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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.
Japan Times
WORLD / EU SPECIAL 2015
May 12, 2015

Union advocates peace, strives to maintain solidarity

Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 10, 2015

As rest of EU pulls away, Czech president finds friendly welcome from Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Milos Zeman, his Czech counterpart, in the Kremlin on Saturday, cementing the warm relationship Zeman and his entourage have maintained with Moscow even as other European leaders have pulled away.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 8, 2015

We need to talk about Abe

Shinzo Abe is bent on making Japan a 'normal' country, but has he thought out the consequences of elevating the SDF to a full-fledged military?
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 8, 2015

Scottish nationalists crush opponents, setting stage for new independence bid

Scottish nationalists rampaged to victory north of the border in Britain's national election, obliterating their opponents and setting the stage for a new battle over independence.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2015

Left turn in Canada's oil-rich Alberta stuns energy industry

Canadian oil and gas shares tumbled and the country's main stock index hit a one-month low on Wednesday, after the leftwing New Democratic Party surged to power in the oil-rich province of Alberta on promises that included energy industry reforms.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2015

Parliamentary candidate from Britain's UKIP suspended for threatening to shoot rival

The anti-European Union UK Independence Party suspended one of its parliamentary candidates on Tuesday, two days before Britain's national election, for threatening to "put a bullet" in his Conservative rival.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 30, 2015

Abe on message, but regional tensions remain

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may have done a relatively good job in delivering one message Wednesday to the joint session of the U.S. Congress: Japan and America have reconciled well since World War II ended 70 years ago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 30, 2015

Model-turned-actress Tao Okamoto gets ready for her closeup after landing roles in 'Hannibal' and 'Batman v Superman'

From renowned photographers and major fashion labels to famous Hollywood directors; it seems everyone wants a piece of Tao Okamoto these days. The model-turned-actress, who made her big-screen debut in the blockbuster "Wolverine" two years ago, is set to appear in the third season of the American TV...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 29, 2015

Flawed entrance exam reform

The education ministry's effort to reform the university entrance exam system has serious flaws.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan