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JAPAN / Politics
Jan 1, 2017

Abe has no reason to rock the boat by calling early-2017 snap election

After weeks of speculation that 2017 may start with a snap election in late January, the prime minister said on NHK that it will not happen.
Japan Times
JAPAN / JAPANESE IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Dec 19, 2016

Critical thinking essential in global environment

What is the key to developing flexibility in thinking — a crucial ability to live and work in the era of globalization? A recent classroom visit may have revealed a possibility for the future of universities in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 14, 2016

Outgoing chairman credited for Mitsubishi Fuso turnaround

On arrival at Narita airport in 2009, the incoming chief executive of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp., Albert Kirchmann, asked his assistant there to pick him up, "Tell me, what are 'my people' expecting?" Hesitantly, the assistant replied, "They are expecting you to defend Fuso by standing up for...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2016

Italy's was just the latest stupid referendum

Like David Cameron's Brexit fiasco, this didn't have to happen.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2016

Why Trump might be good president

Expectations of Trump are so low in the minds of many Americans that small acts of civility and moderation will seem like remarkable achievements.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 12, 2016

Trump assails U.S. protesters, then praises their 'passion' hours later

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump denounced Americans who protested against his election, but praised them hours later Friday, underscoring contradictions that have raised questions about his leadership style.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 7, 2016

From Operation Tomodachi to Hiroshima visit, exiting Obama viewed favorably in Japan

On Tuesday, the whole world will be watching as Americans choose their next president.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 6, 2016

On the trail of team Trump in Tokyo

A reporter stalks that elusive breed of American in Japan: the Trump supporter.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 3, 2016

Poll still puts Clinton 6 points ahead of Trump; FBI innuendo irks Obama

Hillary Clinton led Republican Donald Trump by 6 percentage points among likely voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll released on Wednesday, the same advantage the Democratic presidential nominee held before an FBI announcement that reignited the controversy about her email practices....
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Nov 1, 2016

Slow start to season nothing new for Hanyu

Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu has made a habit of starting slowly during the Grand Prix season in recent years.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 29, 2016

Could nuclear advocacy be Abe's undoing?

Voters have elected anti-nuclear governors in Kagoshima and Niigata prefectures in recent months. These elections can be considered referenda on nuclear power because that issue was the main focus of debate in both campaigns. The results have put Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — and his plans to rev up...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 19, 2016

Obama tells Trump to 'stop whining' as Donald doubles down on rigged poll claims

President Barack Obama lacerated Donald Trump on Tuesday over his repeated assertions that the Nov. 8 election is rigged against him, telling the Republican presidential candidate to "stop whining and go try to make his case to get votes."
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 18, 2016

Trump sharpens 'rigged' election allegations disputed by Republican lawyers

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Monday cited studies he said showed rampant voter fraud, saying the Nov. 8 election was "rigged" against him even as Republican lawyers called his allegations unfounded.
EDITORIALS
Oct 14, 2016

Questioning capital punishment

The time has come for truly meaningful discussions on whether Japan should keep executing prisoners.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 13, 2016

Dutch may allow assisted suicide for those who feel life is over

The Dutch government intends to draft a law that would legalize assisted suicide for people who feel they have "completed life," but are not necessarily terminally ill, it said on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 11, 2016

A new worry for Clinton: Trump's struggles may depress Democratic voter turnout

Hillary Clinton's campaign is confronting an emerging risk to her presidential ambitions — if Donald Trump continues to trail her in opinion polls many Democrats may simply stay at home on Election Day.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 6, 2016

Ending American poverty: mission impossible?

There's no powerful mandate for a vast new anti-poverty program.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 24, 2016

The Brexit question that nobody has asked

Is Britain's less-than-full-hearted commitment to the European adventure best pursued as an increasingly anomalous member of a broken EU or as a concerned and friendly neighbor?
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Aug 24, 2016

Trump finds new target, hopes to rally Republicans by attacking Clinton Foundation

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has struggled to drive a consistent message and consolidate the support of his own party, is honing his attack on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and the foundation bearing her last name, making it a rallying cry for fellow Republicans to get behind...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Aug 18, 2016

Campaign said in 'hospice phase' as Trump taps firebrand to put him back on brash tack

Donald Trump's surprise move to hand the reins of his campaign to a right-wing firebrand was seen Wednesday as a formalized revival of his bare-knuckled, anti-establishment strategy and a rebuke to prominent Republican strategists who doubt its power to win the White House.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 9, 2016

Is Abe a true nationalist?

Prime Minister Abe should focus on reviving the economy, not revising the Constitution.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 3, 2016

If the pope can retire, why can't Japan's elderly Emperor?

Pope Benedict XVI did it. Dutch Queen Beatrix did it. So why is it so hard for Japan's elderly Emperor to abdicate?
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 26, 2016

Sanders' army spells trouble for Clinton amid push to unite party ahead of battle with Trump

It should have been a triumphant night for Hillary Clinton when her rival Bernie Sanders gave a rousing speech urging his supporters to vote for her in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 26, 2016

Sanders disciples rebel against him as he tries to keep them on DNC message

Supporters of Bernie Sanders disrupted the first day of the Democratic convention on Monday, repeatedly chanting and booing mentions of Hillary Clinton's name as the party's hopes for a show of unity dissolved into frequent chaos.
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Jul 17, 2016

Kuma confident about National Stadium's prospects ahead of 2020 Games, clears up gripes about design

When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scrapped Zaha Hadid's design for the new National Stadium on July 17 last year, many feared the venue might not be completed in time to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2016

Risk of war returns to Europe

Europe remains home to more than half the world's nuclear weapons, and a growing number of experts believe that the risk of a third major war there is increasing.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 6, 2016

Beijing using English-language videos, tweets and op-eds in PR push ahead of South China Sea ruling

Ahead of a key international arbitration court ruling next Tuesday over China's territorial dispute in the South China Sea, Beijing has unleashed an unprecedented English-language public relations push to tell its side of the story.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami