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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 2, 2020

Tats not all, folks: Behind the Supreme Court's tattoo ruling

Supreme Court ruling in tattoo case can be seen as a rare example of Japan's courts second-guessing a regulator as to the interpretation of regulations.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / LAW OF THE LAND
Jun 18, 2020

Much ado about retirement ages and Japan's politicized bureaucracy

The scandal surrounding top prosecutor Hiromu Kurokawa has kicked off a debate on retirement ages and interference in Japan's civil service.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 15, 2020

Trump vs. Biden: Who is better for Japan?

No matter who is the president, it has been always difficult for Japan to deal with the United States.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 22, 2019

Jeff Bezos' Amazon needs a leash, not a breakup

The New Yorker and the Atlantic have never been known for their business coverage, so when both magazines published long articles about Amazon.com Inc. in their current issues it signaled that something is in the air. That something is antitrust.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 30, 2019

Will Japan finally promote its female politicians?

Japan has one of the lowest participation rates of women in national parliaments in the world, but a law is meant to remedy this deficit, even if it includes no enforceable quotas or penalties.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Mar 10, 2019

#MeToo allegations roil U.S. anime conventions

Over the past two months, the #MeToo movement breached the American anime convention industry. Most feel it was inevitable. Many say it's about time.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Dec 17, 2018

Let's discuss new year cards

Once a tradition firmly entrenched in the national consciousness, the nengaju014d (new year card) is facing extinction.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 6, 2018

Shincho 45's fumbles over LGBT issues hastened its demise

Some magazines meet their end with a whimper. Last month, however, a monthly called Shincho 45 went out with a bang.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Deep Dive
Apr 19, 2018

Dual citizenship in Japan: A 'don’t ask, don’t tell' policy leaves many in the dark

Do you have to renounce citizenship? Do you switch passports at the airport? Has anyone ever been punished? Dual nationals tell their stories.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Dec 18, 2017

In case you missed them: a year of responses to Community stories, part 3

The last in a series of selections of unpublished letters about Community stories from the previous year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Oct 2, 2017

In some Japanese sentences, it's all relative

An example of relative clauses: 'The article that I'm about to read doesn't look very interesting.'
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 27, 2017

Osaka court rules tattoo artist's work violated medical law, was not art or expression

An Osaka tattoo artist was found guilty Wednesday of violating the Medical Practitioners' Law in a case that drew international attention to Japan's tattoo culture.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 5, 2017

EU eyes tougher action against Poland over democracy concerns after Merkel joins fray

Germany's entry alongside France into a battle between the European Commission and Poland over the rule of law increases the likelihood of unprecedented EU action to punish Warsaw.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 25, 2017

Is Abe attempting to fuse the church and state?

It was morning in the land of the gods. "The mountains and the waters serve our sovereign," wrote a seventh-century poet. "And she (Empress Jito), a goddess, is out on her pleasure-barge upon the foaming rapids."
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Dec 28, 2016

What's in a surname? It depends on who you ask

Some women want to keep their maiden names after marriage, yet many others choose not to.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 10, 2016

Editors thrive on controversy — but it can bite back

In the early hours of Jan. 17, 1995, the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck southern Hyogo Prefecture and the surrounding areas, causing more than 6,000 deaths and seriously damaging infrastructure.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Sep 27, 2016

'No refuge could save the hireling and slave'

Is the U.S. national anthem racist or are the lyrics of the third stanza merely misunderstood?
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Aug 21, 2016

The flip side of coveted public-sector jobs in Japan: fewer rights

Laws restrict government workers' constitutional rights to organize, bargain and take collective action.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2016
Jul 8, 2016

Ruling bloc may push emergency powers amendment to Constitution after Sunday's poll

The ruling coalition claims that the time is not right to discuss a revision but many people are unconvinced.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 3, 2016

Travel ban fuels talk of Myanmar constitutional challenge

The party of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi has instructed its lawmakers not to leave the capital, rank-and-file members said, fueling speculation of a legal bid to sidestep a clause in the constitution barring the democracy champion from the presidency.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Dec 6, 2015

Beware Japan's old problems posing in new packaging

When government announcements describe 'new' problems and propose solutions, they should be taken with a side-order of salt.
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 28, 2015

Who saved Kyoto from the atomic hellfire?

Many Americans have been given credit for sparing Kyoto from bombings, both conventional and atomic, during World War II, but it turns out that an old secretary of war was responsible.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jul 8, 2015

Late marine's message lives on in Okinawa and Vietnam

U.S. Marine Allen Nelson first visited Okinawa in 1966 when the entire island was under American control and functioned as its springboard for the war in Vietnam. For two weeks, Nelson and his fellow new recruits spent their days practising guerilla warfare at Camp Hansen, central Okinawa, then in the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 6, 2015

Inspiring story of 'the only woman in the room'

"My father came to Tokyo from Karuizawa to meet me," wrote Beate Sirota Gordon in a message to me, which she sent several years before her death in 2012 at age 89. "He looked gaunt and undernourished. ... My mother did not come because undernourishment had caused her to swell up, and she was ill in bed....
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 20, 2015

Japan's constitutional millstone

If there is one factor that could help the Abe administration overcome the constitutional millstone against modernizing Japan's military defense, it would be Obama administration support. Japan is the only power that can block China from gaining ascendancy in the region.
Reader Mail
Oct 15, 2014

No justification for Islamic State

I am shocked that The Japan Times published the Oct. 10 AFP-Jiji article "Ancient prophecies of apocalypse give Islamic State jihadists hope." The article contains implied praise for Islamic State — the most horrifying terror group in the world. Carefully read, the article reflects a desperate attempt...
Reader Mail
Jul 5, 2014

Reinterpretation is no suicide pact

As a scholar specializing in international law and with 10 years of experience in teaching the law, I read the July 3 editorial, titled "Abe guts Article 9," with great disappointment and dismay.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
May 26, 2014

Letters: Kikokushijo encounter trouble upon re-entry

Japanese returnees and others discuss the trials and tribulations facing those educated abroad if and when they attempt to settle back in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Feb 12, 2014

ANA caricature speaks volumes about Japan's outdated mind-set

My personal opinion is that the ad is a disappointing anachronism, and a reminder of the parochial outlook of large Japanese corporations. The ad appeals to the facile formula that 'foreigner = white = blonde and big-nosed = English-speaking = globalization.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Aug 12, 2013

The perennial 'half, bi or double?' debate rolls on

Confounding 'half' stereotypes

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building