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EDITORIALS
Dec 4, 2016

Diverse views on abdication

The government must reflect the will of the people when it decides how to respond to Emperor Akihito's desire to abdicate.
JAPAN / History
Dec 3, 2016

Memories of 1941 Pearl Harbor attack continue to affect U.S., Japan in Asia

On Dec. 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II. The attack, carried out at dawn by Japanese fighter planes launched from aircraft carriers, was a then relatively new form of naval warfare that shocked the American public.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 3, 2016

What shape will populism take in modern Japan?

Populism isn't new. A wave of it generated democracy in ancient Greece, circa 500 B.C. Its modern form, born in America in the early 19th century, was a revolt against the planter aristocracy that had governed since independence in 1776. Andrew Jackson — said to be the first president born in a log...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Dec 3, 2016

Lottich inspiring Valparaiso with passion

For many years, Matt Lottich was one of the best basketball ambassadors that Japan has ever had. He made big contributions on a consistent basis. He respected the game and played it the right way.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 3, 2016

Trump reportedly invites Philippines' Duterte to visit next year

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump invited Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte to the White House next year during a "very engaging, animated" phone conversation, a Duterte aide said on Friday, amid rocky relations between their two countries.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2016

Trump's effect on U.S. allies

Donald Trump's election could prove a disruptive force in forcing many allies to analyze the costs of the U.S. alliance alongside the benefits.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 1, 2016

New evidence shows deep Islamic State role in Bangladesh massacre that killed seven Japanese

Before Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury orchestrated Bangladesh's worst militant attack, he sought and won approval for it from Islamic State.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2016

How Russian propaganda works in the West

The 'crazies' that populate the alternative news sphere, those dismissed by the mainstream, consume pro-Vladimir Putin information with their general diet.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 30, 2016

Callers for dollars: Inside India's IRS scam call centers

In late September, a woman in National City, California, received a voice message on her phone saying she was in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over "tax evasion or tax fraud."
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 29, 2016

LDP ignores needed reform by focusing on term limits

The Liberal Democratic Party is being very shortsighted by focusing its reform effort so narrowly.
LIFE / Language
Nov 28, 2016

Record 20 million foreign visitors to Japan estimated for year so far

Sample newspaper article
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 28, 2016

China protests to Singapore over troop carriers in Taiwan

China said on Monday it had lodged a protest with Singapore after Singaporean armored troop carriers were seized by Hong Kong customs en route back from Taiwan, as a state-owned newspaper warned against Singapore's "hypocrisy."
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 28, 2016

Mikawa-Anjo Station offers foreign visitors brief, cheap shinkansen experience

The number of foreigners visiting Mikawa-Anjo Station, the next stop after Nagoya Station on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, is increasing, particularly visitors from Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Nov 27, 2016

'Five-year rule' triggers 'Tohoku college massacre' of jobs

I have discussed the "five-year rule" several times before in this column — the revision of the Labor Contract Law (Rodo Keiyaku Ho) enacted in 2013. Under the amendment, any worker employed on serial fixed-term contracts (yūki koyō) for more than five years can give themselves permanent status....
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 26, 2016

Trump, Putin and Kim make Abe miserable

What a bad week for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. His foreign policy initiatives lay in tatters with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's plans to dump the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Russian President Vladimir Putin pouring cold water on Abe's hopes of regaining some of the Northern Territories....
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 26, 2016

Where to burn aging Japan's growing numbers of dead?

A sideshow of Japan's demographic crisis is that there aren't enough facilities available to 'process' these bodies.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 25, 2016

What's behind Japan's rise in senior citizen crime?

The phenomenon may be suggestive of an underlying economic opportunity for Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2016

Trump tremors shake world

Will Donald Trump's election trigger a surge of support for right-wing politicians worldwide, including in Japan?
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 24, 2016

SMAP set to skip year-end 'Kohaku'

NHK announced the lineup Thursday for the 67th edition of its annual "Kohaku" year-end music contest, but the country's top boy band SMAP was not on the list.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2016

Enhancing the youth readership experience

To gather voices from young readers, The Japan Times asked a group of students at International School of Asia, Karuizawa, what they thought of The Japan Times. The following opinions were expressed during a feedback session with the students at their school.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2016

BRICS falls under China's sway

Just as China dominates the other new institutions of which it is a founding member — from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank — it is using BRICS to assertively push its own interests.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 22, 2016

What price will Japan pay for getting islands back?

The rapprochement between Japan and Russia risks being the trigger to reverse the pursuit of a closer alliance between Japan and the U.S.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 22, 2016

Thai internet laws raise questions about privacy protection

Thailand's military government, which has cracked down on online dissent since seizing power in 2014, is pushing ahead with cybersecurity bills that rights groups say could mean more extensive online monitoring, raising concerns over privacy protection.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2016

Appointments will determine Trump's legacy

If President-Elect Donald Trump wants to transform policy, especially involving international affairs, he must not appoint those determined to uphold today's interventionist status quo.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Nov 21, 2016

Pikotaro's 'PPAP' sets Guinness World Record

Comedian Pikotaro's music video 'Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen' has been recognized as the shortest song ever to make the U.S. Billboard Top 100 singles chart.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Nov 20, 2016

When it comes to qualifying for paid leave in Japan, continuous employment matters most

A reader writes to Lifelines with yet another question about a perennial topic of concern, paid leave.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2016

Did U.S. academia help elect Donald Trump?

U.S. institutions of supposedly higher education are awash with hysteria, authoritarianism, obscurantism, philistinism and charlatanry.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2016

Easy punditry, hard problems

The experience of the Bush years suggests that the institutions of U.S. democracy are not necessarily strong enough to prevent dangerous and reckless decisions being made. This does not bode well for a Trump presidency.
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Nov 20, 2016

Fukushima mounts winter tourism offensive to draw foreign tourists to its snowy charms

A project will kick off in Fukushima Prefecture this winter to lure more foreign tourists to its snowy hills and mountains to help revitalize depopulated regions.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 19, 2016

Is Japanese pop music losing its relevance?

Shukan Bunshun recently ran some articles describing how last year the talent management company LDH allegedly paid entertainment behemoth Burning Productions to ensure that one of LDH's acts would win the top prize at the 2015 Japan Record Awards (JRA). Accompanying one of the articles was a photo of...

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years