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LIFE / Language
Aug 29, 2016

Emperor signals his wish to abdicate

In an unprecedented prerecorded video message to the nation, Emperor Akihito expressed concern about how his advanced age is affecting the performance of his public duties.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 29, 2016

Foreign part-timers proliferate in Chubu as scarce Japanese flee drunks at pubs

Foreign students working part-time in izakaya (pubs) are rising rapidly in the Chubu region amid the increasing tendency of many young Japanese to avoid drunk customers.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 28, 2016

U.S. troubles with election and TPP could embolden China in Asia

United States Defense Secretary Ash Carter warned a few months back that China risked a "great wall of self-isolation" for its actions in the disputed South China Sea. That hasn't deterred President Xi Jinping.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 27, 2016

Thailand frees prominent activist after eight years behind bars over royal insult

Thailand has freed a political activist after eight years in jail for insulting the country's widely revered monarchy under its draconian royal defamation laws.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 27, 2016

Japan's super-rich: fun to envy, difficult to emulate

Japanese multimillionaires are the object of intense study by members of the country's middle class, especially those who entertain probably unrealistic hopes of emulating them.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 27, 2016

Single mothers courted to plug Japan's local labor gaps

While some employers are unsympathetic to the circumstances of single parents, others see them as a solution rather than a problem.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2016

Polyglot U.S.-born comic sheds cloak, dagger for shtick

For Reina Saiki, 28, the world is her oyster.
Reader Mail
Aug 26, 2016

Abenomics has done little for consumers

What is the average person in Japan to make of the term "Abenomics," or more importantly, how will it make any difference in their lives as consumers?
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 24, 2016

The Brexit question that nobody has asked

Is Britain's less-than-full-hearted commitment to the European adventure best pursued as an increasingly anomalous member of a broken EU or as a concerned and friendly neighbor?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 23, 2016

Why Abe's diplomacy with Putin will come up short

Prime Minister Abe should realize that Russian President Vladimir Putin is in no position to make concessions on the disputed Northern Territories.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Aug 22, 2016

Solar plane circles Earth in historic flight

The Solar Impulse 2 plane lands in Abu Dhabi, completing the first round-the-world flight to be powered solely by the sun's energy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 22, 2016

In Aichi, ashes of the dead shift to conveyer belt system as Japan grays

The first columbarium in the Chubu region to use an automated cinerary box conveyor system opened last month in Nagoya as the popularity of tombs that do not require much maintenance grows.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 22, 2016

'Sufficient chance' of more BOJ easing in September, Kuroda says

There is a "sufficient chance" the Bank of Japan will add to its unprecedented easing at next month's policy meeting, Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said in a recent interview published in the Sankei newspaper.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 21, 2016

Teens' reproductive health rights are at doctors' whim

Japan has no laws regarding age limits or parental consent when it comes to advice on reproductive health care advice and obtaining contraception.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 20, 2016

With deft political move, Japan's Emperor seeks to cement the role he created

Could the Emperor's raising of the issue of possible abdication be a move designed to stave off constitutional revision?
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 20, 2016

Bears: close encounters of the furred kind

As my wife and I listened to a news bulletin in June about bears killing four people in Akita Prefecture, she gave me one of those silent looks pregnant with meaning. Let me try to translate as best I can: It was one of those looks that say, "You see, you are nuts!" I am guilty as charged, but claim...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2016

High hurdles line the road to a new U.K.-EU relationship

Political upheavals and rapid technological changes will make it difficult to reach a grand overall bargain between the U.K. and the rest of the EU.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Aug 18, 2016

Campaign said in 'hospice phase' as Trump taps firebrand to put him back on brash tack

Donald Trump's surprise move to hand the reins of his campaign to a right-wing firebrand was seen Wednesday as a formalized revival of his bare-knuckled, anti-establishment strategy and a rebuke to prominent Republican strategists who doubt its power to win the White House.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 17, 2016

Superhero films need to reach beyond the geeks

Where superhero movies are concerned, you should never trust a critic. When David Ayer's "Suicide Squad" opened to a barrage of negative press in the U.S. earlier this month, some fans responded by lashing out at film journalists online. One even launched a petition against the review aggregator site...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 15, 2016

In Japan, August is for remembering

For this island nation, the month of August has never really been about vacations and relaxation — at least not since 1945.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Aug 15, 2016

Tokyo museum makes World Heritage list

An art museum in Tokyo and 16 other buildings designed by French architect Le Corbusier are to be added to the World Heritage list.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2016

Anniversary of Japan's surrender brings mix of opinions to Tokyo's sites for the war dead

As Japan marked the 71st anniversary Monday of its surrender in World War II, people at two memorial sites in Tokyo expressed a wide range of views on the war.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 15, 2016

Special Mitsubishi Electric plant focuses on custom lifts for Asian venues

Made-to-order people movers, including spiral escalators and elevators with doors bearing elegant Islamic designs made at Mitsubishi Electric Corp.'s Inazawa Works, are becoming popular in Asia.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 15, 2016

Thailand detains several people for questioning over deadly blasts

Thailand's army said on Monday it had detained several people for questioning over a wave of deadly bombings in some of the country's best known-beach resorts that killed four people and wounded dozens, including tourists.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2016

SEALDs to disband but founder says political activism just beginning

One of Japan's leading liberal youth groups is coming to an end after kick-starting what it hopes will become a new generation of political leaders.
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Aug 14, 2016

Fukushima tourism making strong progress on recovery

Tourism in Fukushima Prefecture approached a milestone in fiscal 2015 after recovering to nearly 90 percent of where it was before the nuclear disaster unfolded in March 2011, the prefectural government said in a recent tourism report.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 11, 2016

Reappraising Japan-U.K. ties

As it prepares to exit the EU, Britain needs a prosperous and politically stable Japan more than ever.

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