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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 15, 2016

Selection of next U.N. chief reaches critical stage

The Security Council should select the most qualified candidate for the next U.N. chief, as the U.N. can no longer afford to have less than the best at its helm.
EDITORIALS
Jul 14, 2016

The Emperor and abdication

Public discussion should be launched to discuss the issues that must be resolved to permit the abdication of the Emperor.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 11, 2016

How Clinton limps forward after the FBI report

FBI Director James Comey may have recommended against charging Hillary Clinton; but, politically speaking, he hung her out to dry.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 11, 2016

LDP-led ruling bloc, allies clear two-thirds majority hurdle in Upper House poll

The Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition scored a sweeping victory in the Upper House election Sunday that gave the Diet's pro-revision forces the two-thirds majority needed to initiate Japan's first constitutional referendum, final results showed Monday morning.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 10, 2016

Okinawan minister Shimajiri ousted from Upper House by former Ginowan mayor

In a setback for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, state minister for Okinawa affairs Aiko Shimajiri lost her Upper House seat to a challenger backed by the prefectural governor and a coalition of activists opposed to U.S. bases there.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 9, 2016

How rights and liberties may be downsized under the LDP

During a recent TV program, the vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party, Masahiko Komura, insisted "there is zero possibility" that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would revise war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution even if the ruling coalition wins a two-thirds majority in the upcoming Upper...
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2016
Jul 8, 2016

Teachers say Japan's young voters need to have political awareness nurtured in schools

Three 18-year-old high school students at Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin in Tokyo said they were excited to cast their ballots in Sunday's Upper House election, being among the nation's first teenagers to join the electorate.
BASKETBALL / B. League / B. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jul 7, 2016

Kawachi takes role with new league

For 11 seasons, Toshimitsu Kawachi was the face of the bj-league. As the only commissioner in league history, he was the front man for the league's growth from six teams in the 2005-06 season to 24 clubs this past season as well as its success stories and problems.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 6, 2016

Tokyo is squandering resources on its 2020 Olympic English drive

Misguided training program appears to be aimed at turning city workers into unlicensed tour guides.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 5, 2016

Clinton beating Sanders by hook and by crook

Caucus after caucus, primary after primary, the Clinton team robbed Bernie Sanders of votes that were rightfully his.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 4, 2016

Bill Clinton's impromptu chat with attorney general didn't compromise email probe: Hillary's potential V.P.s

Democrats jockeying to be Hillary Clinton's running mate defended the integrity of an inquiry into her use of a private email server while U.S. secretary of state, as the probe threatens wider fallout weeks before the political nominating conventions.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 3, 2016

Recent Brexit vote makes prospect of a united Ireland suddenly thinkable

Protestant unionists are queuing for Irish passports in Belfast and once quiet Catholic nationalists are openly campaigning for a united Ireland, signs of deep shifts in the United Kingdom's most troubled province since Britons on June 23 voted to leave the EU.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 3, 2016

Western media cherry-pick facts and phalli to fit the 'no vagina' narrative in Japan

In Western media coverage of Megumi Igarashi's case, a commonly expressed view has been that Japanese society suppresses vaginal art while celebrating all that is penile. This view is untenable.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 2, 2016

Japan dances with the death penalty

Last week, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced his plans to reinstate the death penalty, which was abolished in his country in 2006. Duterte says he believes in retribution: If you kill someone, you deserve to die.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 30, 2016

Ranking the 2016 presidential primary polls and predictions

After more than 50 million votes cast in 100-plus nominating contests since early February, the U.S. presidential primary season is over and each major party finally has its presumptive nominee. Now, as the country prepares for the race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, and...
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2016

Ratings agencies downgrade U.K.'s credit score following 'seminal' Brexit vote

Britain suffered further blows to its economic standing on Monday as two top ratings agencies downgraded its sovereign credit score, judging last week's vote to leave the European Union will hurt its economy.
WORLD
Jun 27, 2016

Only quarter of Canadians believe NAFTA benefits them

Only one in four Canadians say the North American Free Trade Agreement is good for their country, and more than one-third want it renegotiated, according to a poll ahead of a leaders' summit on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 27, 2016

Mongolians head to polls with slowing economy a worry

Mongolia will elect a new parliament this week hoping it can reverse four straight years of slowing growth, against a backdrop of concerns about an erosion of democratic values in a country sandwiched between autocratic China and Russia.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 26, 2016

In wake of Brexit shock, Australian leader Turnbull urges stability vote in July's national poll

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Sunday used "Brexit" shock waves to urge voters to return his government with a majority at a July 2 election, arguing only stable government can deliver jobs, economic growth and tough border controls.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 25, 2016

Can foreign media pressure force changes in Japan?

Former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara's first-person "biography" of late Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, "Tensai" ("Genius"), remains atop best-seller lists. It is interesting to note that when Tanaka was alive Ishihara berated him as a crude opportunist. The years have obviously tempered his view, or perhaps...
Reader Mail
Jun 25, 2016

Thailand fostering democracy, reform

While respecting the opinion of Pavin Chachavalpongpun as expressed in the article titled "Thailand playing a risky game with China, Russia" in the June 7 edition, I would like to provide the following facts.
Reader Mail
Jun 25, 2016

It's Abe's turn to visit Pearl Harbor

Regarding U.S. President Barack Obama's historic visit to Hiroshima last month, it is my opinion Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should now visit Pearl Harbor.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 23, 2016

Chinese newspaper says Brexit vote risky, reflects failings of democracy

An influential Chinese newspaper broke Beijing's Brexit silence on Thursday, saying the United Kingdom will lose global influence if it ditches the European Union.
EDITORIALS
Jun 23, 2016

Constitution as a campaign issue

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe repeatedly emphasizes that economy is the foremost issue in the campaign for the July 10 Upper House election — urging voters to choose whether to endorse his bid to go on with Abenomics or return to what he calls "those dark days" before the policy package was launched. But...

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?