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ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 11, 2016

U.S. Navy signals intelligence officer charged with spying, possibly for China, Taiwan

A U.S. Navy officer with access to sensitive U.S. intelligence faces espionage charges over accusations he passed state secrets, possibly to China and Taiwan, a U.S. official said on Sunday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 19, 2016

Japan's tabloids book front-row seats at the Trump circus

Donald Trump. And now that we've got your attention ...
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 18, 2016

Suspicions Abe will again delay tax hike bolstered by pro-government daily

Speculation that the delayed second stage of the consumption tax hike will be postponed yet again was reinforced Friday after a pro-government daily reported that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering the option.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jan 29, 2016

American legal principles and the Magna Carta

Henry Mittwer was a man of Japanese and American descent who stood up to the U.S. internment during World War II but in the end bore no rancor for that nation.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 28, 2016

Embattled economy minister Amari resigns over graft claims

Embattled economic minister Akira Amari on Thursday resigned over a graft scandal involving the misappropriation of funds within his office.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 23, 2016

Hiroko Kuniya's ouster deals another blow to quality journalism in Japan

Hiroko Kuniya, the widely respected anchor for NHK's stellar "Close-up Gendai" news analysis program, has been ousted from her position after 23 years with the show. She now joins a growing list of prominent news presenters and commentators who have discovered the apparent perils of not kowtowing to...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 21, 2016

Amari vows to answer claims over ¥12 million in undeclared funds

Scandal-hit economic minister Akira Amari vows to answer allegations that he and two secretaries received large undeclared donations and hospitality.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Dec 14, 2015

Let's discuss this year's buzzwords in Japan

This year's most memorable buzzwords in Japan were recently announced, with the words 'bakugai' and 'toripuru surii' jointly taking home the top honors.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 3, 2015

Beijing found to be covertly operating global public radio network

In August, foreign ministers from 10 nations blasted China for building artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea. As media around the world covered the diplomatic clash, a radio station that serves the most powerful city in America had a distinctive take on the news.
WORLD
Jul 28, 2015

NATO backs Turkey's fight against Islamic State

NATO offered political support for Turkey's campaign against militants in Syria and Iraq at an emergency meeting Tuesday, and President Tayyip Erdogan signaled the alliance may have a "duty" to become more involved.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2015

Three reasons why Merkel acts so stubborn

There are three possible explanations why German Chancellor Angela Merkel seems so relentlessly uncompromising in the standoff between Greece and its euro creditors.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2015

Press freedoms threatened

A former British ambassador to Japan hopes that Japanese as well as British cartoonists continue to expose the pomposity, hypocrisy and inadequacies of their politicians, warning that press freedom can never be taken for granted.
EDITORIALS
Dec 24, 2014

Standing up to threats

A Sapporo university's decision to retain an instructor in the face of rightist threats is a victory for freedom of expression and other fundamental democratic rights.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 17, 2014

Obuchi is grilled over political funds abuse

Trade minister Yuko Obuchi is grilled by the opposition over an allegation that her political and support groups abused campaign funds by treating constituents to theater outings.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 22, 2014

Polarizing Abe learns the long game

Shinzo Abe is one of Japan's most polarizing prime ministers in decades. He may also have a good shot at becoming that rarity in Japanese politics — a long-serving leader.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 19, 2014

The media get ready for open season on Tanaka

"In the Spring," wrote Alfred, Lord Tennyson in his famous poem "Locksley Hall," "a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 31, 2014

Call the sitter: Parents resort to online services out of economic necessity

Most Japanese parents who use babysitters do so because of work obligations.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 22, 2014

Media await rightist ex-general's next move

"Thank you, everyone," wrote Toshio Tamogami in his weekly column in Shukan Asahi Geino (Feb. 27). "This has given me great courage toward my next move."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 26, 2013

Get Koizumi: Nuclear village goes on offensive

This is a first for Japan: A political figure who not only undergoes a change of mind in public, but tries to make a difference after giving up the political power to do so.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 21, 2013

Upgrading from four wheels to two or three

Careening through the winding streets of Chennai, India, in the back of black and yellow auto-rickshaws, I am always amazed by the drivers' audacity — or perhaps a better term would be "death wish." These are the subcontinent's equivalent of New York's exuberant cabbies, but these drivers are much...
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 16, 2013

NSA broke privacy rules repeatedly, audit finds

The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 14, 2013

Somali-American is caught up in U.S. counterpropaganda campaign

Two days after he became a U.S. citizen, Abdiwali Warsame embraced the First Amendment by creating a raucous website about his native Somalia. Packed with news and controversial opinions, it rapidly became a magnet for Somalis dispersed around the world, including tens of thousands in Minnesota.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 25, 2013

Unpaid overtime excesses hit young

Some companies are compelling their younger employees to work more than 100 hours of uncompensated overtime a month to maximize their profits.
COMMENTARY / World / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Apr 29, 2013

Photos of carnage would check war sentiment

Would most Americans remain indifferent to the wars their government wages in far-off lands if their media broadcast videos each day of the shattered bodies?
EDITORIALS
Oct 28, 2012

Mr. Ishihara goes national

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced Thursday that he will resign and return to national politics by launching a new political party and becoming its leader. He is stepping down as governor nearly two and half years before his term expires. Given his popularity and personality, and voters' frustration...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
May 28, 2012

Unmachinable, unreformable, but necessary

One recent topic for The Wall Street Journal's front-page space set aside for stories other than the daily shenanigans of business, politics and wars was the community in Florida created for retired letter carriers. ("In Florida, These Retirees Deliver a First-Class Protest," March 27.)
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 8, 2012

Stop the presses and hold the front page

It was perhaps the biggest financial story of postwar Japan — or it should have been.Yamaichi Securities, one of the nation's four top brokerages, which was among the world's six largest in the 1980s, had in 1992 started to illegally bury millions of dollars in red ink off the books, setting up dummy...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / LIGHT GIST
Dec 27, 2011

2011: a year of disaster in quotes

This year produced more than its share of memorable quotes, many of which were inspired by the March 11 disaster and its aftermath. But figures from other fields, from sports to entertainment, also said things worth repeating. Here is a sampling, in chronological order:

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami