war against weeds — and the weeds are still a step ahead.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 29, 2016

Are Japanese really 'docile'?: challenging an enduring myth

A common perception abroad is that Japanese society is docile. This is partly thanks to Western writers who tried to create a single profile of the Japanese in the early to mid-20th century, such as Ruth Benedict in her 1946 book "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword." Today, this dangerous myth of consensus...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Oct 25, 2016

Why gutting NAFTA is unlikely to create U.S. jobs

Both U.S. presidential candidates routinely criticize free-trade deals they blame for the loss of American jobs.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2016

Dylan surpassed Whitman as the American poet

Bob Dylan has surpassed Walt Whitman as the defining American artist, celebrating the capacity for self-invention as the highest form of freedom.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2016

Trump is most offensive but Clinton is frightening

It's time the media turned its attention away from Donald Trump's antics and instead focused on Hillary Clinton's long history of misdeeds.
EDITORIALS
Oct 15, 2016

Cost of pulling plug on reactors

The government is thinking about ways to protect major electricity suppliers from the massive costs they face to decommission their nuclear reactors.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Oct 12, 2016

Godiva chief finds modern business lessons in the ancient art of the bow

Arriving in Japan in 1985, Jerome Chouchan wasted little time enrolling in an archery dojo in Tokyo, a first step that has taken him to the elevated title of renshi and the rank of fifth dan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 9, 2016

A hive of sonic activity stirs on Kafka's Ibiki release

There's something curious happening on "Nemutte," the sophomore album by Tokyo-based instrumental trio Kafka's Ibiki. When it performs live, the group specializes in long, patiently evolving improvisations that occupy a liminal zone between jazz, ambient, minimalism and experimental rock.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 4, 2016

Seven reasons why I won't vote for Clinton

Hillary Clinton plays a Democrat on TV but liberals know she's really a Republican.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Oct 3, 2016

Higashiyama Zoo denizens have to settle for food substitutions

The Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Chikusa Ward, Nagoya, has the largest number of giant anteaters. But few know the anteaters rarely get to eat their favorite dish.

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