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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 10, 2016

Kuroda signals BOJ may delay reaching 2 percent inflation target to 2018

Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda gives the clearest signal yet that the bank may delay the forecast date for achieving its 2 percent inflation target to 2018.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 9, 2016

Obama's costly legacy-building

The Obama administration appears to be avoiding harsh confrontations with China in order to win its cooperation on legacy-burnishing issues such as climate change and cybersecurity.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Oct 9, 2016

Employer made me hand over my lump-sum pension payment

A reader wrote in with a question about the lump-sum withdrawal payment that foreign residents who have paid into the pension system can claim after leaving Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Oct 9, 2016

9/11: the day Japan's Supreme Court went (slightly) postal

How the Supreme Court dealt with its mail problem says much about the way the law works in Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 8, 2016

Unknown quantity: How the outcome of the presidential election in November could affect Japan-U.S. relations

"Jesus! Where will it end? How low do you have to stoop in this country to be president?" — Hunter S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72"
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 8, 2016

The 'onsen' retreat that transformed Natsume Soseki

Shuzenji, an onsen (hot-spring) town in the heart of the Izu Peninsula, is a little piece of heaven. Nestled in the densely wooded hills of Shizuoka Prefecture, its collection of baths, guesthouses and shops line up on either side of the rushing Katsura River, with historic temples, shrines and bamboo...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 8, 2016

Nagoya: The most boring city in Japan

At a meeting of city leaders last Monday, the mayor of Nagoya, Takashi Kawamura, expressed annoyance with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. That same day, Abe had opened a new session of the Diet by touching on the issue of regional revitalization in his usual general policy speech; he said that the central...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 8, 2016

Oki Sato of Nendo: on the objects of design

This year alone, Oki Sato, founder and director of Nendo, has not one, but two major retrospective exhibitions of the design unit's work — one at the Design Museum Holon in Israel, the other at the Taiwan Design Museum. His acclaimed "50 Manga Chairs" installation for Friedman Benda, which first debuted...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 8, 2016

New pension ceiling meant to help low-paid workers may hit housewives

A lowering of the eligibility cap for the ku014dsei nenkin pension plan leaves housewives working part-time with a choice: cut their hours to stay below the new ceiling or work more to offset the pension payments they will now have to make.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2016

LDP gets cold feet on axing spousal tax break

In the latest sign that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will not reform a tax break that has long been viewed as a disincentive for working women, Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai appeared to walk back his earlier support for the reform.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2016

In historic move, Japan's legal community takes stand against death penalty

Lawyers position themselves against capital punishment as the Japan Federation of Bar Associations calls for an end to the practice.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2016

Suga, Inada admit to filling out blank expense receipts

Two key members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet have admitted to filling out blank receipts as part of their expense claims, raising questions about their ethics and the efficacy of a political funds control law.
Japan Times
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 7, 2016

England's Southgate begins trial period against easiest of foes, Malta

If the Football Association was worried that Saturday's England vs. Malta 2018 World Cup qualifier at Wembley might struggle to capture the country's interest, the departure of Sam Allardyce has guaranteed a disproportionate focus on a match featuring the side which is 157th in the FIFA rankings. The...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Oct 7, 2016

Rating, ranking — and ruining? — Japanese sake

On Aug. 31, the Wine Advocate, a publication started by the influential U.S.-based wine critic Robert Parker, released its first "official" ratings guide to sake with reviews written by Chinese critic Liwen Hao. Parker, who gained fame for creating the 100-point scoring system widely used to rate wines,...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2016

These veep guys sure don't feel like leaders

Tuesday's debate between the two vice presidential nominees won't alter the course of the election, but it did drop hints about the future of the Democratic and Republican parties.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 6, 2016

Olympic mania sidetracking efforts to revitalize Japan

Tokyo 2020 is diverting attention away from the best chance Japan has had in 20 years to regain its mojo.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 6, 2016

Tokyo faces tough decisions over Japan's role in South Sudan

Defense Minister Tomomi Inada has a mission she can't screw up when she visits the South Sudanese capital of Juba starting Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 6, 2016

Trump pulls Putin praise, seen donating to state attorneys general checking his business

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump backed off from praising Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, saying he was unsure of his relationship with the Russian president, who he has described as a better leader than President Barack Obama.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Oct 5, 2016

Japan's English-language print media feel the pinch

Publications struggle for relevance in a world where news is available free, to all, all the time.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2016

Ignorance and prejudice rising

If the world is to continue to benefit from trade liberalization and expansion, more needs to be done to provide transitional relief to workers disadvantaged by globalization.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 5, 2016

Clinton running mate backs pre-emptive strike on North Korea in event of impending attack on U.S.

Democratic U.S. vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine said Tuesday that he would back pre-emptive strikes against North Korea if the isolated nation showed signs of launching a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Oct 5, 2016

Match-rusty Japan left with little margin for error in qualifiers

National team manager Vahid Halilhodzic last week bridled at suggestions that he is making excuses for Japan's underwhelming start to the final round of 2018 World Cup qualifiers. But there will be no place to hide if the Samurai Blue slip further off the pace after games against Iraq and Australia over...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 4, 2016

Reconnecting Japan's ancient cultural hub

"When I visited Todaiji Temple in Nara, just after I arrived as a Chinese student in Japan about 30 years ago, I felt somehow nostalgic as it had an atmosphere of old China," says Cai Guo-Qiang, as he explains his work for Culture City of East Asia 2016, Nara, a cultural project that launched in March....
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 3, 2016

Britain's May to trigger EU divorce by end of March

Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday she would trigger the process to leave the EU by the end of March, offering the first glimpse of a timetable for a divorce that will redefine Britain's ties with its biggest trading partner.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Oct 2, 2016

With Japan in U.S. electoral spotlight, overseas vote could play decisive role

American voters living in Japan are counting down the days as one of the most-watched presidential elections in U.S. history hurtles toward a potentially nail-biting conclusion — one that could have profound effects for Washington's ties with Tokyo.
JAPAN / History
Oct 1, 2016

Religious reflections: Pope John Paul II's enduring legacy in Japan

The iconic pontiff's visit 35 years ago may offer some insights into what we can expect from a possible papal stopover in 2017.

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’