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COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 30, 2015

The geopolitics of coping with a rising China

Last week I examined the logic and consequences of the "Abe Doctrine," whereby Japan has beefed up its alliance with the United States by agreeing to expand what it is prepared to do militarily in support of U.S. global security operations. This is not a settled issue domestically as few Japanese support...
Japan Times
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 29, 2015

Arsenal favored to give Wenger sixth F.A. Cup victory

Arsenal has already suffered one setback ahead of Saturday's F.A. Cup final against Aston Villa.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 29, 2015

Expressive emoji win over Merriam-Webster's wordsmiths

From tsunami to head honcho, English boasts no end to Japanese loan words. Artsy chefs now talk of umami and revelers belt out karaoke, so it is no surprise to see the Merriam-Webster dictionary honoring another new arrival: emoji, familiar to mobile users worldwide.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / They're Playing Our Song
May 29, 2015

The tune that allowed Japan to lament

The sympathy of Michiko Namiki's "Ringo no Uta," the first pop music hit after World War II finished, endeared it to a battered nation. Four months later in May of 1946, however, a very different tune became a No. 1 hit. Noboru Kirishima's "Reijin no Uta" ("Song of a Beautiful Woman") played up lament...
BUSINESS
May 29, 2015

Obama-sought fast-track trade bill, with caveats, looks poised to clear House vote

Republican and Democratic supporters of a fast-track trade bill are confident the U.S. House will pass the measure, sending it to President Barack Obama's desk, two House aides said.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 29, 2015

Reflation foes warn Kuroda, 'Abenomics' heading nation toward debt meltdown

Two years after unleashing record monetary stimulus, Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda and his allies are confronting increasingly vocal opposition from the opponents of reflation who once dominated the policy debate.
JAPAN
May 27, 2015

Nuclear regulator clears two Sendai reactors for restart

Japan cleared the way on Wednesday for a resumption of nuclear power, four years after the world's worst atomic disaster in more than two decades led to the shutdown of all the country's reactors and fueled public opposition to the industry.
JAPAN
May 26, 2015

Government defies foes over Henoko, stays set on landfill for new base

The central government will press ahead with construction of the Futenma replacement base even if Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga revokes existing permission for landfill work at the site, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2015

Unpopular but defiant, Myanmar's ruling party unfazed about poll prospects

Myanmar's ruling party is led by former members of a military junta, evolved from an organization that democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi once compared to a Nazi militia, and took office through electoral fraud.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 26, 2015

Europe's center-left parties face existential dilemma after string of losses

A crushing election defeat for Britain's Labour party has laid bare the dilemma facing Europe's center-left.
COMMENTARY / World
May 24, 2015

Could Palmya be a turning point for Assad?

Syrian President Bashar Assad may have allowed Islamic State to take the World Heritage site of Palmyra, hoping an atrocity there would bring the international community to his side.
JAPAN
May 24, 2015

Curtain falls on atomic feud with Kepco

They're nothing but a bunch of overpaid, arrogant jerks who should have been fired long ago for their managerial incompetence, while he's a just another crude loudmouth who has no idea what he's talking about.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 23, 2015

The 'Abe Doctrine' transforms security policy

The ink was barely dry on the new Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation, which were unveiled during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Washington last month, when Sen. John McCain, chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a wake-up call to the Japanese people. He said he...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 21, 2015

Japan-U.S. alliance remains as a bulwark against China

The more belligerent Beijing behaves, the more important the Japan-U.S. alliance becomes.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
May 21, 2015

Mother seeks a groom for her son in India's first gay marriage ad

A 57-year-old mother has placed India's first gay matrimonial advertisement, seeking a groom for her son in a country where homosexuality is illegal.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 21, 2015

Documents seized in bin Laden raid aired, show plots against U.S., al-Qaida job application

The U.S. released a trove of documents seized when special forces stormed Osama bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan in 2011 that include references to unfulfilled plots such as an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
May 19, 2015

'Coach Crusher' likes Hamamatsu's chances going into Final Four

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with personalities in the bj- league. Coach Tomoya Higashino of the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix is the subject of this week's profile.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 19, 2015

Experience was not the mother of wisdom

It's something of a truism that the life of an artist heavily influences his or her work. No exhibition makes this clearer than "Utrillo & Valadon" at the Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Museum of Art, which pairs the art of Maurice Utrillo, the famous painter of Parisian cityscapes, and his...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
May 19, 2015

Mixed ruling partially favors Apple in Samsung patent case

Apple Inc was handed a mixed ruling by a U.S. appeals court in the latest twist in a blockbuster intellectual property battle with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., as a prior patent infringement verdict was upheld but a trademark finding that the iPhone's appearance could be protected was thrown out.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 16, 2015

'Kantei Santa' makes himself heard over the din of the election vans

Is crime justified in the service of good?
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 16, 2015

Are forces of darkness gathering in Japan?

Certainly it's worse in China, South Korean security recently beat demonstrators and Spain faces a blanket gag rule, but are concerns about the anti-democratic forces of darkness in Japan unduly alarmist? How bad can it be if protestors in Hibiya Park can carry placards depicting Prime Minister Shinzo...
JAPAN / Politics
May 15, 2015

Opinion polls go wild on eve of Osaka merger referendum

As Sunday's unprecedented referendum on Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's merger plan approaches, opinion polls show that voters are still wavering.
EDITORIALS
May 15, 2015

Defense bills remain problematic

The Abe administration's legislative package to expand the SDF's role finally reaches the Diet — but still remains poorly explained.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2015

Dangerous deja vu all over

David Cameron's Conservatives are treading a dangerous path in renegotiating the U.K.'s membership and obligations in the EU.
JAPAN
May 13, 2015

Japan zoo body polls members on use of Taiji dolphins

The Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums is asking zoos and aquariums across the country to vote on the continued procurement of dolphins from the town of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, whose dolphin hunts and annual culls have riled activists worldwide.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 12, 2015

Nomura, RBS conducted 'enormous' deception over risky financial product: U.S. judge

Nomura Holdings Inc. and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. may face $500 million in damages for what a judge called an "enormous" deception in the sale of defective mortgage-backed securities, a ruling that may spur other banks to settle similar claims tied to the 2008 financial crisis.

Longform

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