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COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 6, 2020

'Low IQ' kids, parental rights and problematic terminology dogged Japan's international community in 2019

Of the issues non-Japanese had to deal with in the past year (and even the past decade), some were major news stories and some fell quietly into the cracks.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2020

What a decade of Netflix did to Hollywood

The rise of the streaming-video leader has spurred a rash of mergers that are transforming the industry.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2020

Awareness of issue of plastic garbage in Japan slowly gaining steam

At a mid-December meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organization and UNESCO, Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa spoke with pride about his city's successes in the area of sustainable, environmentally friendly tourism.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / Outlook 2020
Jan 2, 2020

What will Abe do to cement his legacy?

If you look at Japan's 2020 political calendar now, it will look like it is going to be a relatively quiet one.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 2, 2020

North Korean missiles again flying over Japan 'only a matter of time,' experts say

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's declaration that his country is no longer bound by its self-imposed nuclear and missile moratorium drastically raises the chances of longer-range weapons overflying Japan once again, experts say.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jan 2, 2020

Thailand bans single-use plastic bags at major stores

Thailand began the year with a ban on single-use plastic bags at major stores, continuing a campaign launched by the government and retailers toward a complete ban in 2021 to reduce waste and debris in the sea.
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2019

A new Olympic year for Japan

The Olympic year should provide us with a chance to reflect on the state of the nation and how we must respond to the multitude of challenges it faces.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2019

Fifteen predictions for the new year

The U.S. presidential election will end in a tie and other educated guesses.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 31, 2019

Putin's hypersonic nuclear missile stirs fears of new arms race

A new hypersonic nuclear missile that Russia says it has deployed is fueling concerns of a new arms race with the United States as the clock ticks down on the expiration of the last treaty limiting the strategic arsenals of the two former Cold War foes.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2019

Christmas is over, but the 'quinceaneras' just roll on

A dazed parent ponders a Latin American coming-of-age ritual that knows no bounds.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 30, 2019

Total of 656 candidates preparing to run in next Lower House election: survey

A total of 656 candidates are preparing to run in the next election for the House of Representatives, amid speculation that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may dissolve the chamber for a snap election early next year, a survey by Jiji Press released Sunday showed.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 30, 2019

NASA's Mars 2020 rover set to hunt Martian fossils, scout for manned missions

A NASA robotic rover is nearing completion ahead of a journey next year to search for evidence of past life on Mars and lay the groundwork for the space agency's mission to send humans into deep space.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 29, 2019

Bell of London's famed Big Ben will ring on New Year's Eve

Britain's Big Ben bell in Parliament's landmark clock tower will ring at midnight on New Year's Eve, marking the start of a year for the first time since its new face was revealed from under scaffolding halfway through restoration work.
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2019

Eliminate casino corruption

The arrest of a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker this early in the creation of a casino industry in Japan shows that much more is needed to prevent gambling-related graft.
Japan Times
Rugby / ADDING THE EXTRAS
Dec 27, 2019

Matching magic moments to karaoke classics in a historic year for Japan rugby

With the bōnenkai (year-end party) season in full swing, it is time to look back at a special year of rugby in Japan while also trying to predict what the future holds.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 27, 2019

Notre Dame restoration enters risky phase with removal of mangled scaffolding

The operation to shore up fire-ravaged Notre-Dame Cathedral is entering a risky stage as engineers resume preparations for the removal of scaffolding that could provoke a further collapse.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2019

Babies born in Japan to drop below 900,000 in 2019 for first time

The number of babies born in Japan fell an estimated 5.9 percent this year to fewer than 900,000, the first time since the government started compiling data in 1899, the welfare ministry said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 24, 2019

Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, saw wealth surge $18 billion this year

It's been a good year for Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Dec 21, 2019

Jomon revival: Interest in Japan's indigenous hunter-gathers grows

From his hilltop studio in the suburbs of Tokyo, Taku Oshima is reviving an ancient form of body art tradition he believes was practiced by the indigenous hunter-gatherers that inhabited Japan thousands of years ago.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 20, 2019

Sweden ends five years of negative rates with hike to zero

Sweden's central bank ended five years of negative interest rates on Thursday when it raised benchmark borrowing costs by a quarter point to zero, defying an economic slowdown and global uncertainty.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2019

Boeing faces huge test with Friday's launch of Starliner to ISS

NASA's effort to resume flying American astronauts on American spacecraft — something that hasn't happened since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011 — faces a major test this weekend.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2019

Hitachi to sell chemical unit and diagnosis imaging equipment business

Machinery giant Hitachi Ltd. said Wednesday that it will sell its subsidiary Hitachi Chemical Co. to Showa Denko K.K. and its diagnosis imaging equipment business to Fujifilm Holdings Corp. for a total of about ¥700 billion.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2019

Japan approves reduced post-3/11 reconstruction budget, citing progress

The government approved a plan Thursday to drastically reduce its budget for reconstruction of areas hit by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster due to progress in ongoing projects.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2019

'You can't go home': Monthlong escape to Ogasawara Islands a hit with teleworkers

Liner service Ogasawara Kaiun Co. is looking for participants for a 28-day, 27-night tour to the Ogasawara Islands, an archipelago of over 30 subtropical islands some 1,000 kilometers south of central Tokyo, highlighting a special chance to escape into nature.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 17, 2019

Japanese securities firm SMBC Nikko to offer option of three-day workweek

SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. is planning to introduce in fiscal 2020 a system that allows employees to work three or four days a week, according to President Yoshihiko Shimizu.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan