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Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 21, 2015

Abe could ease doubts by apologizing over WWII, says former leader Fukuda

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could help remove international doubts about Japan's stance toward its wartime past by apologizing over World War II in a statement he is planning to help mark the 70th anniversary of the war's end, said Yasuo Fukuda, one of Abe's predecessors.
Japan Times
JAPAN / DAVOS SPECIAL 2015
Jan 21, 2015

Forging better Japan through 'quiet revolution'

Entrepreneur Yoshito Hori has a strong sense of mission to guide Japan to become a better place as it undergoes what he calls a "quiet revolution," and he thinks his role is outside of politics.
COMMENTARY
Jan 20, 2015

Proven scare tactics serve Putin well

President Vladimir Putin knows that the canny use of fear and forgiveness will allow him to retain his grip on power.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 19, 2015

Japan to co-host Premier 12 baseball world tourney

Japan was the first-ever champion of the World Baseball Classic, lifting the championship trophy on foreign soil in 2006. If Samurai Japan repeats the feat at the inaugural Premier 12, the Japanese will get to do all their celebrating at home.
COMMENTARY
Jan 19, 2015

A perceived insult against religion is countered with words, not arms

There is a place for passionate debate on the moral question of how to balance freedom of speech with respect for religion. But the weapons of this debate should be the keyboard — not the Kalashnikov.
COMMENTARY
Jan 19, 2015

Frozen chickens threaten Venezuela's regime

While Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blames 'saboteurs' for hoarding goods and scalping prices in an alleged plot to 'destabilize' the national economy, Venezuelans are steaming over an economy in deadfall, inflation heading to three digits and supermarkets stripped of frozen chickens.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jan 19, 2015

Japan's liquidity trap holds warning for ECB: Japan Credit

Investors who predict the European Central Bank will start buying government bonds this week to fight deflation shouldn't expect too much if Japan is any guide.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 17, 2015

Home away from home: the plight of refugees in Japan

On a cold winter's day in December, an African man sits in a meeting room at the Japan Association for Refugees, a nonprofit organization in Tokyo. The man, whose name and country of origin have been withheld to protect his identity from those who wish him and his family harm, has been seeking refugee...
Japan Times
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 16, 2015

USOC gets Olympic bid wrong again

"Once you become predictable, no one's interested anymore."
Japan Times
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 16, 2015

Manchester United's high-priced squad fails to inspire

It is only Louis van Gaal's cv that is preventing him from receiving the sort of merciless criticism directed at David Moyes last season.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 14, 2015

A note of concern to wounded MLK from a friend in Japan

Throughout Martin Luther King Jr.'s pursuit of justice and equal rights for African-Americans, he knew he had the support and consideration of Japan through an old classmate who had decided to study abroad and broaden his cultural understanding.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 12, 2015

Decision on Petraeus leak allegations not yet final, Holder says

The Justice Department hasn't made a final decision about whether to prosecute retired Army Gen. David Petraeus for allegedly providing government secrets to his former mistress while he was director of the CIA, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 11, 2015

Cameron's Conservatives vow tough new U.K. strike laws

British Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party says it will introduce tough strike laws for some public service workers if it wins the general election in May, prompting anger from unions that called the proposals an affront to democracy.
Japan Times
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 9, 2015

Martinez struggling to keep Everton competitive

So David Moyes is not such a bad manager after all.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2015

Avoid trap of pitting Islamism against nativism

Many people fear dreadful political reactions to the brutal attack on the headquarters of the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
WORLD
Jan 9, 2015

Paris attack reminds Arab cartoonists of dangers at home

After Egyptian cartoonist Andeel took to social media to condemn the slaughter of colleagues in Paris, he received expressions of sympathy — often not for the victims but for the suspected Islamist gunmen.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 8, 2015

World leaders condemn attack on Paris magazine; Obama vows to help find killers

World leaders expressed outrage over the attack on a French magazine office in Paris that killed at least 12 people, with several countries calling emergency meetings of anti-terrorism officials to review security.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jan 4, 2015

Hachimura beginning to turn heads overseas

Rui "Louis" Hachimura is the next big thing coming out of Japan, and many are already paying attention to the 16-year-old basketball player's post-high school career.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 70 YEARS OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY
Jan 2, 2015

As Abe pulls to the right, few go with him

How far has Japan shifted to the right? Is it trying to shed its legacy of postwar pacifism? Experts give their opinions on the LDP's latest moves as the new year opens.
WORLD / Society
Jan 2, 2015

Poll: 1 in 8 Germans would join anti-Muslim marches

One German in 8 would join an anti-Muslim march if a rapidly-growing protest movement organized one in their hometowns, according to an opinion poll published on Thursday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 1, 2015

Crowded skies in Southeast Asia put pressure on pilots, air traffic control

The sheer volume of flights in the skies over Southeast Asia is putting pressure on outdated air traffic control and on pilots to take risky unilateral action in crises such as that possibly faced by AirAsia Flight QZ8501.
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2014

A watershed year for Japan

Japan is at a crossroads in many ways as the nation greets the 70th year since it set out on the path of rebuilding after its defeat in World War II.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 31, 2014

After 15 years in power, Putin risks running out of luck

When Vladimir Putin was handed power unexpectedly by an ailing Boris Yeltsin on the last day of the last century, his first move was to go on television to guarantee Russia the freedoms needed for a "civilized society."
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 31, 2014

Abe's goal of constitutional reform faces many challenges

This will be a tough year for the Abe administration as the calendar is full of policy goals that are unpopular with voters, observers say, particularly on defense policy.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 31, 2014

Cuban open mic protest thwarted after dissidents detained

Cuban police detained several dissidents on Tuesday and thwarted an unauthorized political protest, dissidents said, in the first major test of U.S. President Barack Obama's policy shift toward normalizing relations with the communist-ruled island.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2014

Oil prices and Saudi democracy

Saudi Arabia's top policymakers deny they have deliberately sought lower oil prices, and there are good reasons to doubt the kingdom is wielding the oil weapon as part of some grand geopolitical strategy.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 28, 2014

Swedish government makes deal with anti-immigration opposition

Sweden's 3-month-old minority center-left government announced a deal with the opposition on Saturday to sideline the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, who hold the balance of power in parliament, and avert a fresh election.

Longform

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