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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2015

The South China Sea spats: an alternative point of view

In the eyes of other countries, China has behaved badly in the South China Sea. In China's view so have other claimants — and the U.S. and now Japan.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 28, 2015

Malaysian leader Najib sacks deputy as fallout from financial scandal grows

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak removed his deputy in a Cabinet reshuffle, potentially widening their public rift over financial scandals linked to the state investment company.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 26, 2015

Osaka merger, rejected by referendum, is not dead yet

Hang on. Haven't we seen this movie before?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 25, 2015

Shizuka Kamei and Shintaro Ishihara have the security debate the Diet should have had

When Shintaro Ishihara retired from politics after failing to get re-elected last December, it seemed we wouldn't have the right-wing firebrand to kick around any more, but last week there he was in Shukan Asahi talking to former Liberal Democratic Party comrade Shizuka Kamei about various topics, including...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2015

The Greek tragedy continues

While the latest bailout package provides a lifeline for the Greeks, it does not provide the means for them to get back safely on land.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 24, 2015

Texas jail death consistent with suicide; autopsy finds high pot levels: prosecutor

Evidence from an autopsy on Sandra Bland, the black woman found hanging dead in a Texas jail days after a traffic stop, supports the medical examiner's initial ruling of suicide, a county prosecutor told reporters on Thursday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 24, 2015

Suits against 'Trump University' success seminars paint harsh reality of financial deceit

In 2009, California businessman Art Cohen received a letter from Donald Trump with a "special invitation" and two VIP tickets for a Trump University seminar promising to help make Cohen rich.
Reader Mail
Jul 23, 2015

Abe's dangerous surge to the right

Regarding the story "Lower House passes security bills amid protests" in the July 17 paper — Guess what? On the morning following the LDP's bulldozing the security bills through the Lower House, NHK spent the first 20 minutes of the morning news talking about the weather, followed immediately by sports...
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 23, 2015

Myanmar sentences Chinese nationals to life for illegal logging

China has lodged a diplomatic protest with Myanmar after a court in the southeast Asian nation sentenced 153 Chinese nationals to life imprisonment for illegal logging.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 22, 2015

Syrian Islamists, courting West, say they will protect minorities

A conservative Islamist rebel group said on Tuesday it would protect Syria's minorities, pressing a campaign in Western media to address concerns about one of the most powerful insurgent forces fighting President Bashar al-Assad.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 22, 2015

Obama pitches Iran deal to vets, TV host Stewart

President Barack Obama's campaign to convince Congress to support the Iran nuclear deal led him on Tuesday to a veterans' convention and "The Daily Show," where he took jabs at those opposing the agreement.
WORLD
Jul 21, 2015

U.N. Security Council backs Iran nuclear deal; Tehran hardliners object

The U.N. Security Council on Monday backed Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers but the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guard attacked the resolution, underlining powerful opposition to the deal.
EDITORIALS
Jul 20, 2015

Rising tensions in Eastern Europe

As tensions rise between NATO and Russia, both sides would do well to remember and follow the spirit of the Helsinki Accords.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Jul 20, 2015

Swallows' Barnette wove masterful tale in first half

Every ballplayer, Tony Barnette figures, has a story. He shares this opinion in front of the home dugout, over the din of the crowd, at Tokyo Dome prior to Game 1 of the NPB All-Star Series this past weekend.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2015

National Stadium architects return fire, say design not behind high costs

Zaha Hadid Architects hit back at the decision to scrap their plan for Tokyo's new National Stadium, insisting the ambitious design was not responsible for spiraling construction costs.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 17, 2015

Legal flaws in government's case on Henoko

The stage is set for a long, bitter, destabilizing battle between Okinawans and the national government over the construction of a new military facility in Henoko.
WORLD / Society
Jul 16, 2015

U.N. human rights experts say China must end crackdown on lawyers

U.N. human rights investigators demanded an end to a Chinese crackdown on lawyers on Thursday after more than 100 people were detained, intimidated or went missing over the past week.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 16, 2015

Lower House passes security bills amid protests

Tens of thousands of angry voters in the streets. Opinion polls recording deep-seated public unease.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 16, 2015

The Abe administration's arrogance of power moment

Before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe flexes his military muscles, indulges himself in historical revisionism and preaches to China about the rule of law, he should observe the principle of rule of law at home.
EDITORIALS
Jul 16, 2015

Wrong way to pass security bills

The security legislation proposed by the Abe administration should not be enacted solely on the basis of the ruling coalition's majority strength.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2015

Why you'll always lose wars with drones alone

How can the U.S. government truly know whether it's winning the war against Islamic State if it doesn't know for sure who or what it's bombing?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2015

Protesters decry passage of 'war legislation' by Lower House committee

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Wednesday morning in front of the Diet building in Tokyo in a show of measured outrage as a Lower House special committee voted on the government's defense bills.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 15, 2015

Amid angry scenes, ruling parties force security bills through Lower House committee

A special Diet committee has sign off on legislation that would expand the scope of Self-Defense Forces' missions overseas, setting the stage for a vote in the Lower House.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 13, 2015

Watch as Riyadh cozies up to the Russians

Saudi Arabia is building up ties with Russia, not least because it would like help in building 16 nuclear reactors.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 13, 2015

DPJ's Okada says Abe on slippery slope with push to enact security legislation

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be taking a big risk if he pushes through a dramatic change in security policy despite objections from most citizens, who want a better explanation for why the change is needed, a top opposition figure has said.

Longform

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