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WORLD / Politics
Nov 5, 2017

British Conservatives suspend lawmaker Charlie Elphicke over unspecified 'serious allegations'

Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party has suspended a lawmaker over what it said were serious allegations, a step that could undermine the authority of her minority government as Britain seeks to iron out a Brexit deal with the European Union.
EDITORIALS
Nov 4, 2017

A not so brave new world

The time to start thinking about the implications of AI — good and bad — is now.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 4, 2017

Spain treads warily on Catalan takeover; separatist leader Puigdemont claims witch hunt over arrests of former regional ministers

Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont remains defiantly in self-imposed exile and has condemned Spanish authorities for staging a witch hunt against him and his cohorts.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 3, 2017

Abe and Trump to rekindle friendship, but not all see rapport as positive for Japan, survey says

While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump are said to have a good personal relationship, 43.7 percent of those who responded to a recent survey by The Japan Times viewed it as bad for Japan, while 14.1 percent said it was bad for the U.S.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2017

America's Asian allies in the age of Donald Trump

America's allies must take proactive steps to steer the U.S. back to the right path.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 1, 2017

Fake news isn't the only way to skew perceptions

Biased news, which may delivered even by traditional news organizations, can be very damaging, not least for political leaders.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2017

Why economic growth is no longer enough

Gains in capital productivity are not being translated into higher median incomes — a breach of the social contract on which liberal economies rest.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 31, 2017

DP taps Upper House member Kohei Otsuka as new party president

The Democratic Party elected Upper House member Kohei Otsuka as new party president on Tuesday following the formal resignation of Seiji Maehara the previous day.
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Oct 29, 2017

Nippon Ishin ponders its fate after brutal defeat in Lower House election

Five years after Nippon Ishin no Kai first appeared on the national stage with promises of changing the country through an Osaka-based revolution, the party's future is in doubt following a crushing defeat in the Oct. 22 Lower House election.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 28, 2017

Amazon Fashion Week Tokyo: A war zone for photographer Cynthia Anderson

'For photographers fashion week means mock military manoeuvres with us lugging our heavy gear around.'
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 28, 2017

Catalan police call on officers to maintain neutrality as Spain exerts control

Catalonia's police force told its officers to remain neutral in the struggle over the region's fight for independence from Spain, a step toward averting possible conflict as the Madrid government starts to impose control on Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 27, 2017

The case for further opposition realignment

The opposition camp needs to find a way to put its forces together to serve as a viable contender to the ruling coalition.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 27, 2017

Winners and losers in the election

Last week's Lower House election was quite different from the contests the ruling alliance won in recent years.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2017

Hashimoto cuts ties with Nippon Ishin after party's poor election showing

Toru Hashimoto, the former Osaka governor, mayor and co-founder of Osaka-based Nippon Ishin no Kai, has cut ties with the national party following its poor performance in the Oct. 22 Lower House election.
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2017

Xi enshrined as China's leader

Xi Jinping has been elevated to a level of power unmatched by any Chinese leader since Mao Zedong. What will he do with it?
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Oct 26, 2017

EU too? Lawmakers denounce harassment in Brussels

EU lawmakers accused their own parliament on Wednesday of failing to protect staff from sexual harassment, as allegations of abuse in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein case have raised questions over standards also in Brussels' institutions.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 25, 2017

Koike says she won't resign as Kibo no To head after poor election showing

Tokyo governor says she will distance herself from national politics and leave parliamentary affairs to members who won Diet seats.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2017

Can EVs sow the seeds of Detroit's comeback?

Can Detroit win the race for future dominance in the e-vehicles market?
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 24, 2017

Is Abe's free day care and kindergarten worth the cost?

Sunday's general election is over and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's gamble seems to have paid off. But politics never stops and Abe is now obliged to carry out what he promised during the campaign.
Japan Times
JAPAN / UNITED NATIONS DAY
Oct 24, 2017

SDGs, justice and female leaders

Recently, U.N. Information Centre Director Kaoru Nemoto had the chance to meet Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa. Nemoto asked about Kamikawa's expectations toward the U.N., especially in relation to the upcoming 14th U.N. Crime Congress to be held in Japan in 2020. The two also exchanged views on the Sustainable...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 23, 2017

Abe claims victory as powerful endorsement, may seek re-election next month

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the ruling bloc's overwhelming victory in Sunday's election represents a 'historic' level of public confidence.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 22, 2017

We can't keep waiting for gender equality

Isn't it time for Japanese corporations to wake up and smell the coffee, instead of the tea made by their female employees?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 21, 2017

Identifying the 'liberal' in Japanese politics

The current group of conservative public figures in the United States wants to return to an age when certain middle-class values were ascendant, without acknowledging that many of those values were realized because President Franklin Roosevelt implemented progressive social policies and trade unions...
JAPAN / Politics / Decision 2017
Oct 20, 2017

Campaigns focus on economy and Constitution, but nuclear disaster-hit Fukushima sees other priorities

For Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the two biggest election-defining issues of Sunday's Lower House poll are how to spend the additional revenue from the planned consumption tax hike in 2019 and how to deal with North Korea's nuclear threat. Leaders from other parties see either proposing or preventing revisions...
Reader Mail
Oct 20, 2017

Bombshells by defense chiefs

Both William Perry, U.S. defense secretary in the Clinton administration, and Satoshi Morimoto, defense minister in the Noda Cabinet, say Henoko in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, was decided on for Futenma's relocation not out of strategic necessity but out of concern over Japanese politics.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 19, 2017

Obama hits campaign trail for first time since leaving White House

Former President Barack Obama returns to the campaign trail on Thursday for the first time since he left the White House, venturing out to support Democrats in two governor's races that could offer a clue about the national mood before next year's midterm elections.
JAPAN / Politics / Decision 2017
Oct 19, 2017

'Manifesto' era may be over but election campaigns still rife with rosy pledges and vague bottom lines

Eight years is a long time in Japanese politics and people are quick to forget, but things were vastly different then.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo