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Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 13, 2021

Israel-Gaza crisis drags Biden into vortex he sought to avoid

Biden had been trying to pivot America's foreign policy to China, revive the Iran nuclear deal and wind down America's 'forever wars.”
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2021

Is the G7 foreign ministers’ joint communique worth reading?

Although China was singled out in the foreign ministers' communique this year, the matter of China was just one of many important issues also mentioned.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2021

A path to end 70 years of India-Pakistan bitterness

The Feb. 25 announcement between India and Pakistan is significant. What adds greater salience is the present context in which the new ceasefire was announced.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 2, 2021

Protecting democracy in a free and open Indo-Pacific

Japan and Australia need to team up with the United States and the United Kingdom to shore up values and ideals in the region.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2021

Japan and U.S. reach agreement on cost of hosting American troops

The one-year deal, in which Japan will shoulder about u00a5200 billion — roughly in line with the previous year — is widely seen as a temporary measure.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Dec 31, 2020

Japan Times 1996: Murayama to step down

A prime minister steps aside after being blamed for a series of blunders related to the previous year's catastrophes.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 11, 2020

The expectations of Joe Biden's administration differ from country to country

The U.S., Japan and their allies must compete with China, not each other.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2020

Former agricultural minister’s graft scandal sparks conversation about animal welfare in Japan

Allegations of bribery illustrate the lengths to which the poultry industry went to preserve its decades-old, yet globally criticized practice of confining egg-laying hens in small cages.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 23, 2020

The secret origins of China’s 40-year plan to end carbon emissions

With a September speech to the United Nations, Chinese President Xi Jinping put a 2060 end date on his country's contribution to global warming, taking almost the whole world by surprise.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 18, 2020

Tokyo-Seoul morass awaits Biden White House

“To mend the relationship with Tokyo, it is imperative to have diplomatic negotiations,” South Korea's conservative daily Chosun-ilbo's editorial urged.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2020

Japan's specialist cleaners find new purpose and demand in pandemic

Usually tasked with cleaning up the aftermath of suicide, the squalor of derelict houses and post-disaster debris, the virus has created a boom for the niche industry.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 24, 2020

A decade after U.N.-linked cholera outbreak, Haitians demand justice

In the middle of a coronavirus pandemic, it is another, more deadly disease that keeps 20-year-old Haitian Loubean Jean up at night — cholera.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 15, 2020

Trump administration ups Tibet scrutiny with new appointment

The Trump administration has appointed a senior official to oversee Tibetan issues after a vacancy for almost four years, as the U.S. increases pressure on China over its human rights record, including the use of forced labor among ethnic minorities.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2020

Blocking TikTok opens a can of worms for Facebook and Google

Trump reminds the world of the importance of foreign ownership of media. Big Tech would rather you forget.
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
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 22, 2020

‘This is the end’: Hong Kong opposition decries China power grab

China will improve national security in Hong Kong, Premier Li Keqiang said Friday, a day after Beijing announced dramatic plans to rein in dissent by writing a new law into the city’s charter.
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
May 14, 2020

Prosecutor retirement revision a dangerous step

It is deeply disturbing that the ruling coalition is trying to push this revision through the Lower House this week.
Women's March Tokyo, a demonstration march against sexual violence and discrimination against women, is held on International Women's Day in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on March 8.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2025

Women remain underrepresented in Japan's news industry

Correcting the gender gap is an urgent issue in the industry, with such a change expected to bring women's perspectives to newsrooms.
Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda competes during the qualifying session of the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 5, 2025

Tsunoda struggles in first qualifying with Red Bull as Verstappen takes pole

Tsunoda will start 14th at Suzuka Circuit on Sunday after a scruffy lap in the second qualifying stage, while his teammate grabbed a surprise pole.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 11.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2025

Japan defense chief says 'no reason' to change current U.S. troop deal

Gen Nakatani said that spending “is appropriately shared between the Japanese and U.S. governments based on mutual agreement, with a set time frame.”
U.S. President Donald Trump faces the enormous challenge of implementing the cavalcade of executive orders he has enacted.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

‘Welcome to the Thunderdome’: Inside the dizzying start of Trump 2.0

The administration's breakneck speed is both one of the administration’s most effective tools and most glaring vulnerabilities.
Officials and government leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin (center right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (center left) attend a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Victory Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow on May 9.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 9, 2025

Secret Russian intelligence document shows deep suspicion of China

Some officials believe Beijing is trying to recruit Russian spies and steal sensitive military tech, at times by luring disaffected Russian scientists.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a news conference at the Presidential Office in Seoul on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 10, 2025

Ishiba agrees to strengthen ties with South Korea's Lee in call

Reaffirming the significance of bilateral ties, the two leaders agreed to meet in person to further develop relations.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would have little choice but to provide military support to the U.S. should it decide to strike Iran, security experts say.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 21, 2025

Why a remote U.K. base makes the U.S.-Iran standoff so difficult for Starmer

The standoff drew a fresh spotlight on a remote Indian Ocean base controlled by Britain that has long provided a key staging point for American bombers.
A Buddhist monk performs a ceremony for lost souls at a property which is classified as a <i>jiko bukken</i>, or a "misfortunate property" where deaths have occurred, in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on May 8.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 1, 2025

As property prices soar in Japan, the taint of death may not deter some buyers

Investors attracted by potential high yields increasingly do not care about a property's grim history, mostly because they are unlikely to live there themselves.
A Self-Defense Forces tank unit takes part in parade at Camp Asaka, near Tokyo, in October 2018. The percentage of GDP spent on defense is a politically convenient but flawed metric that oversimplifies the complex realities of alliance management.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2025

In the Trump era, how much should countries really be spending on defense?

In truth, the “percentage of GDP” approach is a political one, not a practical one
Japanese households are struggling to keep up with price increases as salary growth lags.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 7, 2025

Real wages fall for fifth straight month in May

The 2.9% decline was the biggest fall in inflation-adjusted pay in Japan in almost two years.
In an effort to move past its troubled legacy, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical has replaced its president twice and appointed an external chairman.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jul 8, 2025

Despite leadership changes, Kobayashi Pharma still struggling with reform

The Osaka-based company has replaced its president twice and appointed an external chairman, seeking to reduce the influence of the founding family seen as a cause of the scandal.
Then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a news conference in Tokyo in December 2023 where he addressed the political fundraising scandal and announced plans to replace several implicated ministers.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 15, 2025

Cost of living trumps corruption as Japan heads to the polls

A recent NHK poll asked that question to prospective voters, and the majority answered “measures to deal with rising prices” and “social security and the declining birthrate.”
U.S. President Donald Trump greeets Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the start of their bilateral meeting at the Group of 20 leaders summit in Osaka in June 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 16, 2025

Trump says Xi told him he wouldn’t invade Taiwan while U.S. leader is in office

But the U.S. president said Xi had also delivered an implicit warning about Taiwan’s future, telling him that he is “very patient, and China is very patient.”

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past