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EDITORIALS
Jan 7, 2014

LDP's secrecy law propaganda

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is rebutting newspaper articles that have criticized the recently enacted state secrets protection law. But its documented arguments are far from convincing.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 5, 2014

Wolf numbers surge across Europe

A twig snaps, a crow calls, but nothing moves in the dense pine forests of Spain's Guadarrama mountains. Vultures and eagles soar over the snowcapped peaks and wild boars roam the valleys below, as they have for centuries. But for the farmers who work this land, a threatening and worrying comeback is...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 2, 2014

The conspicuous tendency to wish China well

If China fails and falls, the rest of the world will suffer more than a headache or a short-term setback. We need to be cautious about pessimism that might fuel self-fulfilling prophecy.
Japan Times
SPORTS
Jan 1, 2014

The most viewed sports stories of 2013

The sports story most read online in the year in which Japan won the bid for the 2020 Olympics should come as no surprise. Baseball fans had plenty to celebrate, and figure-skating followers had no shortage of drama. Let's hope to see some Sochi gold medals in this round-up next year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 31, 2013

Abe's quest to revive, reshape nation rides on the economy

Just six months ago, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was riding high after his party swept the Upper House election. Now things aren't looking so rosy.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 31, 2013

Failed predictions: President Romney, Pope Dolores

Humanity's faith in predictions was tested around this time a year ago when the floods, famines and other disasters predicted by the end of the ancient Maya calendar failed to materialize.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 25, 2013

Top billings of 2013

Although all Japan's 50 reactors have been shut down since September, cleaning up in the wake of the March 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is making very slow progress and tens of thousands of people still live in temporary accommodation or are internally displaced. In addition,...
BASEBALL
Dec 25, 2013

Tanaka given chance to pursue dream in majors

Major League Baseball fans and executives finally found what they were looking for under the Christmas tree.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2013

Dictatorship of the majority

Japanese civic movements conspicuously picked up steam to oppose the state secrets bill just before its enactment into law, illustrating that many Japanese voters become critical of the Abe administration when it takes up issues other than the economy.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 18, 2013

U.S. considers military trial for Russian detainee

The Obama administration is actively considering the use of a military commission in the United States to try a Russian who was captured fighting with the Taliban several years ago and has been held by the U.S. military at a detention facility near Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, former and current...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 17, 2013

So far, so good for 'Abenomics'

Give the first year of 'Abenomics' an 'E' for effort, as the 'third arrow' of the plan — long-term growth strategy — cannot yet be fairly assessed. Hopefully bureaucratic resistance to deregulation will soften in the coming year.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2013

HIV/AIDS cases rising in Mideast, North Africa

Although the Mideast and North Africa has just 2 percent of the world's HIV caseload, it is one of two regions with the fastest growing HIV/AIDS infection rate.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 9, 2013

Major U.S. tech companies call for strict limits on surveillance

Eight of America's largest technology companies have called on President Barack Obama and Congress to impose strict new curbs on surveillance that, if enacted, would dramatically reshape intelligence operations that U.S. officials have portrayed as integral to the war on terrorism.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 9, 2013

Ukraine throngs now demand systemic change

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians filled the streets of Kiev on Sunday — no longer focused solely on a trade agreement with the European Union, but now also looking to recast their country's frayed and corrupt political system.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 1, 2013

Who is Xi? Chinese leader enigma to world

In early November, China's most powerful man, Xi Jinping, stepped into a rustic farmhouse while on an inspection tour in far-flung Hunan province. The occupants' sole electrical appliance, a fluorescent light bulb, burned overhead. Shi Pazhuan, the family matriarch, was confused. "What should I call...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 30, 2013

Imagining post-nuclear Japan

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has sent shock waves through the political establishment by calling for the end of nuclear power generation in Japan. "There is nothing more costly than nuclear power," Koizumi was quoted as saying during an interview with Tokyo Shimbun — something Japanese taxpayers...
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 29, 2013

Abe vows to remain steadfast on China

Japan will remain steadfast and cooperate with other countries in addressing China's recent establishment of an air defense identification zone covering the Senkaku Islands, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2013

Tax-free gifts unlocking retiree savings

Shoko Iwasaki looked for years for a tax-free way to pass down a lifetime of savings to her grandson. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has offered the 71-year-old an answer with a program now helping unlock pensioners' hoarded wealth.
Reader Mail
Nov 27, 2013

A tale of two untimely deaths

William Andrews' Nov. 19 article "Wife fights decades-long battle to free activist leader," underscores the typical treatment of a death, or a human life, because a riot police member trumps a citizen. On the one hand a poor policeman, dispatched to Shibuya from Niigata was fatally set afire by demonstrators...
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 27, 2013

Rouhani gets high marks after 100 days in office

One hundred days into his first term as Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani offered an upbeat progress report to the country Tuesday, two days after a nuclear deal with world powers gave his young administration a much-needed boost.
Reference / Q&A
Nov 25, 2013

ADIZs common but China's is worrisome

China's announcement Saturday of its establishment of an air defense identification zone in the East China Sea that includes the Japan-controlled Senkaku islets has worsened already tense bilateral ties.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 23, 2013

Resisting the historical deniers

Shin Kawashima recalls his heart sinking with the reelection of Shinzo Abe. A specialist in Asian diplomatic history at the University of Tokyo, Kawashima has spent years trying to narrow the gap between Japan and China's strikingly different interpretations of wartime history. The election could undo...
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 19, 2013

Stasi legacy gives Germans different view on NSA spying

German officials have been quick to ascribe the fury of their citizens over U.S. spying to their own history with the excesses of the surveillance state. But victims of the fearsome communist East German secret police say: not so fast.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2013

MMC to boost minicars with new alliance

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. President Osamu Masuko said Wednesday the automaker will develop new minivehicles, including an electric version, for the global market through its newly announced collaboration with the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 5, 2013

BOJ struggles to convince on 2% as 'Abenomics' shine dims

Half a year after Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda unleashed record monetary easing, economists see the bank failing to meet its inflation target, underscoring the case for stronger steps to revive the economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Nov 3, 2013

Trading house exec stakes claim for women

Japan Inc. is still dominated by men, especially its trading houses, but Itochu's bold promotion of Mitsuru Claire Chino to executive officer has put her in a position to do something about it.
EDITORIALS
Nov 2, 2013

Women's plight getting worse

The Japanese government's goal of increasing the percentage of women in leadership positions in every sector of society to 30 percent by 2020 seems farther away than ever.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2013

Wages slide for 16th month despite Abe's pleas

Salaries extend their longest slide since 2010, even as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urges companies to raise wages as part of his bid to reflate the world's third-largest economy.

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