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LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
May 25, 2015

Let's discuss Osaka referendum in the news

As the city of Osaka prepares for Sunday's unprecedented referendum on the merger plan being championed by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, most media polls show those opposed to the plan holding anywhere from a slim to a wide lead, though the margin is too close to call.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
May 18, 2015

China tells its road-rage motorists to cool it

The horrific incident shocked the nation when it went viral in China earlier this month: a woman dragged from her car, thrown to the ground and kicked repeatedly in the face and head in a case of road rage in Sichuan.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2015

What propelled Cameron to victory?

What factors propelled Britain's Conservative Party to a stunning victory in an election that opinions polls had deemed too close to call?
JAPAN / Politics
May 7, 2015

LDP seeks all-party talks on revising pacifist Constitution

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party called Thursday for all-party talks on revising the Constitution in areas they can agree upon, in an apparent bid to lower the bar for a first-ever revision of the U.S.-drafted charter.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 26, 2015

LDP fails to live up to its name

The Abe administration and the Liberal Democratic Party have gone too far in their abuse of power.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 11, 2015

'The Japan-South Korea Identity Clash' reveals a minefield of political opportunism

The relationship between Japan and South Korea is a minefield of historical wrongs and political opportunism.
JAPAN / Politics / LOCAL POLLS '15
Apr 10, 2015

Voters in Saga face small candidate field, big issues

Saga is stuck with a paucity of candidates in the unified elections this month even as issues with both national and local implications stalk the ballot.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2015

Why economic sanctions on Russia don't work

The more the West increases its economic pressure against Russia, the less likely it becomes that Russians will engage in dissent against the Putin regime.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2015

Saitama city blocks 'one-sided' exhibit on 'comfort women'

The city of Niiza, Saitama Prefecture, is refusing to let a citizens' group use a municipal facility for an exhibition on “comfort women,” claiming the display would promote the views of a particular group on the controversial issue.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 23, 2015

Poll finds fictional TV presidents are more popular than Obama

Whether it's the earnest Josiah Bartlet from "The West Wing" or the manipulative Frank Underwood in "House of Cards," Americans prefer television presidents to their real-life POTUS, President Barack "No Drama" Obama.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 21, 2015

Celebrating 50 years of antipathy, recriminations

On March 1, South Korean President Park Geun-hye renewed her call for Japan to come clean on its colonial and wartime atrocities, including the sexual enslavement of women. Her speech was delivered on the anniversary of the anti-Japanese uprising by Koreans in 1919 and in a year when South Koreans will...
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.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes