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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 2, 2015

Life after work in Japan: tackling readers' pension questions

Among the questions that Japan Times readers send to the Lifelines column, a perennial topic is navigating the Japanese pension system. Here are some answers.
EDITORIALS
Nov 15, 2015

Protecting broadcasters' freedom

Freedom of the press is a pillar of democracy. The administration and the LDP should refrain from trying to control the media.
EDITORIALS
Nov 12, 2015

Supreme Court and marriage rules

Lwmakers should shed their outdated view and proceed to make necessary legal amendments to end the discrimination, injustice and inconveniences caused by two marriage-related articles in the Civil Code.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Oct 5, 2015

Let's discuss 'idols' and marriage

Last week the media obsessed over the story about the 17-year-old girl who was sued by a talent agency for violating the terms of her contract, which stipulated that she could not be involved in any romantic relationships.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 19, 2015

Diet enacts security laws, marking Japan's departure from pacifism

Following boisterous confrontations in the Diet and more than three days of public protest, the Upper House finally enacted two divisive security laws early Saturday that will mark a significant departure from Japan's postwar pacifism.
CULTURE
Aug 29, 2015

Culture clash: Entertainers add weight to government protests

Judging from recent comments posted on Twitter and websites such as abe-no.net, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe doesn't appear to have endeared himself to a number of celebrities who hold plenty of sway over public opinion with regards to his moves to change the nation's Constitution.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 10, 2015

Japan's military that isn't: a short primer in self-defense doublespeak

Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, which renounces war, has been interpreted as permitting the maintenance and use of military force for self-defense, but this has led to some interesting linguistic gymnastics.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jul 15, 2015

The LDP's comic appeal for constitutional change falls flat

I hadn't planned on reading the Liberal Democratic Party's propaganda comic on constitutional change for the same reason I don't watch NHK, listen to AKB48 or use my underpants as an ashtray. Yet, as a piece of Japanese legal cultural history, perhaps it merits comment.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jun 28, 2015

Has striking in Japan become extinct?

"Strike." Dear reader, what do you think when you hear this word? What impression do you get? Do you see the blood, sweat and tears? Do you see an angry, vicious mob disturbing our civil society? I bet a majority of Japanese people under the age of 40 have neither a positive nor negative impression of...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 26, 2015

Economic challenges ahead

The Abe administration should be taking a much more aggressive approach to getting the economy on a growth track.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2015

Russia's totalitarianism 2.0

The Putin regime's approach can best be described as 'hybrid totalitarianism.'
EDITORIALS
Jun 9, 2015

Legal doubts over security bills

The Abe administration must address key questions if it's serious about winning the public's support and understanding of its security legislation.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 11, 2015

Imperial family will pay close attention to Abe's statement

The Abe administration's effort to break away from the postwar regime is a defiant political move to file a formal objection to the postwar Imperial family and to put Japan's best 'knowledgeable and thinking people' into a subordinate position.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 25, 2015

U.S. towns pulled into Japanese politics

A recurring news story over the past several years concerns claims of the harassment of Japanese nationals residing on the East and West coasts of the United States. Most appear to have originated from municipalities where South Korean immigrants and Korean-Americans have successfully campaigned to erect...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 21, 2015

Sexual identity isn't as simple as it once was

All societies are repressive — some brutally, others benignly, more or less. No society allows us to fully express our true selves. Some societies squash our true selves. Even those that don't will at least keep them in check to some degree. Society could hardly function otherwise.
EDITORIALS
Feb 27, 2015

Chipping away at civilian control

The Abe administration plans to abolish a legal mechanism ensuring that high-ranking civilian officials of the Defense Ministry maintain authority over uniformed officers of the Self-Defense Forces.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 5, 2015

Magazine IDs student suspect in Nagoya slaying, breaking legal taboo

A news magazine defies a ban on identifying minors in criminal cases by running a four-page expose on a student accused of killing an elderly woman in Nagoya.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jan 21, 2015

Forty years after Zainichi labor case victory, is Japan turning back the clock?

Efforts against nationality-based discrimination in Japan have made zero progress in the four decades since a landmark court case against Hitachi.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2015

Former Asahi reporter files libel suit over 'comfort women' issue

The former Asahi Shimbun reporter threatened by nationalists and revisionists for covering the “comfort women” issue sues a publisher and a Korea scholar over claims he fabricated his stories.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Dec 25, 2014

Japan Times Advisory Board serves up brickbats, praise for newspaper's coverage

Ichiro Fujisaki, who formerly served as Japan's ambassador to the United States, praised the paper for its "readability." He said he senses that the editors try to choose phrases and words that are easy for Japanese readers to understand.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Dec 21, 2014

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble: a gaijin's lot in Japan?

A selection of readers' responses to Debito Arudou's last column, 'Time to burst your bubble and face reality.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 8, 2014

Media culture is the driving force behind a lack of critical car-safety stories

Last month, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism released the results of tests to evaluate automatic braking functions that some automobile manufacturers now offer. The purpose of the tests, according to a report in the Asahi Shimbun, was to "provide consumers with a set of references...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Oct 4, 2014

Mao Tse-tung seeks to quell internal friction; Shinkansen starts operations; Tokyo Olympics open; America's No. 1 threat?

The XVIII Olympiad, the first to be held in Asia, opened Saturday afternoon amid a profusion of pomp and youthful enthusiasm at the National Stadium before an over-capacity crowd of 80,000 spectators.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2014

Structure self with propriety, Confucius said

When President Xi Jinping addressed the International Confucian Association to mark the 2,565th anniversary of the birth of Confucius, he did not remind listeners that Mao Zedong had launched a nationwide campaign to flame the philosopher.

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