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EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2017

Troubling referendums in Iraq and Spain

The flames of nationalism still burn brightly in this supposed global age.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2017

Two Tomin First members quit over Yuriko Koike's leadership style

Two founding members of Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites First), a regional party effectively led by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, plan to abandon the party on Thursday citing frustrations over the closed nature of top management, sources said.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2017

Yukio Edano's liberal party rides wave of Twitter support, nearly catching up to Abe's LDP

A liberal-minded political party founded by ex-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has been sweeping its way through Japan’s Twitter community, amassing more than 100,000 followers in just a few days since its official launch on Monday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 4, 2017

Britain's top diplomat Boris Johnson makes off-colored joke about dead bodies in Libya

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson quipped on Tuesday that Libya can become a new Dubai if it can clear the dead bodies away, the latest gaffe by Britain's top diplomat.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2017

People power: The new version

No government, no administration, no political party can afford to neglect these new forces to which the digital age has given birth.
WORLD
Oct 3, 2017

In info void before smoke cleared in Vegas bloodbath, fake news quick to flood social media

As law enforcement and news organizations raced to piece together what happened during the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history Sunday night in Las Vegas, web denizens less wedded to the truth rushed in to provide details of their own — which quickly went viral.
EDITORIALS
Sep 29, 2017

Opposition realigns ahead of election

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has triggered a surprise realignment in the opposition camp that could pose a potent threat to the survival of his administration.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 29, 2017

Japan's strong inflation, factory output point to robust recovery

A flurry of positive Japanese economic indicators bolsters optimism about the world's No. 3 economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 29, 2017

1,021 to run in Japan's Lower House election on Oct. 22: poll

A total of 1,021 people were planning to run in the Oct. 22 general election as of Thursday, according to a Jiji Press survey taken after the dissolution of the House of Representatives the same day.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 28, 2017

Democratic Party effectively disbands, throwing support behind Koike’s party for Lower House poll

The effective sudden death of the largest opposition force could turn the Oct. 22 election into a two-party race between conservative forces: Abe's LDP and Koike's Kibo no To.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 28, 2017

Could Japan be ready for 'Koikenomics?'

In calling the latest of what's been a five-year flurry of election after election, Shinzo Abe admitted what households have long known: Abenomics is a dud.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2017

Britain warns Boeing it might miss out on defense contracts over Bombardier row

Britain told U.S. plane-maker Boeing on Wednesday that it could lose out on future British defense contracts because of its dispute with Canadian rival Bombardier which has put 4,200 jobs at risk in Northern Ireland.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2017

Abe trots out tax hike issue again before snap election to boost LDP chances

The controversy over increasing the consumption tax won't be unfamiliar to those who follow modern Japanese politics, as earlier proposals have proven unpopular with voters throughout the postwar years and have even doomed previous administrations.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2017

Facing government pressure amid Russia probe, Facebook, Google to rethink handling of politics ads

Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google have little choice but to rein in internet political ads in the face of growing U.S. government pressure, a panel of advertising consultants and executives said on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 25, 2017

Sakai mayor again bests Osaka Ishin challenger in rematch over metro-merger quest

Sakai Mayor Osami Takeyama defeated his Osaka Ishin no Kai challenger again in an election Sunday that was viewed as a rematch over the regional party's campaign to merge Osaka's municipal governments with the prefectural government.
EDITORIALS
Sep 25, 2017

Merkel wins fourth straight election

While the election results validated her policies and were widely anticipated, they nevertheless hint at future difficulties for the chancellor.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2017

America's engine is being slowed by complacency

America is losing the dynamic drive that made it the world's leading economic power.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2017

Ukraine: Something is happening here ...

In the cesspool that is Ukraine's politics and economy, virtually anything can happen.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Sep 25, 2017

Saitama ex-LDP lawmaker Toyota apologizes for rant

Mayuko Toyota says she wishes to run for the next House of Representatives election.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 25, 2017

Thai junta leader Prayuth, backers, fuel suspicions of his plans to stay in power

In his dark suit, Thai junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha cut an incongruous figure guiding a rice tractor across a muddy paddy field in front of cameras and watching villagers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2017

Japan in unique position to take global lead in investment and trade: experts

Somewhat overshadowed in recent years by China's rise as a regional and global power, Japan still extends considerable influence as a world leader in various fields, including investment, policy management and trade, according to experts who gathered at a Tokyo conference earlier this week.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 22, 2017

Trump doesn't embody Western values, unlike JFK and Obama: German envoy

Donald Trump doesn't embody Western values in the way that previous presidents such as John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama did, according to Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German ambassador to the U.S. who now heads the Munich Security Conference.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 20, 2017

Trump's fire and brimstone U.N. speech hands Abe a win on North Korea, but will victory be pyrrhic?

Experts warn that Trump's threat could reinforce Pyongyang's belief that nuclear weapons remain the sole means of securing the regime's safety.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 20, 2017

U.S., South Korean troops stage mock battle to retake village near North Korean border

The screech of incoming fire followed by an explosion resounds across forested hillsides near the border between North and South Korea.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 19, 2017

How the prime minister can win over Japan's neighbors

Pulling South Korea and Indonesia into the TPP tent would make the free trade pact all the more meaningful.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2017

Americans feared Trump, but normalized leftist violence

The cost of preventing thieves from stealing American's constitutionally guaranteed freedoms is growing increasingly high.

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