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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2015

Threats from Islamic extremists

The fight against the Islamic State group will not be won solely by kicking Islamic State out of Irag or Syria or Libya. It will be won only if Muslims the world over not only denounce extremism but also propagate tolerance and equality.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Mar 9, 2015

Will SMS be the undoing of sumo’s latest foreign ‘star’?

Sumo has a new superstar. Or at least that is what the individual in question appears to be thinking at the moment!
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 5, 2015

Calling for an early Japan-China-South Korea summit

The president of Soka Gakkai International urges Japan to renew its pledge to build lasting peace, strengthen cooperation in addressing environmental problems, and step up efforts to contribute to stability and development throughout Asia.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2015

How two small rocks stop Japan and South Korea from getting along

They were once a source of fortune for Japanese fishermen hunting sea lions and abalone, but now the pair of remote rocks in the Sea of Japan are preventing Japan and South Korea from getting along.
EDITORIALS
Feb 12, 2015

When push comes to shove

The forcefulness with which the Abe administration is pushing ahead with work on a replacement facility for a U.S. Marine Corps air station in Okinawa could harden the attitude of Okinawans long-opposed to its construction.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2015

Indian voters allow for an upstart

Perhaps a sense of the increasing lopsidedness of political power in India explains why so many voters around the country are so keenly interested in the results of last weekend's elections in the city-state of New Delhi, involving the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jan 27, 2015

Kuwata's left jab has nothing on the politics of ad money

If this column is going to be about one thing in 2015, it will be politics in music.
COMMENTARY
Jan 22, 2015

Hindu zealots drag down India's great-power destiny

A tussle is going on between the cultural and economic right wings of India's ruling party. The former helped to bring the Bharatiya Janata Party to power, but only the latter can ensure it retains power by using it for the common good.
Reader Mail
Jan 14, 2015

Politics and women overseas

The Dec. 14 national election was personally significant for me because, for the first time in my life, I voted. A bittersweet experience it was. I happened to be on a short-term sabbatical in Japan when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for the snap election. During the weeks leading up to it, I collected...
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Dec 29, 2014

Most heavy drinkers are not alcoholics

Contrary to popular opinion, only 10 percent of U.S. adults who drink too much are alcoholics, according to a study released on Nov. 20.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 8, 2014

As opposition dithers, voters mull four more years of Abe

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's chances for becoming the nation's longest-serving leader in more than four decades are increasing as the opposition finds itself hobbled by factionalism, shifting policies and funding shortages.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 6, 2014

Cultural differences shade reactions to robots

It was only right that Disney's new animated feature, "Big Hero 6," opened this year's Tokyo International Film Festival, and that Disney animation head John Lasseter was on hand to introduce it. Lasseter has often said that his career has been greatly influenced by Japanese anime — in particular the...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2014

Will Britain become Europe's most politically unpredictable country?

Investors and businesses in Britain are queuing up for a roller-coaster ride as the country enters a period of political unpredictability.
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 14, 2014

Awaiting Abe's political gambit

If Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is going to dissolve the Lower House for a snap election, he will have to clearly lay out his agenda for voters and await their verdict.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 14, 2014

Why Abe will likely opt to call a snap Lower House election

Successive resignations of two female Cabinet members dealt a blow to the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. But should the opposition camp be credited for its attack that forced them to step down or did the administration manage to minimize the impact by counteracting quickly?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Nov 7, 2014

Readers' letters: carrying ID, subway 'saviors,' JA rackets, Taiji alternatives and goats

A selection of emails received in response to recent Community articles.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2014

Tepco may ask U.S. utility to inspect Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant

Tokyo Electric Power Co. is considering asking a U.S. utility to verify safety at its idled Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, a senior foreign adviser to the beleaguered utility has said.
EDITORIALS
Oct 9, 2014

Freezing assets with terror links

In response to repeated international calls, Japan's government is preparing pieces of legislation to restrict the financial transactions of people suspected of involvement in terrorist activities and to tighten 'due diligence' checks on customers.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 5, 2014

Anti-EU U.K. Independence Party on cusp of winning first parliament seat

As he walks through the southeastern English seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea with a large banner for the anti-EU U.K. Independence Party under his arm, there is no doubt who 47-year-old builder Phil Drew will vote for in an election this week.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2014

The reluctant warriors against Islamic State

The British appeared so hesitant in joining the fight against Islamic State because of, among other things, the widespread public feeling that Britain should never again become involved in a Mideast war involving differences between Muslim sects.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 27, 2014

Scotland's independence referendum inspires an Okinawan discussion

As sometimes happens when a news story that has nothing to do with Japan becomes topical worldwide, the Japanese media tried to find a local angle for the Sept. 18 Scottish referendum. The coverage fell into two categories: greater autonomy for Okinawa, and the use of referendums.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2014

U.K. Labour leader Miliband tacks left in bid to win national vote next May

Labour Party leader Ed Miliband cast himself as Britain's prime minister-in-waiting on Tuesday, eight months before an election, pledging to wring money from wealthy home owners, hedge funds and tobacco companies to fund better health care.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2014

Obama must get Congress to approve conflict

Today's issue for the U.S. is not whether the president should declare war but only whether he should even seek congressional authorization, for the protracted use of force against the Islamic State.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2014

Scots reject independence, vote to stay in the United Kingdom

Scotland has chosen to stay in the United Kingdom, spurning independence in a historic referendum that had worried allies and investors, results showed on Friday with more than two thirds of the vote declared.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2014

Tokyo assemblyman leading gender equality panel apologizes for sexist remark

Only a few months after a Tokyo lawmaker was heckled by her sexist colleagues, the metropolitan assembly rekindles the controversy as another male politician steps in it.
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 15, 2014

Ocean algae can evolve fast to tackle climate change, study finds

Tiny marine algae can evolve fast enough to cope with climate change in a sign that some ocean life may be more resilient than thought to rising temperatures and acidification, a study showed.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2014

As the chances of a U.K. split grow, the true costs become more clear

Until last week, almost nobody outside Scotland took very seriously the possibility that Europe's most stable and durable nation — the only big country not to have suffered invasion, revolution or civil war at any time in the past 300 years — might soon be wiped off the map.
EDITORIALS
Sep 6, 2014

Social media damps debate

A new American study finds that regular users of social media sites are among the least likely to share opinions or start a political debate, either online or in person.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 1, 2014

Top Chinese university warns against criticizing Communist Party

One of China's top universities has urged students and teachers to "fight against" criticism of the ruling Communist Party, an influential party journal said, in the latest curbs on free expression.

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