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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Apr 29, 2018

Abe walks a tightrope on Japan's foreign worker policy

The foreign proportion of Japan's population remains tiny compared to that in European countries or North America, yet the impact of the growing ranks of foreign workers is considerable.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 29, 2018

Chichibu: Steeped in tradition, but challenged by industry

The city of Chichibu, about 90 minutes by train from Ikebukuro, Tokyo, has a population of approximately 60,000. The region, which sits in the shadow of Mount Buko and alongside the Arakawa river is steeped in tradition with more than 300 festivals taking place each year.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 29, 2018

Australia plans monument to mark anniversary of 1770 landing by British explorer James Cook

The Australian government is planning a new monument to commemorate the April 29 anniversary of the day that British explorer Lt. James Cook made landfall on the continent for the first time in 1770.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 29, 2018

North Korea's Kim vows transparency in nuclear site closure, says foreign experts and journalists can view dismantling

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un plans to shutter his country's nuclear test site next month and will invite foreign experts and journalists to view the dismantling, as planning ramps up for a landmark meeting between him and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 27, 2018

Understanding Kim: Inside the U.S. effort to profile the secretive North Korean leader

U.S. intelligence experts are trying to build a profile of Kim Jong Un to give President Donald Trump a competitive edge in one of the most consequential summits since the Cold War, but they face a huge challenge — figuring out a secretive North Korean ruler few people know much about.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 26, 2018

Denuclearization to take center stage as Kim and Moon meet in rare inter-Korean summit

Sixty-five years after the Korean War ended in an armistice, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will become the first leader from the North to set foot on South Korean soil when he strides across the Demilitarized Zone on Friday for a historic summit with the rival South's president, Moon Jae-in.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2018

Osaka governor says casino resort could open by fiscal 2023

Despite a tight construction schedule, political problems in Tokyo and local concerns over funding, Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui said the prefecture could have one of Japan's first casino resorts up and running on an island in Osaka Bay nearly two years before it hopes to host the 2025 World Expo at the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 25, 2018

A primer on navigating your ID landscape

A number of changes to Japanese ID registration systems have been implemented in recent years, some of them for everyone in Japan and others pertinent only to foreign nationals. The ins and outs can be a bit confusing, particularly for those who have been used to living under the old systems for many...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 25, 2018

Japan Inc. happy with publicly unpopular Abe despite cronyism scandals

The public approval ratings of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may have plunged to record lows amid scandals over suspected cronyism, but a Reuters poll shows the Japanese business community has a much more positive view of him.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Apr 23, 2018

Importance of friendship transcends march of time

A former high-flying chemical engineer working in fertilizer development and management, it's no surprise that Indonesia's Ambassador to Japan Arifin Tasrif, was once working all across the Indonesian archipelago in Borneo, Sumatra and Java. Of no less importance, especially given his current role, is the nearly two years he spent in Japan over 30 years ago in Yokohama.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Apr 22, 2018

For foreign nationals over 150 years ago, Kyoto’s Fushimi was end of the line

Just before reaching Chushojima Station on the Keihan Line heading into Kyoto from Osaka, or just after crossing the Uji River on the almost parallel Kintetsu train that runs between Kyoto and Nara, two towers that look old and of European design flash briefly into view before disappearing among the...
Japan Times
ESG CONSORTIUM
Apr 22, 2018

ESG involvement vital for company leaders

Commitment from top management is indispensable for promoting ESG (environmental, social and governance) engagement, Yasumasa Nishi, then-president and CEO of Asset Management One Co., stressed at a recent forum in Tokyo. He also noted management needs to craft a long-term business strategy in consideration...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 22, 2018

U.S. Treasury chief may visit China as trade tensions simmer between world's largest economies

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday he may travel to China, a move that could ease tensions between the world's two largest economies, as international policymakers acknowledged Beijing needs to change its trade practices.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2018

EU suspects massive tax fraud at China's new 'Belt and Road' gateway to Europe

European Union and Italian authorities are investigating suspected wide-scale tax fraud by Chinese criminal gangs importing goods via Greece's largest port of Piraeus, a trade gateway between China and Europe, officials said.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 20, 2018

'No job, no money': Life in Vietnam for immigrants deported by U.S. in violation of 2008 bilateral deal

It wasn't until Pham Chi Cuong saw the plane waiting to deport him from the United States that it sunk in that he was about to be sent back to Vietnam, the country he fled in 1993.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Deep Dive
Apr 19, 2018

Dual citizenship in Japan: A 'don’t ask, don’t tell' policy leaves many in the dark

Do you have to renounce citizenship? Do you switch passports at the airport? Has anyone ever been punished? Dual nationals tell their stories.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2018

Iconic Shibuya 109 building launches ¥1.09 million design contest for new logo

The operator of a landmark shopping center in Tokyo's famed Shibuya district is holding a contest to design a new logo as it prepares for a fresh look.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 19, 2018

Japan's multilayered, multilateral strategy

Tokyo has some work to do to convince the region its strategy is not designed to contain China.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Apr 19, 2018

Trump says he would walk away if Kim summit isn't 'fruitful'

U.S. President Donald Trump voiced hopes Wednesday of a successful planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but warned that he could "respectfully" walk away if it appeared the talks would not be "fruitful."
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 19, 2018

U.S. FAA orders engine inspections after explosion on Southwest Airlines flight

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday it would order inspection of some 220 jet engines after investigators said a broken fan blade touched off an engine explosion on a Southwest Airlines flight, shattering a window and killing a passenger.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 18, 2018

Death on Southwest passenger jet ends near decade-long successful safety record

Almost 100 million U.S.-operated airline flights, carrying several billion people, had taken off and landed safely over a nine-year span since the last time a passenger died in an accident in the country.
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2018

Training and certifying medical specialists

A system has been launched to certify medical specialists under a common set of standards. Hopefully, it won't drain too many doctors from general practice or concentrate too many specialists in big cities.

Longform

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