Search - news

 
 
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2017

Our dangerous, idiotic national conversation

Cheap speech is reducing the relevance of political parties and newspapers as intermediaries between candidates and voters, which empowers demagogues.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 22, 2017

Kim directly warns Trump as North Korean foreign minister says response may include Pacific H-bomb test

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calls U.S. President Donald Trump “mentally deranged” and vows to make him “pay dearly” for threatening the total destruction of his country.
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Sep 19, 2017

Honda, Higuchi make early statements in race for Olympics

The battle for the two women's spots on Japan's team for the Pyeongchang Olympics began in earnest over the weekend as Marin Honda and Wakaba Higuchi participated in Challenger Series events on opposite sides of the globe.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2017

Russian court snubs suit by kin seeking to learn fate of Swedish war hero Raoul Wallenberg

A Russian court on Monday rejected a request to release classified documents about Swedish World War II hero Raoul Wallenberg, whose fate remains a mystery seven decades after his reported death, Russian news agencies reported.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 18, 2017

Tillerson signals U.S. may stay in Paris climate pact 'under the right conditions'

The United States could remain in the Paris climate accord under the right conditions, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday, signaling a shift in tone for the Trump administration, which angered allies with its decision to pull out of the agreement.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 18, 2017

Hamas agrees to dissolve its Gaza administration, push for Palestinian unity government

Hamas has agreed to dissolve the administration that runs Gaza, it said on Sunday, a major step toward handing control of the enclave to a Palestinian unity government after a decade of bitter rivalry with President Mahmoud Abbas.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 16, 2017

North Korea's Kim vows to seek 'equilibrium of force' with U.S. after missile launch over Japan

Kim Jong Un also wants to force Washington to “dare not talk about” military action over its nuclear and missile programs.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2017

North Korea responds to latest U.N. sanctions with second missile over Japan

Hit by fresh U.N. sanctions, North Korea responds by shooting a second ballistic missile over Hokkaido and into the Pacific Ocean.
EDITORIALS
Sep 15, 2017

End Russian election meddling

If Russia insists on taking active measures to subvert the political systems of other countries, it must face consequences.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Sep 13, 2017

China sets up first quantum communications network

China has set up its first "commercial" quantum network in the northern province of Shandong, its latest step in advancing a technology expected to enable hack-proof communications.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 12, 2017

China says Taiwan-bound Talim could become super typhoon

China's National Meteorological Center on Tuesday warned that Typhoon Talim could intensify and turn into a super typhoon as it churns towards Taiwan and Zhejiang and Fujian provinces on the Chinese mainland.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 12, 2017

As sanctions bite, are North Korea hackers stepping up bitcoin attacks?

North Korea appears to be stepping up efforts to secure bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which could be used to avoid trade restrictions, a new report from security researcher FireEye Inc. states.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 11, 2017

No talk of ousting U.S. House Speaker Ryan: key GOP conservative

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a leading House conservative, said on Sunday that fellow conservatives are not discussing replacing Speaker Paul Ryan despite unhappiness with the way Republican leaders handled last week's debt ceiling increase that included no fiscal reforms.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 10, 2017

North Korean leader praises nuclear scientists, urges bolstered nuclear force

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has lauded the country's nuclear scientists and technicians behind its sixth nuclear test last week — purportedly of a hydrogen bomb — with a banquet and other events, urging them to continue their work building what state media on Sunday called "the strongest nuclear...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Sep 9, 2017

Confronting youth suicide: Seeking ways to stop young people from taking their own lives

A grand piano stands silently in a tatami room at Naoko Nakashima's home in Toride, Ibaraki Prefecture. It has not been played in almost two years.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 7, 2017

Lawmaker Yamao resigns from the DP after alleged extramarital affair deepens opposition party's crisis

Long considered a rising star, Shiori Yamao exits the Democratic Party amid an emerging scandal, dealing a blow to the nascent leadership of the struggling opposition.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices
Sep 6, 2017

The other eclipse: Nazism recasts its shadow in Japan and the U.S.

It seems Nazis are the new black. It took two days for U.S. President Donald Trump to belatedly denounce American neo-Nazis and other white supremacists. In Japan, Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, voicing admiration for German Nazis ("paleo-Nazis"?), suggested that Adolf Hitler, "who killed millions of...
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2017

It's official: Princess Mako to marry former university classmate

Princess Mako, the eldest grandchild of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, will marry a former classmate at her university, the Imperial Household Agency announced in a much-anticipated news conference Sunday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 30, 2017

White House considering Pacific Command chief Harry Harris for Australian ambassador post: report

Amid surging tensions in the Asia-Pacific region — including over Chinese moves in the East and South China seas and North Korea's nuclear program — the White House is reportedly considering naming the top U.S. military commander in the region to be ambassador to Australia.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 28, 2017

North Korean missiles fly, but talks still on Tillerson’s mind

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday he holds out hope for talks with nuclear-armed North Korea despite its "provocative act" Saturday of firing three short-range missiles.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 26, 2017

North Korea launches three short-range missiles after nearly monthlong hiatus, U.S. says

After a nearly monthlong hiatus, North Korea launches three short-range ballistic missiles, one of which explodes almost immediately, amid war games held by the U.S. and South Korea.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 25, 2017

Abe, Moon brainstorm on North Korea, re-examine forced-labor issue

Prime Minister Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in hold a phone call to explore redress for Koreans who were forced into labor during the Japanese occupation and the war.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Aug 24, 2017

Animated pop star Hatsune Miku is only 10, but she has had a huge impact on music

People rarely geek out over the 10-year anniversary of a specific instrument, but Hatsune Miku isn't your usual music store purchase.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 24, 2017

Barcelona tries to balance security and freedom after deadly attacks

Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia, hit last week by two Islamist militant attacks that killed 15 people, will deploy more police, install bollards in Barcelona and step up security around stations and tourist landmarks.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Aug 23, 2017

Trump or decency? Every American, whether in Japan or elsewhere, must choose a side

Trump made his choice. Now it is time for every American, including those of us living in Japan, to choose between hate and tolerance, ignorance and knowledge, revisionism and truth.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan