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Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jul 9, 2018

'Beki,' the little Japanese word that's 'should'

Introducing some uses of the word u3079u304d (should).
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 6, 2018

Capital punishment in Japan: Unscheduled executions and hangings witnessed only by prison officials and a priest

Japan and the United States are the only two members of the Group of Seven advanced economies that have the death penalty.
Reader Mail
Jul 6, 2018

Discrimination against ALTs

John G. Russell's June 4 opinion piece "Face the reality of racism in Japan" warrants consideration.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 3, 2018

Japanese firms don't cower among trade gloom

Capital expenditures are set to rise, while the rest of the world is increasingly wary.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jul 3, 2018

Despite disappointing departure, Samurai Blue exceeded expectations at World Cup

Japan's exit from the World Cup on Monday was soccer at its cruelest, but once the dust has settled the team will be able to look back on its campaign with pride and satisfaction.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2018

Recycling game rigged against U.S. consumers

Even if you put everything into the right bins, a lot of plastics will end up in landfills and the ocean. Consumers can't solve this problem.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2018

Diet enacts key labor reform that opposition slams as 'karōshi promotion' bill

The bill ushers in a legally binding overtime cap and exempts skilled white-collar employees from work-time regulations.
Reader Mail
Jun 29, 2018

Depopulation needs a sober, serious response

In his opinion piece "Reversing Japan's demographic nosedive" in the June 20 edition, Ichiro Asahina says he was shocked by the latest Japanese demographic forecasts. Why be shocked by an inevitable prospect?
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 29, 2018

'Fake refugees, get out': How South Koreans are channeling Trump

On the South Korean island of Jeju, a tourist hot spot famed for blue waters and sandy beaches, Lee Hyang is angry.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 28, 2018

New Cassini findings suggest Saturn moon could support life

Complex organic molecules have been discovered originating from one of Saturn's moons, Enceladus, adding to its potential to support life, researchers said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jun 28, 2018

Anthony Kennedy's exit seen threatening abortion and gay rights as Supreme Court is set to shift far right

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement, announced on Wednesday, could put some of his signature rulings in jeopardy, including ones that expanded or preserved gay rights and abortion rights.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2018

Harley hitting the road is just the start

Trump's blunt trade policies will have painful side effects for U.S. manufacturers and their operations at home.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2018

The art of Melania Trump's green jacket

The art worn by the first lady means whatever you want it to mean.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2018

Trendy bans on plastic straws are bunk

Skipping straws may be hip. But there are much better ways to fight pollution.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2018

The America before Trump wasn't so fantastic either

Making a better future requires an unsentimental reckoning with the past.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 22, 2018

Conservative U.S. commentator Charles Krauthammer, a Fox fixture, dies at 68

Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Krauthammer, who gave up a psychiatric career to become one of the leading conservative political commentators in the U.S. media, died on Thursday at the age of 68, the Washington Post and Fox News said.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 21, 2018

Caterpillar, Volvo and Komatsu linked to mining abuses in Myanmar: report

Caterpillar, Volvo and Komatsu contribute to abuses in Myanmar by selling machinery used by domestic mining companies implicated in land expropriation, environmental destruction and armed conflict, according to a report published on Wednesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 20, 2018

Bill Hersey, man about Tokyo, 1930-2018: some tributes

Writer's kindness was legend, and his photos and columns told the story of a Tokyo social scene's rebirth after war and Occupation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 19, 2018

Reversing Japan's demographic nosedive

Many steps can be taken to boost the shrinking population.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2018

You can hate Putin but love the World Cup

Russians and foreign visitors can get a closer look at each other, without the usual filters.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 19, 2018

Bridget Riley: The art world's illusionist

A very concise review of the Bridget Riley exhibition at the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, would be this: Barring those who are prone to motion sickness, go and see it. This applies equally to predisposed art buffs who already know and appreciate her work, and to those who haven't heard of her,...
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 19, 2018

U.S. top court sidesteps major rulings on partisan gerrymandering electoral map manipulation

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday dealt a setback to election reformers by declining to use high-profile cases from Wisconsin and Maryland to curb the ability of state lawmakers to draw electoral districts purely for partisan advantage.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 18, 2018

What Darwin and the Model T can teach Toyota

Automakers are engaged in an evolutionary struggle, and only the fittest will survive.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 18, 2018

Latest poll shows Turnbull's popularity has risen, but party still trailing opposition

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's personal popularity is at its highest level in two years, an opinion poll showed Monday, but his government still trails the opposition a month before crucial by-elections.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 16, 2018

The trials and tribulations of the self-published zine

From the modern ukiyo-e prints of the Edo Period (1603-1868) to contemporary du014djinshi (self-published) fan comics, there has always been an outlet in Japan for artistic self-publishing. But where do zines slot into this system?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 15, 2018

Crackdown and cash: Hun Sen's recipe for victory in Cambodian election

Drenched in sweat and more than an hour into a speech urging 16,000 garment factory workers to vote for the ruling party, Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia revived the restless crowd by announcing that everyone would receive a cash gift.

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