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Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Dec 25, 2021

Child adoption slowly gains ground in Japan, though prospective parents still face obstacles

Child adoption slowly gains ground in Japan, though prospective parents still face a number of obstacles in trying to expand their families.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Aug 24, 2011

Kim's compassion enhances her legendary stature

"No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child."
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 16, 2022

The global supply trail that leads to Russia’s killer drones

The supplies also included model aircraft engines made by a Japanese company, Saito Seisakusho, as shown in photos of drones recovered in Ukraine.
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2013

New disaster warning system

The Meteorological Agency on Aug. 30 started a system to use a 'special warning' designation for natural disasters that are very likely to cause heavy damage.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 5, 2022

Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene in review of Mar-a-Lago records

Although the Supreme Court is dominated by six conservative justices, it has rejected earlier efforts to block the disclosure of information about him.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 27, 2022

Commando network coordinates flow of weapons in Ukraine, officials say

A secretive operation involving U.S. Special Operations forces hints at the scale of the effort to assist Ukraine's still outgunned military.
EDITORIALS
Sep 25, 2013

Drop antidemocratic secrecy bill

A proposed bill aimed at protecting state secrets that the government deems vital to national security would strongly limit people's access to relevant information.
BUSINESS / Q&A
Oct 23, 2008

Aso's team digging for 'buried funds'

With Prime Minister Taro Aso's government and ruling coalition lawmakers busy compiling a second economic stimulus package by the end of this month, the latest political catchphrase has become "Kasumigaseki maizokin," or buried funds in the Kasumigaseki district, the seat of the central government.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Oct 21, 2004

Disabled children at regular schools: inclusion isn't easy

When we moved to Japan and enrolled our sons in local schools, both they and I had a lot to learn. Every day was a challenge, and I was so focused on the basics that I missed a lot of things that should have been obvious. Like the fact that there was a disabled child in my son's kindergarten.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 15, 2013

Tax-free account seeks to spur investment

Starting in January, individuals who invest in stocks and investment trusts in a Nippon Individual Savings Account will be eligible for tax exemptions of up to five years on their financial gains. The new instrument is aimed at getting people used to accumulating financial assets via small-scale investments....
EDITORIALS
Sep 9, 2013

Anti-democratic secrecy bill

A bill to protect government secrets could undermine the fundamental democratic principles of freedom of information and freedom of the press.
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2011

Freedom of information threatened

A government committee headed by Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura on Oct. 7 decided to submit to the Diet in 2012 a bill to mete out severe punishment to people who leak "special secrets" related to diplomacy, national security and public order. The committee says that the purpose of the bill is...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Nov 27, 2009

Festive offerings at Tokyo hotels

As the Christmas season approaches, hotels warm up the mood with sparkling illuminations and gorgeous tree decorations, and prepare a variety of seasonal events and culinary offerings. Here are some of those special Christmas offerings that Tokyo's premium hotels have this year. Find your best way of...
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2000

Hospitals overcharging for rooms

OSAKA -- Hiromi Hase, 58, and her husband, Michio, were shocked last August when they found out they might have overpaid about 4 million yen when she was hospitalized for leukemia in 1996 and 1997.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 4, 2022

In Ukraine, U.S. veterans step in where the military will not

Special Operations veterans are training Ukrainians near the front lines in the fight against Russia, despite warnings from the Pentagon.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2021

Amazon documents reveal company's secret strategy to dodge India's regulators

The revelations could deepen the risks facing the company as it encounters intensifying government scrutiny in one of its fastest-growing markets.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jan 22, 2021

Hosting U.S. jets brought free school meals to Iwakuni, but some question the trade-off

Residents near Iwakuni base cast doubt over deal sealed under watch of then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.
EDITORIALS
Apr 28, 2016

Supreme Court's probe falls short

The top court's probe into 'special trials' held for leprosy patients accused of criminal offenses failed to address whether the defendants recieved justice.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 11, 2014

After Crimea, U.S. trains elite troops in Europe

As NATO refocuses on its eastern borders after Russia's annexation of Crimea, the United States is quietly deploying more troops to train special forces in former Soviet bloc states anxious about Moscow's intentions.
Campaign spending in the U.S. has surged, with dark money and Super PACs dominating elections.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2024

Dark money is a cancer on U.S. lawmakers — but it’s curable

Nearly three-fourths of Americans voters say lobbyists and special interests wield too much influence compared to constituents.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Warren, Michigan, on Nov. 1.
WORLD
Nov 6, 2024

White House win gives Trump a legal reprieve

As U.S. president, the 78-year-old Trump can make the federal criminal cases facing him vanish and see the state cases put on hold.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson drops back to pass during a game against the Giants on Dec. 15.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 11, 2025

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson leads NFL All-Pro team selections

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen trailed Jackson with 18 first-place votes, with Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow nabbing two.
"A Very Asian Guide to Japanese Food" is the first edition of the Asia-centric series to focus on rice balls, fermented soybeans and other Japanese staples.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 19, 2025

For kids, Japanese food ‘is a doorway to exploration’

Begun as a response to Asian-directed violence during the pandemic, the “Very Asian” series of cookbooks-slash-cultural primers turns its gaze toward Japan.
The Nikkei stock average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Many firms on the TSE have price-to-book ratios of less than 1, lowering the perceived quality of the exchange, which should consider taking steps to increase valuations and trading volume.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 14, 2025

Tokyo Stock Exchange must weed out underperforming firms

Tokyo wants to become Asia's top financial hub, but faces big obstacles. Among them, the presence of too many companies with low profitability and growth prospects.
Federal officers carrying out U.S. immigration enforcement near Rockville, Maryland, prepare a Filipino man for transport to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office for processing on Feb. 6.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 24, 2025

Thousands of agents diverted to Trump immigration crackdown

U.S. federal agents who usually hunt down child abusers, money launderers, drug traffickers and tax evaders are now pursuing immigrants who live in the U.S. illegally.
Jon Rahm hits a shot during a practice round ahead of the Masters on Wednesday. Rahm is one of 12 players from LIV Golf in the 95-player field.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Apr 10, 2025

Masters not planning to create exemption for LIV Golf players

Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Fred Ridley pointed out that the Masters is an invitational tournament, and Augusta National can extend special invitations to anyone.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (second from left), the businessman Dang Thanh Tam, (third from left), and Eric and Lara Trump (center) attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Trump hotel and golf course in the Hung Yen Province of Vietnam on May 21.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2025

Why Vietnam ignored its own laws to fast-track a Trump family golf complex

Hanoi faces intense pressure to strike a trade deal that would head off Trump’s threat of steep tariffs, which would hit about 30% of Vietnam’s exports.
Impeached former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (center) arrives for a court hearing to review a new arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 10, 2025

South Korean court orders new arrest of disgraced ex-President Yoon

Yoon sent shock waves through South Korean democracy when he made a short-lived declaration of martial law — which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament.
Tetsuro Kamata (second from left), deputy superintendent-general of Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department, and Hirohide Mori (left), head of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office's public security division, apologize to former Ohkawara Kakohki executive Junji Shimada (second from right) and company President Masaaki Okawara on June 20 in Yokohama.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jul 10, 2025

Improper law-enforcement interrogations persist in Japan

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations has emphasized the urgent need for further reforms in interrogation procedures.
With tariffs at an 80-year high and the U.S. dollar behaving unpredictably, the Fed should hold off on cutting rates until there’s clear evidence that inflation remains under control.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 27, 2025

The Fed needs to tread carefully with this strange dollar

Given that range of possibilities, it’s prudent to wait for the data to tell the story, exactly as Fed Chair Jerome Powell is currently planning.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past