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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2014

Meet the real turkeys in America

Americans should give thanks for living in such an entertaining country.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 1, 2014

A vote for Abe is no gamble

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is almost certain to receive a voter mandate, not least because he lacks credible opponents.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 1, 2014

Party chiefs spar at press club debate

Leaders of the ruling and opposition parties squared off during a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Monday, a day before official campaigning got underway for the Dec. 14 Lower House election.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Dec 1, 2014

Nishikori rises to No. 5 in world ranking

U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori moved up two slots from No. 7 to a career-high No. 5 with the newly released ATP computer rankings on Nov. 3, becoming the first Asian man to reach the top five. Nishikori, 24, also became the first Asian player to book a spot in the eight-man ATP Tour Finals from Nov. 9-16 by reaching the semifinals of the Paris Masters on Nov. 1.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 1, 2014

Campaigns under way but outcome no surprise

Two weeks after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election, campaigning has officially kicked off with more than 1,000 candidates vying for the 475 seats in the Diet's lower chamber.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 1, 2014

Inside Takata, tantrums but little sense of crisis over air bags

Shigehisa Takada, the third-generation head of Takata Corp., shows little sense of the crisis engulfing the Japanese air bag maker at the center of one of the auto industry's biggest safety recalls, according to three people who have met him recently.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 29, 2014

Abe seeks mandate for floundering 'Abenomics'

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's call for snap elections, implausibly pitched as a referendum on "Abenomics," is a waste of time and money, and a stunning 63 percent of the public remains unconvinced there is any good reason to hold it.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2014

EU should encourage Ukraine's aspirations

The European Union should strive to turn Ukraine into a success story that can serve as an example for Russians who now see no alternative to Vladimir Putin.
WORLD
Nov 28, 2014

West struggles to deal with 'ambiguous' Russian threat

When Russian soldiers crossed the border to fight with rebels in Ukraine earlier this year, Moscow said they had not been deployed but had gone on their own vacation time.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 28, 2014

Flash cards help foreign children learn kanji

An elementary school teacher from Aichi Prefecture has developed a unique new way for foreign children to learn Japanese from flash cards.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2014

Reduced tax rate, security legislation top priorities for Komeito

The government must apply a reduced rate to certain daily necessities to soften the impact of the second stage of the consumption tax hike in April 2017, even if it means collecting less revenue and creating extra work for some people, Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2014

Japan Communist Party chief outlines election planks, calls 'Abenomics' a failure

Japanese Communist Party Chairman Kazuo Shii pledged Thursday to scrap the second stage of the consumption tax hike as he outlined the party's platform ahead of the campaign for the Dec. 14 Lower House election.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Nov 26, 2014

Would-be NTV announcer's fate hangs on issues of morality and fraud

How will Japan's odd mutation of the traditional job of news announcer impact the Tokyo court's decision on the fate of Rina Sasazaki?
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 26, 2014

Court rejects Osaka mayor's bid to ban unions from using school buildings

The Osaka District Court ruled Wednesday that a city ordinance banning labor unions from using public facilities such as school buildings for meetings was illegal and unconstitutional, ordering the city to pay a union around ¥417,000 in compensation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 25, 2014

A losing bet on green energy

A decision by power utilities to not buy electricity generated by renewable energy sources has caused huge problems for companies that invested heavily in the solar power business.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 24, 2014

Swiss museum to accept art trove, return Nazi-looted works

A museum in the Swiss capital has agreed to accept an art trove bequeathed to it this year by German collector Cornelius Gurlitt, and vowed to return any works in the horde seized by the Nazis.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Nov 24, 2014

Death with dignity advocate dies

A spokesman for a terminally ill Oregon woman with cancer says she has taken lethal medication prescribed by a doctor and died.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 24, 2014

Local governments finally getting around to public toilets

There will soon be many more Western-style toilets in Chiba Prefecture's public rest rooms
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 22, 2014

Is happiness worth the risk of addiction?

You'll have heard this story before, in one form or another. "Mr. B," 66, is a pachinko addict. Hard core.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 22, 2014

NTV's ideal announcer proves problematic

The current government wants women to demonstrate their full potential in the workplace, which means transcending gender roles and achieving occupational parity with their male counterparts.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 22, 2014

Okinawans reject Abe's base deal, but he won't listen

On Nov. 16, Okinawan voters sent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a clear message: Close the U.S. marine air base in Futenma and locate the replacement somewhere outside our prefecture.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 22, 2014

Climate change versus solution aversion

No doubt you are relieved to hear that climate change is no longer a concern. At least that's the consensus of powerful Republicans who will lead the newly elected majority soon to take control of both houses of the U.S. Congress.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2014

Why Merkel is playing long ball with Putin

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's strategy of dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin stems from her keen understanding of 20th century history.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 21, 2014

Translator moved to action by Malala

Malala Yousafzai, who at 17 became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, has influenced countless people all over the world as an activist for female education. One of those is Yoshiko Nishida.
WORLD
Nov 21, 2014

Oxford chooses 'vape' as word of the year for 2014

The Oxford English Dictionary named "vape" — the word used for drawing on an electronic cigarette instead of a burning stick of tobacco — as its 2014 word of the year.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 20, 2014

Komeito's 50 years of losing its religion

Back in 1964, when the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai founded Komeito, many people looked on warily: They believed it violated the Constitution's separation of religion and politics.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 19, 2014

San Francisco's huff with Hashimoto over 'comfort women' reveals double standards

San Francisco's reaction to Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's comments about 'comfort women' says much about equality between nations, about how we judge each other through cultural lenses and blinders, and how we have to keep finding ways to address grievances from our past.
EDITORIALS
Nov 19, 2014

Abe seeks a fresh mandate

The opposition parties need to pick up the gauntlet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has thrown and give voters a real alternative to his policies.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years