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ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 20, 2015

China to project power from artificial islands in South China Sea

China's creation of artificial islands in the South China Sea is happening so fast that Beijing will be able to extend the range of its navy, air force, coast guard and fishing fleets before long, much to the alarm of rival claimants to the contested waters.
EDITORIALS
Feb 19, 2015

Aid that could foment conflict

Under a new Abe administration policy, Japan will be able to extend aid to the armed forces of recipient countries on condition that it be used only for nonmilitary purposes. But what will stop a nation from saving such aid for a rainy day to foment conflict?
EDITORIALS
Feb 19, 2015

Loopholes in political funds law

One can't help wonder why farm minister Koya Nishikawa felt compelled to have an LDP chapter that he heads return a ¥1 million donation from a subsidiary of the sugar manufacturers' association if there was no illegal activity.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2015

Default to 'Chinese characteristics' has limits

How will China define 'major country diplomacy' so as to benefit both sides? There will be little interest in this type of diplomacy if Beijing attempts to qualify it as having 'Chinese characteristics.'
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 19, 2015

Fierce crackdown on dissent no laughing matter in Egypt

When President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said people should not moan about Egypt because it was not like war-ravaged Iraq or Syria, his remark gave birth to a joke: New Egyptian passports should read "The Country not like Iraq or Syria."
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2015

Imagica, Cool Japan Fund in venture to buy translation company SDI Media

Imagica Robot Holdings Inc. is teaming up with Cool Japan Fund Inc., the government-backed promoter of Japanese cultural exports, and Sumitomo Corp. to acquire U.S. movie translation company SDI Media Group Inc.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 19, 2015

Pussy Riot releases first English song

Russian punk rock group Pussy Riot released their first song in English on Wednesday, a musical tribute to Eric Garner, the unarmed black man whose death in a police chokehold last summer sparked wide protests against police violence.
WORLD
Feb 19, 2015

F-22's belated debut against Islamic State praised by commander

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-22 fighter jet, making its debut in warfare more than nine years after it was deemed combat-ready, has flown at least 112 missions against Islamic State positions in Syria and Iraq, the U.S. Air Force's commander of combat forces said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 18, 2015

The mysterious attraction of an aging, domineering chauvinist

Love never was and never will be logical. Your 20-year-old daughter rolls her eyes at May-December romances in the movies — until she gets engaged to a 50-year-old guy. And you will declaim loud and long against her choice, until you start dating a 20-year-old yourself. I am speaking in a general way,...
WORLD / Politics
Feb 18, 2015

Jeb Bush to deliver speech laying out case for stronger U.S. role in world

The United States needs to regain its leadership role in the world, Republican Jeb Bush will say in a speech on Wednesday, while asserting that President Barack Obama has been inconsistent and indecisive in carrying out American foreign policy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2015

Abe's JA reforms no salve for core problems, experts say

Takashi Tomita, who heads an agricultural cooperative in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, is considered a ray of hope for a farming sector on the brink of collapse.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Feb 18, 2015

Japanese basketball hurt by Robots debacle

The NBL, one of the two top men's basketball leagues in Japan, has endured a chaotic 2014-15 campaign, and the disarray reached its nadir with the management change of the Tsukuba Robots.
EDITORIALS
Feb 18, 2015

Nursing care compensation plan

The government should consider overhauling the nursing care insurance system to ensure stable services for the elderly and to rationalize the system's overall operation.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Feb 18, 2015

Tougher times awaiting Abe?

Times are getting tougher for Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's right-hand man.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 18, 2015

Theater tale of two cities highlights Tokyo's loss

Built to commemorate the International Year of the Child in 1979, and opened in 1985, the marvelous National Children's Castle (Kodomo no Shiro) arts and sports facility in Tokyo's central Shibuya district was closed this month — along with the 1,200-seat Aoyama Theatre and the 376-seat Aoyama Round...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Feb 18, 2015

Bonds' forward yield surging as market assesses risk of BOJ ending stimulus

The bond market is starting to price in the risk that the Bank of Japan will end its stimulus policies before the government has fixed the nation's finances.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 18, 2015

Earthquake early warning system begins testing in Pacific Northwest

Testing began on Tuesday on the first early warning system to predict earthquakes before they rattle Oregon and Washington, with a group of businesses and hospitals trying out the tool before it is made available to the public, scientists said.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 18, 2015

Oil train fireball seen adding pressure for U.S. safety decision

Video images of a fireball boiling from the wreckage of a derailed train hauling Bakken crude are adding to pressure on federal regulators to act on new safety standards for oil shipments.
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Copenhagen gunman's neighborhood no stranger to strife

Every Dane knows of Norrebro, the Copenhagen neighborhood where police shot dead the gunman suspected of carrying out shocking attacks on a synagogue and a cultural center hosting a free speech event.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Danish Jews' affection for their country runs deep

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's calls for Jews to move to Israel after attacks in Paris and Copenhagen may strike a chord with thousands of French Jews, but it will likely fall on deaf ears in Denmark.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

CSX oil train derails in West Virginia; at least two cars on fire; towns evacuated

A CSX Corp. train hauling crude derailed in West Virginia on Monday, setting at least two cars ablaze and forcing the evacuation of two nearby towns in the second significant oil-train incident in three days.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 16, 2015

Who benefits from the new overtime pay system?

On Feb. 13, a Labor Policy Council sub-committee submitted to the labor ministry a report with suggestions for a bill to revise the labor standards law. The revision, which the ministry plans to submit to the next regular Diet session, applies to the work of skilled white collar professionals and will allow them to 'work in a manner that demonstrates their achievements' more effectively, which is another way of saying that employers will no longer be required to pay these workers overtime for extra hours on the job, which in turn means that employers cannot be accused of pressuring them to work overtime for no pay, a system popularly known as saabisu zangyo, or 'free overtime.'
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 16, 2015

Japanese deaths stir debate on hostage rescue capabilities

Following the gruesome executions of two Japanese by the Islamic State group, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seems more eager than ever for legal authority to deploy Self-Defense Forces elements overseas, saying it is the government's duty to rescue its citizens.
WORLD
Feb 16, 2015

Britain's HSBC apologizes over past standards at Swiss bank

HSBC apologized to customers and investors on Sunday for past practices at its Swiss private bank after allegations that it helped hundreds of wealthy clients dodge taxes.
WORLD
Feb 16, 2015

El-Sissi vows to avenge 21 Egyptians beheaded by Islamic State group in Libya

The Islamic State group released a video Sunday that appeared to show the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya and President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi warned that his country would respond to the deaths as it saw fit.

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