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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 30, 2018

The direction of education in Japan

Japan has the 6-3-3-4 education system — compulsory education of six years in elementary school and three years in junior high school. Students then commonly go on to three years in high school and four years in university.
TENNIS
Sep 30, 2018

Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori amongst favorites as unpredictable Japan Rakuten Open begins

With Ariake Coliseum undergoing renovations ahead of the 2020 Summer Games, eight of the world's top 25 players will descend upon Musashino Forest Sports Plaza in Chofu, western Tokyo, this week for the 2018 Rakuten Japan Open. The facility's court speed and playing conditions are unknowns, making this...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 29, 2018

Media appear to be ignoring maglev woes

Earlier this month, two different Tokyo District Court sessions associated with the maglev bullet train line now under construction were convened. In one, major contractor Obayashi Corp. was prosecuted for rigging bids for work on the project. In the other, a citizens' network was suing the government...
WORLD
Sep 29, 2018

Syria says important Nassib crossing into Jordan will be reopened in October

Syrian state media said Saturday the major Nassib border crossing with Jordan will reopen on Oct. 10, three years after the trade route was captured by rebels and closed.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Sep 29, 2018

At the Kyoto dorm that time forgot, Japanese students dig in

The reception area at Yoshida Dormitory, a 105-year-old student residency in Kyoto University, is reached via a short lane lined by tall gingko trees and rows of bicycles, some of which look like they have been stationary for as long it would take to complete a Ph.D. The classic wooden entrance is a...
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 28, 2018

Netanyahu, in U.N. speech, claims existence of secret Iranian nuclear site

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday described what he said was a secret atomic warehouse in Tehran and accused Europe of appeasing Iran as he sought to rally support for U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 27, 2018

Trump accuses China of meddling in midterm polls, offers no proof

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused China of seeking to meddle in the Nov. 6 U.S. congressional elections, saying Beijing did not want his Republican Party to do well because of his pugnacious stance on trade.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2018

Trump's U.N. speech almost adds up to a doctrine

The U.S. president makes his best case yet for the importance of American sovereignty.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Sep 26, 2018

In polluted city above Russian Arctic Circle, prisoners of Putin's pension reform

Russian railway worker Andrey Bugera had a singular goal: get to pension age so he can leave the polluted, frigid coal mining town above the Arctic Circle where he works and move south to live out even a brief bit of retirement in comfort.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 25, 2018

Buffaloes manager Junichi Fukura won't lead team next season

Junichi Fukura will step down as manager of the Orix Buffaloes at the end of this season, the 58-year-old revealed Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2018

Thucydides's fallacy, not a trap

The real question is not whether China poses a strategic threat to the United States, but whether Washington has a consistent and realistic strategy to deal with Beijing.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Sep 25, 2018

Marshall Islands marches toward zero greenhouse emissions by 2050

The Marshall Islands, an atoll-nation vulnerable to sea level rise from climate change, announced steps on Monday toward an ambitious plan to cut its greenhouse emissions to zero by 2050.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Sep 23, 2018

Abe's work-style reforms give Japan's employers the green light to demand unpaid and unsafe overtime

New law caps overtime at unhealthy levels and sets up a system that will legitimize the principle of working for nothing.
Japan Times
SATOYAMA CONSORTIUM
Sep 23, 2018

Woodworking meets forest revitalization

A wooden, grid-like building with a huge window measuring 8.5 meters in height stands in Nishiawakura, a village in northeastern Okayama Prefecture.
EDITORIALS
Sep 23, 2018

Keep up efforts to recover depleted bluefin tuna stock

Japan should strive to increase the stock of Pacific bluefin tuna to ensure the sustainability of this important marine resource.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 22, 2018

At U.N. podium, Trump to tout protection of U.S. sovereignty

Since U.S. President Donald Trump made his debut at the United Nations a year ago pushing an "America First" policy, he has quit the Iran nuclear deal, the U.N. Human Rights Council and lashed out at some of the closest allies of the United States.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Sep 21, 2018

University of Tokyo student goes the extra trillions of miles to study exoplanets

A Ph.D. student at the University of Tokyo, has recently helped discover 44 planets outside of our solar system. Such planets — known as exoplanets — were until recently only theoretical, and they inspire great excitement among astronomers.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 21, 2018

Britain's anti-EU party UKIP launches populist manifesto demanding clean Brexit

Britain's anti-European Union U.K. Independence Party (UKIP) launched a set of populist policies on Friday hoping to revive their dwindling political influence and capitalize on outrage over the government's handling of Brexit.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2018

Syrian refugee chef and young tech CEO join forces to realize dream of opening Tokyo restaurant

Opening a Syrian restaurant in Japan was a dream come true for Nazem Jamal Alddin, a 55-year-old Syrian chef who fled from the war-torn city of Damascus three years ago. And it wouldn't have been possible without the help of a Japanese tech firm CEO around half his age who, by chance, had become an avid...
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 20, 2018

Creator of 3D printed guns, accused of paying 16-year-old for sex, flies to Taiwan

A Texas man at the center of a legal battle over his plan to make instructions available for 3D printed plastic guns flew to Taiwan after learning police in Austin were investigating an accusation he had sex with an underage girl, police said on Wednesday.

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