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September 17, 2025
 

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Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 7, 2019

Trump tax return case teed up to hinge on Chief Justice John Roberts

Fighting to keep his tax returns secret, President Donald Trump will soon ask the Supreme Court to grant him "temporary absolute immunity" from any criminal investigation while he's in office. The case sets up yet another test for the court's new swing voter, Chief Justice John Roberts, who is devoted...
EDITORIALS
Aug 21, 2019

China hones its fake news skills in Hong Kong

Japan and other democracies must begin preparing now for the assault on their democracies that is sure to come.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2018

Scholar plumbs postwar polls to challenge Japanese Constitution 'myths'

Shiro Sakaiya is an associate professor of political science at Tokyo Metropolitan University. His study has recently drawn keen attention from scholars and media people, as the constitutional revision advocated by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to dominate the Japanese political scene throughout...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 19, 2015

On the security bills, let me keep out of it

Though writing about the security bill, I will not mention my own opinion. I am, in fact, opposed to the oxymoronic approach called “collective self-defense,” but I will not tell you so.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2014

Americans consider Japan most important Asian country, survey suggests

Japan is regarded among the American public and opinion leaders as the most important country in Asia, according to the results of an annual survey by the Foreign Ministry.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 29, 2014

Unpersuasive logic for death penalty in Japan

The death penalty in Japan is imposed in cases of murder, and robbery and/or rape leading to death. In such cases, capital punishment is not mandatory and is usually only imposed in cases of multiple killings, though since 2006 this criteria has not been strictly observed.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 12, 2010

China struggles with Internet reality

The Internet plays an increasingly vital role as a forum of public opinion in China as other forms of media remain under tight Communist Party control, though government restrictions on the Web will likely intensify, experts said at a recent symposium held in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2003

Koizumi turns on majority opposing war

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, after relying heavily on public support for his political power base, is now turning against the majority of Japanese, who oppose a war against Iraq.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2001

85% of Americans support security treaty: annual survey

Eighty-five percent of Americans support the Japan-U.S. security treaty, while Japan's closed markets topped the list of reasons a trade imbalance exists between the two countries, according to an annual poll released Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 27, 2023

Russian public appears to be souring on war, analysis shows

U.S. officials say that although Russian public opinion has been difficult to accurately track, they believe cracks in support have begun to show in recent months.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2022

U.S. Supreme Court has taken control of climate policy

The top court's EPA decision upends precedent and, in effect, embraces a new doctrine of law.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Dec 21, 2021

Buying influence: How China manipulates Facebook and Twitter

Swarms of accounts are amplifying Beijing's brash new messaging as the country tries to shape the global narrative about the coronavirus and much else.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2020

China's information warfare is failing again

Beijing may have failed in its international effort to pin the COVID-19 outbreak on the U.S., but don't underestimate its ability to control information domestically.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 12, 2019

Fake news is stoking violence and anger in Hong Kong's continuing protests

Soon after Alex Chow Tsz-Lok fell off the edge of a parking garage in Hong Kong, the allegations began spreading online.
Reader Mail
May 24, 2019

Vaccination issue deserves better

I was shocked to read "Japan struggles to ditch its 'vaccine backwater' image" in the May 11 edition. Not so much that Japan has struggled with government-supported vaccination programs, of which I am aware, but because The Japan Times seems to equivocate the opinion of an ex-official with a fringe opinion...
WORLD / Politics
May 28, 2017

British leader May's lead narrows ahead of election

British Prime Minister Theresa May's lead over the opposition Labour Party has narrowed sharply, according to five opinion polls published since the Manchester attack, suggesting she might not win the landslide predicted just a month ago.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / ANALYSIS
Dec 18, 2015

Japan hangs prisoners days after lawyers' call for death penalty review

The executions of two death row inmates on Friday was a blow to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, which only last week reiterated a call for a moratorium on hangings and for a national debate on the matter.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2015

Risks to democrats who nod to blurred truth

Democratic societies are faced with the temptation to close one's eyes and ears to inconvenient truths. For example, we do not want to admit that Russian President Vladimir Putin has long since crossed the line into war with regard to Ukraine.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 11, 2015

We need to talk about Japan — in English

What commentators who write about Japan in English are doing is not necessarily criticism and could instead be a genuine attempt to understand.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2014

Supremes answer town's prayers

The upshot of the May 5 U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold prayer before a town council meeting is that as long as no one is coerced, nonsectarian prayer is a political virtue but not a constitutional requirement.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 19, 2013

Israel prepares for next act in the great moving right show

Dalya Steinberger's journey across Israel's political landscape began more than 20 years ago when she cast a vote for Labor, one of almost a million people who helped propel Yitzhak Rabin to the leadership of the Jewish state. A year later, in 1993, Rabin signed the historic Oslo Accords, shaking hands...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
May 15, 2012

Readers vent over 'Bread and becquerels'

Some readers' responses to the April 17 Zeit Gist column by Gianni Simone, "Bread and becquerels: a year of living dangerously":
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Feb 21, 2012

Focus on 'exceptions' waters down abduction pact

For the attention of the Japanese government:
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2010

Trial by crisis for future growth

WARSAW — Episodes like the current financial crisis seriously disrupt economic growth. But the question that we should be asking concerns such episodes' impact on longer-term development. And that question has attracted surprisingly little interest.
Taiwan People's Party chairman Ko Wen-je arrives for a news conference in New Taipei City on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 19, 2023

Taiwan opposition talks deadlocked with no signs of compromise

The issue of China, which views Taiwan as its territory, looms over the Jan. 13 parliamentary and presidential elections.
While this year will be a year of elections, with voting scheduled in more than 70 countries around the world, all eyes with be on who moves into the White House after November's U.S. presidential election.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 8, 2024

Why the eyes of the world will be on the U.S. presidential election

The future of politics in the U.S., the world’s biggest military and economic power, could cast a giant shadow over international order.
Protesters hold a Palestinian flag as they gather outside the International Court of Justice as judges rule on emergency measures against Israel following accusations by South Africa that the Israeli military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide, in The Hague on Jan 24.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2024

U.N. court to weigh consequences of Israel occupation

Nations including the United States, Russia and China will address judges in a weeklong session at the Peace Palace in The Hague.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Colorado's attempt to keep Donald Trump off the ballot with an obscure and almost discarded provision that could have determined the outcome of the presidential election.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2024

Supreme Court buries the fantasy of keeping Trump off the ballot

An obscure, almost discarded provision of the U.S. Constitution shouldn’t have the potential to determine the outcome of a presidential election.
In South Korea, where presidents are increasingly investigated, impeached or imprisoned, the judiciary has become a well-known pathway to political power.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2025

Is the judiciary the weakest link in South Korea’s democracy?

It’s not unusual for lawyers to pursue personal political ambitions during their careers in democracies. But in South Korea, this has reached a level not seen elsewhere.
Haneda Airport security staff arrested over theft
Tokyo police have arrested a 21-year-old security inspector at Haneda Airport after he allegedly stole cash from a passenger during a baggage inspection.
Japan's elderly population down at around 36.2 million
The estimated number of people age 65 or older in Japan stands at 36.19 million as of Monday, accounting for record 29.4% of the country's total population, according to the internal affairs ministry.
SDF spots China’s biggest aircraft carrier for first time
The Fujian aircraft carrier is seen in Shanghai in May 2024 as it leaves for its first sea trial.
White House threatens broad crackdown on liberal groups
FBI Director Kash Patel (right) listens to senior White House adviser Stephen Miller speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
Pole vault rivals in awe after Duplantis has another historic night in Tokyo
Sweden's Armand Duplantis competes in the men's pole fault final during the World Athletics Championships at National Stadium in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.
Tara Davis-Woodhall leaps to gold and finds redemption at world championships
Tara Davis-Woodhall celebrates after winning the women's long jump final at the World Athletics Championships at Tokyo's National Stadium on Sunday night.
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
Between traditional examples of fine art and sleek, modern exhibitions that blend with nature, Hakone offers a unique escape from Tokyo's urban sprawl.
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

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