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JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 30, 2014

Funding scandals prompt veiled LDP threat to call snap election

Feeling the heat, Prime Minister Abe tells the opposition to stop revealing his Cabinet's fundraising violations and threatens to call a snap election over the 'obstruction.'
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 28, 2014

Perilous spirit of the times

A gap has emerged between Japanese and foreign media in their appraisal of Japan's political scene. Some overseas media are growing skeptical that Japan is indeed a champion of freedom and democracy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 27, 2014

Leftist Rousseff narrowly wins second term in Brazil presidential poll

Brazil's leftist president, Dilma Rousseff, narrowly won re-election Sunday after convincing voters that her party's strong record of reducing poverty over the last 12 years was more important than a recent economic slump.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 27, 2014

Ukrainians vote in election likely to strengthen Poroshenko's mandate

Ukrainians voted Sunday in an election that is likely to install a pro-Western parliament and strengthen President Petro Poroshenko's mandate to end separatist conflict in the east, but may fuel tension with Russia.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 26, 2014

As Abe's political ratings fade, top official calls for delay in next sales tax hike

A top government official said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should delay a planned consumption tax increase, the strongest sign yet that economic weakness is causing concern among those close to Abe ahead of his final decision on the levy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 26, 2014

Moderate defense of what they call extremism

Few words are less meaningless in political discourse than 'extremism,' as people are extremists only in comparison to what is mainstream at the moment. Today's extremism becomes tomorrow's moderation under a different system.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 24, 2014

Give Abe a break on 'womenomics'

What matters for Japan — after two female ministers resigned this week from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet — is not the number of women in the Cabinet, but whether Japanese women get good jobs en masse.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 22, 2014

Prosecutors set to decide whether to indict Tepco execs over nuclear disaster

The judicial review is unlikely to result in prison terms, legal experts say, but it could drag the company into criminal court, rehashing details of the meltdowns.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Oct 20, 2014

Bicultural Japanese baby names can be double the trouble

What do the following names have in common: Ayeisha, December, Eli, Gabrielle, Haruki, Julie, Kaede, Koh, Leon, Louis, Lucia, Luke, Margaret, Olivia, Ryuken, Tobin and Tennis? They are all children's names — all but one the sons and daughters of bicultural couples.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 18, 2014

Hideaki Anno: emotional deconstructionist

With dozens of the renowned filmmaker's works scheduled to be screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival over the next two weeks, we speak to the man behind the 'Evangelion' sci-fi franchise about his apocalyptic influences and prod him on the question that is on every fan's lips
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 18, 2014

Russia, Ukraine near deal on gas supplies after tough Milan talks

Russia and Ukraine made progress on Friday toward resolving a dispute over gas supplies in time for winter, but European leaders said Moscow still has to do much more to prop up a fragile cease-fire and end fighting in eastern Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 17, 2014

Rule 1: 'Don't do stupid stuff'

The challenge for the Obama administration as it 'rebalances' toward the Asia-Pacific is that diplomatic and economic interactions lag military ties. That's why a system of trans-Pacific free trade in the region is vital.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Oct 17, 2014

BIFF 2014 plays down unavoidable controversies

The biggest event of the year for South Korea's film industry is the opening night of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), which marked its 19th year Oct. 2 to 11. Whether or not they have films screening at the festival, almost all the major Korean movie stars show up and strut the red carpet...
EDITORIALS
Oct 16, 2014

A step backward in Indonesia

The old guard in Indonesia may have lost the fight for the presidency in July, but in the late night hours of the last legislative session, they consolidated their control over local and provincial elections by changing the voting procedures.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 16, 2014

Less meant more to Shunso Hishida

It's no secret that the Japanese art world was going through major changes at the end of the 19th century. On the one hand, there was a flood of Western art styles, called yōga, offering exciting new possibilities, while, on the other, there was a reaction called nihonga, which sought to revitalize...
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 16, 2014

China blocks BBC website as Hong Kong tensions rise

Chinese censors have blocked the website of Britain's national broadcaster, the BBC said in a statement late on Wednesday, as tensions rise in Hong Kong between pro-democracy protesters and police.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 15, 2014

For Americans abroad, old 'Duke' flicks can transport us home

As expats, our Americatown is the corner DVD shop, where we know who we are and have roots.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 14, 2014

Hong Kong a growing thorn in Sino-American relations

Just as China and the U.S. are preparing for another Xi Jinping-Barack Obama summit, this time in Beijing for the annual APEC leaders meeting, China is stepping up charges that Washington is secretly supporting student-led pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 14, 2014

Saudi Arabia's oil enigma

Saudi Arabia is sometimes likened to a central bank managing the global oil market, adding or withdrawing supplies to control prices. But that vastly overstates the degree of influence, let alone control, that the kingdom exercises over the market.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 14, 2014

Wall St. drops in late selloff; energy, airlines fall

U.S. stocks dropped more than 1 percent on Monday, with the S&P 500 closing below a key technical support level, as declines in energy and airline shares led a late-day selloff.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2014

Sectarian tension threatening to tip Lebanon

With all eyes focused on sectarian violence in Iraq and Syria, little attention has been paid to Sunni-Shiite relations in Lebanon, where the potential for a perfect storm is brewing.
JAPAN / History / IMPERIAL ANNALS
Oct 11, 2014

Selective history: Hirohito's chronicles

Between July 30 and Aug. 2, 1945, when most of Japan's cities, including Tokyo, lay in smoldering ruins from U.S. aerial bombing and Hiroshima and Nagasaki were days away from being incinerated by American nuclear weapons, Emperor Hirohito sent an envoy to several Shinto shrines to pray for the "crushing...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Oct 11, 2014

Russians keep calm for now as ruble's slide gathers pace

With the ruble down 18 percent against the dollar this year and sanctions chipping away at economic ties with the West, ordinary Russians might be forgiven for rushing to put their money in a "safe" foreign currency.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 8, 2014

Bonding boozily over the pleasure and pain of Bukowski

The embrace of individuality combined with the pain of loneliness could explain why Bukowski's works have been embraced by many of the Japanese men I've met in Tokyo.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 7, 2014

U.S. Supreme Court dodges gay marriage, effectively allowing same-sex weddings in five more states

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to decide once and for all whether states can ban gay marriage, a surprising move that will allow gay men and women to get married in five additional states, with more likely to follow quickly.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Oct 6, 2014

Tokyo: What can be done to restore Japan's relations with China and South Korea?

An international bunch around Tokyo offer their views on possible ways to rebuild trust between Japan and its East Asian neighbors over historical issues.

Longform

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