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JAPAN / Politics / View from Osaka
Jul 18, 2020

Unlike Tokyo's Koike, Osaka Gov. Yoshimura enjoys freer hand in coronavirus fight

Osaka's leaders understand very well that their counterparts in Kanto face unique challenges that they do not.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 18, 2020

Turkey sent up to 3,800 Syrian fighters to Libya, U.S. Defense Department says

Turkey sent between 3,500 and 3,800 paid Syrian fighters to Libya over the first three months of the year, the U.S. Defense Department’s inspector general concluded in a new report, its first to detail Turkish deployments that helped change the course of Libya's war.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 17, 2020

‘The Keeper of the Dragonflies’: The essence of cross-cultural relationships, warts and all

Thomas Noah Wood is the pseudonym for the American writer Thomas Dillon, whose name may be familiar to readers of The Japan Times. Dillon wrote about daily life in Japan through the lens of international marriage in “When East Marries West,” a column which ran from 1998 to 2015. Unlike the good-natured...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 17, 2020

Japanese distrust of government stalls adoption of My Number card

Officials might have better success getting the public to sign on by providing clear information about what exactly is monitored through the program.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2020

A new way of thinking about foreign aid

Throughout the developing world there is a new mood of both pride and hope. Aid from the rich North is beginning to feel patronizing.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 17, 2020

Mask rules expand across U.S. as clashes over the mandate intensify

A tidal wave of new mask requirements have recently been issued in the U.S., but resistance is still strong in many circles.
Reader Mail
Jul 17, 2020

Abe more interested in damage control than governing

Regarding the July 9 article “Abe aides worry over damage to LDP from Kawais' indictment,” Prime Minister Abe's camp seems only interested in his image and thus betray their disinterest in the substance and purpose of democratic government. They concern themselves solely with damage controlling their...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 16, 2020

Hong Kong ceases to be safe haven in gathering China-U.S. storm

Hong Kong, until recently an oasis of political stability in Asia, is now gripped with unprecedented regulatory and legal uncertainty that threatens its position as one of the world’s top financial hubs.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jul 16, 2020

China is forcing the world to find new ways to deal with it

The leadership under Xi Jinping believes China is now strong enough that it can forcefully assert its agenda both at home and abroad.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 14, 2020

Seoul mayor’s death exposes split in South Korean ruling party over #MeToo

An old guard wanting to honor one of their own faces a younger generation looking to steer clear of someone suspected of sexual harassment.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 13, 2020

Can Japan get out of its downward spiral?

To turn the nation around, Japan needs more effective political leadership.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2020

Japan urges urbanites to tour country, sparking fear of virus's spread in countryside

A central government campaign to spur domestic tourism has drawn both enthusiasm and ire, with some social media users telling urbanites to stay away from rural areas.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 11, 2020

COVID-19 pulls the rug out from under workers' feet

And that may not be the worse thing that could happen to them.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 10, 2020

Five things to know about a possible snap election

Will the ruling coalition push to get the Lower House election out of the way sooner or later?
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 9, 2020

Cash and politics may stymie any push for strike capabilities in Japan

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is discussing the issue and is expected to put forward its conclusions later this month.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 9, 2020

Jair Bolsonaro bets 'miraculous cure' can save Brazil — and his life

More than 1.7 million people in Brazil have tested positive for coronavirus and nearly 68,000 have died. Only the United States has performed worse.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 9, 2020

‘The Gun 2020’: Locked, loaded and nowhere to go

“The Gun 2020” revisits the story of Masaharu Take's 2018 film, “The Gun,” this time with a woman as the weapon-wielding protagonist. A feminist thriller it is not.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 9, 2020

U.S. coronavirus cases rise by over 58,000, setting new single-day record

The U.S. faces a bleak summer as infections surge and many states are forced to close bars and popular beaches to try to curb the rise.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Jul 7, 2020

North Korean defectors face wrath of both Seoul and Pyongyang

Two brothers who led defector groups were questioned by police last week, after the government sought to have them prosecuted over leaflets sent over the border.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY
Jul 6, 2020

What’s in a name? Princeton University faces its racist past

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's image as a promoter of democracy and equality is being replaced with that of a stone-cold racist, extreme even for his time.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jul 5, 2020

Japan’s netizens make up for traditional media outlets' shortcomings in addressing Black Lives Matter

Social media users have offered a broader perspective of commentary on protests against systemic racism happening abroad.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2020

The European Union’s self-help moment

The COVID-19 crisis has created an opening for stronger collective European action.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2020

Taliban bounties would be a new low even for Putin

Putting a price on American heads today is not at all like the U.S. arming anti-Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 30, 2020

Japan to delay 'womenomics' goal by up to a decade, reports media

Only 15 percent of senior and leadership posts are held by women, the report said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 27, 2020

Fighting for the right to recognize same-sex marriage in Japan

The notion of legal partnerships is gaining acceptance and yet entrenched political obstacles remain.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 27, 2020

COVID-19 pandemic has left us all feeling a little overwhelmed

When the internet sits in judgment on perceived violators of unwritten laws, its standards tend to be those of a technologized lynch mob.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 27, 2020

When to wear a mask and when you can skip it

With the guidance on masks during the pandemic having been conflicting, it's no wonder some people are confused.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 25, 2020

Watari-um celebrates a mother's legacy

Thirty years on, the Watari siblings encourage the quirky and unusual as the curators of the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / Commentary
Jun 22, 2020

COVID-19's potential lasting influence on post-pandemic governance

Once a vaccine is found, will world powers embrace globalism or isolationist policies?

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo