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WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2016

Trump has a history of questionable behavior with women, New York Times reports

Interviews with dozens of women who have worked for Donald Trump or interacted with him socially reveal a pattern of often unsettling personal behavior by the Republican presidential candidate, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 8, 2016

Media show Kumamoto was woefully ill-prepared for disabled evacuees

It was heartening to see newspapers focusing on the difficulties disabled people face when disaster strikes, but far less heartening to hear what they had to say about the facts on the ground in Kumamoto.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2016

Statements by lawmakers cloud Japan's position on nuclear arms

When the foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations gather in Hiroshima for a two-day meeting from Sunday, they will visit Hiroshima Peace Park and conclude their gathering with a "Hiroshima Declaration" that will likely express hope for a world without nuclear weapons.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 2, 2016

Job-hunting students may be in for a shock when they arrive at their new company

It's spring, and the attention of journalists in Japan turns to new university graduates who will soon become productive members of society. In recent years, the recruitment dance has merited closer scrutiny. Even as the labor situation has become a seller's market, issues persist with regard to employee...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 29, 2016

Security laws usher in new era for pacifist Japan

Marking a historic change in Japan's pacifist diplomacy, two divisive security laws take effect that allow Tokyo to engage in collective self-defense based on the reinterpreted Constitution.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Mar 27, 2016

Bearded train driver, out-of-pocket teacher and CV faker: How would they fare in court?

A look at three shiny new news items from the gossip columns that take on a different sheen when examined under the piercing light of labor law.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Feb 22, 2016

Let's discuss the dangers of human pyramids at schools

New guidelines to help prevent injuries when students take part in coordinated group gymnastics will be drafted by the end of March.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Feb 15, 2016

SMAP's 2003 single tops chart

An old CD single by SMAP returned to No. 1 in the charts as fans alarmed by news of the group's apparently imminent breakup launched a campaign to show their support for the group.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 30, 2016

NHK may need to rethink its 'taiga' formula

An article that appeared in December in the Yomiuri Shimbun weighed the prospects for the 2016 edition of NHK's year-long historical taiga drama series, which premiered Jan. 10. "Sanada Maru" is the title of the 55th marathon show, and the name of a fortification added on to Osaka Castle to protect it...
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jan 4, 2016

Let's discuss healthy eating in Japan

In a country where food culture permeates all aspects of life and society, it is perhaps unsurprising that Japan leads the 'World Health Olympics.'
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Dec 21, 2015

Let's discuss the Akatsuki space probe

Japan's space agency says its Akatsuki probe has successfully entered into orbit around Venus.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 19, 2015

Gangs, girl power and getting old: Japan's magazines ring out 2015

A roundup of the final weekly magazines of 2015 finds many preoccupied with the split within the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza group.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 4, 2015

Supreme Court to examine marriage rules dubbed unfair, unconstitutional

The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard a case arguing that forcing married couples to choose one surname, and prohibiting women from remarrying for six months after a divorce, are unconstitutional.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Nov 2, 2015

Let's discuss the tilting Yokohama condo scandal

An employee at the center of a data falsification scandal involving a tilting condo in Yokohama oversaw piling work at 41 projects in nine prefectures.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Oct 31, 2015

Not-so-friendly neighborhood associations

When the U.S. military took charge following Japan's surrender in 1945, one of the first things it did was ban jichikai, or community associations. The thinking was that these organizations had carried out the work of the military government at the neighborhood level and their continued existence might...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 24, 2015

Media vultures circle over battered SEALDs

That's it? It's over?
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Oct 19, 2015

Let's discuss pressure on university liberal arts education

In June the education ministry sent a directive to national universities calling on them to reorganize their humanities and social sciences departments.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Oct 1, 2015

Neither here nor there: Stretched between Nigeria and Japan, family ties fray

This is the last of a two-part series on Japanese-Nigerian families torn between Asia and Africa. The first part can be found here.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Sep 28, 2015

Let's discuss the changing meaning of words

If you say 'yabai' in Japanese when you eat something, does it mean 'very tasty' or 'rather poisonous'?
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 14, 2015

Debate over security bills masks clash of views on pacifist Constitution

Is Japan's Constitution a symbol of peace and respect for universal values or a reminder of humiliating defeat?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 27, 2015

Okinawa's lobbyist-in-chief scores a subtle win in Washington

Chie Mikami's new documentary, "Ikusabanu Todomi" (which loosely translates as "Bring the War to an End"), is about the protests against the new U.S. Marine Corps base in Henoko, Okinawa. Her previous film, "Hyoteki no Mura" ("The Targeted Village"), was about protests against the deployment of the controversial...
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2015

NHK filter gives viewers 'legal' way to avoid Japan's TV tax

An engineering professor at Tsukuba University says his device for TVs that filters out NHK's signal provides a legal basis for not paying subscription fees to to the public broadcaster.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 23, 2015

Lowball nuclear pitch is fooling no one

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced the results of a review of energy production costs, which concluded that nuclear will remain the cheapest alternative for Japan over the next 15 years while pointing out that the calculations took into consideration the...
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2015

Americans understand free trade's dark side

The American people are intelligent and grown-up enough to hear the basic case against free trade, as well as the case in favor.
EDITORIALS
Apr 26, 2015

Civilian control over the SDF

Lawmakers should confirm the importance of civilian control of the SDF and pursue ways to strengthen the system rather than to undermine it.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji