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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 19, 2022

Fix structural problems now or face SOFA revision later

The bottom line, however, is that without transparency, accountability and trust, the U.S.-Japan alliance will not enjoy the full support of the public.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Food Sustainability in Japan
Mar 7, 2021

Your dinner has an origin story and blockchain tech can help you find it

Tracing the journey of how your food gets to your table is becoming easier with the help of apps that allow shoppers to make more informed decisions.
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2021

Lost in translation: Japan fumbles pandemic communication with foreign communities

Growing concern over access to up-to-date, accurate official information highlights the government's larger struggle to convey pandemic-related policies and support.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 6, 2020

10 spots across Japan perfect for your next workation

Can't take a break from work? Here are 10 places in Japan where you can get that vacation feel without using any of your paid time off.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Feb 17, 2020

Bureaucrats are to blame for copy-happy hotel clerks

With data privacy being a huge issue, you may feel uneasy about hotels photocopying your passport. However, Colin P.A. Jones says the rule is more about bureaucratic culture than privacy.
Japan Times
Special Supplements / G20 Osaka Summit Special
Jun 27, 2019

Chuo's two new faculties to promote further internationalization

Society is undergoing dynamic changes and so that its students can "Be ahead of the world," Chuo University has introduced two new courses to best enable today's learners become tomorrow's leaders.
EDITORIALS
Jun 8, 2019

Genetic tests for cancer therapy

Rules should be introduced to ensure the confidentiality of patients and prohibit all forms of unfair treatment based on genetic information.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Oct 6, 2018

Goichiro Toyoda taps technology in bid to save Japan's health care system

Goichiro Toyoda, 34, has an impressive resume. A graduate of the prestigious University of Tokyo faculty of medicine, Toyoda worked as a brain surgeon in Tokyo before leaving to become a research scholar at Children's Hospital of Michigan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 15, 2017

Medical big data to be pooled for disease research and drug development in Japan

Last month a bill aimed at facilitating medical research through the use of patient records stored at medical institutions cleared the Diet.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Jul 30, 2016

A decade after its founding, WikiLeaks is alienating even its friends

It has been 10 years since Julian Assange founded WikiLeaks, the website that has gone on to serve as the world's most prominent digital repository of leaked government information. The organization has been celebrating a decade of existence over the past week by putting on display everything that makes...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 21, 2016

Japan's cybersecurity upgrade — too little, too late?

The Internet facilitates rapid data-sharing and increased communication between individuals, firms and government entities. This generates significant risks but, for most of the 2000s, Japan did not take commensurate countermeasures. The complacent attitude toward information technology security has...
EDITORIALS
Jan 23, 2016

Fears over personal data security

People are understandably worried about the security of the My Number system, and the government has done little to reassure them.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 11, 2015

Secrets law, one year later

The controversial state secret law that took effect last year has already had a chilling effect on the media: no one is even talking about it anymore.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 22, 2015

Embassies help foreigners in Japan overcome language barrier in times of disaster

Devastating floods that forced thousands of evacuations near Tokyo in September revealed shortcomings in disaster management when it comes to helping residents who do not speak Japanese.
EDITORIALS
Apr 4, 2015

Oversight for secrets too weak

Oversight committees are so weak they may not be able to compel the government to reverse improper designations of state secrets.
EDITORIALS
Jan 13, 2015

Launch secrecy oversight panels

The designation of some government information as 'secret' continues as allowed under a new law, but the sole mechanism for overseeing the process has not been launched.
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Oct 26, 2014

Kansai's fears of new law no state secret

With less than two months to go until the new designated state secrets law comes into force, how, exactly, it will work in practice is the subject of extensive debate and concern. Much of the commentary focuses on how the fundamental rights of individuals will be affected.
EDITORIALS
Jul 28, 2014

Weak state secrets oversight

An expert panel's proposal to create at least two oversight bodies staffed by Japanese bureaucrats falls far short of what's needed to prevent the arbitrary designation of government information as state secrets.
EDITORIALS
Jul 25, 2014

Plug leaks in privacy protection law

The massive theft of customer data from education service provider Benesse Corp. underscores the value of such data for marketing purposes, and the need to close legal loopholes that allow private information to proliferate so easily.
EDITORIALS
Mar 13, 2014

State secrets law fatally flawed

Japan should hold off on putting the state secrets law into effect until it addresses the need for an oversight mechanism for how secrets are designated as well as a means to protect whistleblowers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2014

Jaczko recalls chaos of Fukushima early days

The central government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. fell into chaos when the triple meltdown crisis started at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission also faced a tough crisis-management situation characterized by limited information and mounting pressure to act,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Mar 9, 2014

Clarify your role, prepare before a disaster strikes

When she first arrived in Japan from Ireland in 2008, Sarah Hickey was mostly concerned with adjusting to her new life in Fukushima Prefecture. The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme placed her in Iwaki, which is itself a large city, but she found herself near the coast in less metropolitan...
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2013

Ruling camp fends off rewrite of secrets bill

The ruling bloc keeps its contentious state secrets bill intact though it gives the appearance of compromising with Nippon Ishin no Kai to attach minor requirements on government bodies seeking to classify information.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2013

Ruling bloc may yield a bit on state secrets bill

The Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc is wooing the opposition camp this week to reach common ground on the contentious state secrets bill that the administration hopes the Lower House passed by Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 15, 2013

NSA said collecting millions of email address books, 'buddy lists' daily

The U.S. National Security Agency is harvesting hundreds of millions of contact lists from personal email and instant messaging accounts around the world, many of them belonging to Americans, according to senior intelligence officials and top secret documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2013

Obama no friend of free press

Barack Obama's tendency to bypass the press for social media and friendly bloggers amounts to the White House reporting on itself, thus avoiding tough questions.
Japan Times
Events
Jan 29, 2013

Preparing the foreign community for Japan's next big natural disaster

For newcomers to Japan, especially those who come from countries that don't experience frequent earthquakes, preparing for natural disasters like the megaquake and tsunami that hit the Tohoku region on March 11, 2011, may not come so easily.
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2012

Facedown over privacy

In and around Tokyo, face-recognition cameras have started to take photos of passersby at various locations. Supermarket chains, shopping malls and vending machines inside JR East stations all have been using face-recognition software to identify the sex and age of individuals who come within line of...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji