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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 30, 2018

Top U.S. diplomat expected to meet Kim's right-hand man next week, report says

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to meet with a top North Korean official next week as they seek to arrange a second summit between the two countries' leaders, according to a South Korean report.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 30, 2018

Conservationists fear 'devastating consequences' as China dilutes ban on tiger and rhino parts

China unveiled new rules on Monday that would allow the use of rhino horn and tiger parts for some medical and cultural purposes, watering down a decadesold ban in a move conservation group WWF said could have "devastating consequences.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2018

Modi and Abe agree to boost ties as Tokyo pledges huge new yen loans for India

A high-speed railway project included in the package of loans is “a symbol” of a new bilateral relationship, Japan's Foreign Ministry said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 29, 2018

Military service is a hard sell for Taiwan's youth, despite tensions with China

Taiwan Air Force Staff Sgt. Jiang Pin-shiuan's pitch to freshmen at Taipei's Tamkang University seemed compelling: join the island's armed forces and get a state-sponsored degree, 110 days of leave each year and annual savings of 312,500 New Taiwan dollars ($10,200).
Japan Times
Rugby
Oct 28, 2018

Japanese rugby history embedded in Hanazono

Harumi Okuno pours another batch of octopus-filled batter into the round hollows of the hot griddle and looks out of the serving hatch toward the rugby stadium at the end of the street.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Oct 28, 2018

October 29, 2018

Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 28, 2018

North Korean hospital director says Otto Warmbier torture allegations 'total distortion' of truth

The director of the Pyongyang Friendship Hospital, which treated American student Otto Warmbier, who died last year after being detained for months in the country, has dismissed new allegations that his death resulted from torture.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2018

Algorithms and charting the great unknown

Researchers tend to cluster and mine the same familiar territory. AI can overcome that tendency and point to new questions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Oct 27, 2018

Salivary glands and other organs grown in laboratory

Organoids, blobs of tissue grown in the lab, could change the face of organ transplants and even pave the way for brain augmentation.
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW 2018
Oct 26, 2018

Tasked with bringing North Korea abduction issue to a close, Suga vows to do all in his power

As the government's new point man on the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korean agents, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he will do all in his power to bring the issue to a close and secure the safe return of all who were kidnapped.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 26, 2018

Meet the Japanese tech guru who is betting big on the future of drones

The only person in kimono at a recent government meeting on flying cars was Kotaro Chiba, a former online-game executive turned financier of a very specific kind.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / CABINET INTERVIEW 2018
Oct 25, 2018

Okinawa minister says the government needs better messaging on Futenma transfer to assuage local concerns

The newly installed minister of state for Okinawa affairs says the prefecture's residents deserve a full breakdown of the government's rationale for relocating a contentious U.S. military base from the crowded city of Ginowan to the coastal district of Henoko in Nago.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Oct 25, 2018

Chocolate delights abound in afternoon teas

Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo is getting festive this winter with a cacao-themed afternoon tea series, set to start in December and run through Valentine's Day. Hosted from the hotel's lobby lounge Le Jardin overlooking the Japanese gardens, the event consists of two chapters that each boast their own unique...
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2018

Tokyo confirms release of Japanese journalist Jumpei Yasuda after three years of captivity in Syria

The government's top spokesman attributed Yasuda's release to efforts by an anti-terrorism intelligence unit in Tokyo, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe thanking Qatar and Turkey “for their great cooperation.”
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 24, 2018

Human rights situation in North Korea 'has not changed' despite Pyongyang's warming ties with Seoul and Washington, U.N. investigator says

The ongoing detente between North Korea and the United States has done little, if anything, to improve Pyongyang's abysmal rights record, the U.N. independent investigator on human rights in the nuclear-armed country said Tuesday, just weeks before the expected passage of a Japan-led resolution condemning...
Japan Times
GLOBAL MEDIA POST / Eastern USA report 2018
Oct 24, 2018

Daiwa Capital Markets America focuses on stakeholders and sales

When Naoki Suzuki took the helm of Daiwa Capital Markets America (DCMA) in 2016, he came with a lot of experience, having joined the group in 1991. Before coming to New York, Suzuki first worked with Daiwa Securities Ltd., where he focused on corporate planning and finance, then was moved to Daiwa Securities...
Japan Times
JAPAN / United Nations Day special
Oct 24, 2018

Comedians boost SDGs awareness

"Why did an entertainment company such as Yoshimoto decide to become involved in promoting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?" asked U.N. Information Centre Director Kaoru Nemoto when she recently reunited with Akihiko Okamoto, COO of renowned Japanese entertainment company Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. (Yoshimoto)....
Japan Times
WORLD / United Nations Day special
Oct 24, 2018

Honoring firm commitment to peace

United Nations Day marks the birthday of our founding Charter — the landmark document that embodies the hopes, dreams and aspirations of "we the peoples."
Japan Times
JAPAN / United Nations Day special
Oct 24, 2018

Japan as a model U.N. member state

The United Nations of 2018 exists in a world that is more interconnected than ever before. Countries are no longer insulated from the setbacks and challenges of other nations, and all profit in some way from each other's innovation and success.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2018

North Korea blasts Japan's role in pushing U.N. human rights resolution amid nuclear talks

North Korea has singled out Japan, criticizing Tokyo's leading role in crafting a U.N. resolution condemning human rights violations and the abductions of foreign nationals by the nuclear-armed country, amid its ongoing thaw with the outside world.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 23, 2018

Time for Japan to shine in diversity

Expanding the definition of what it is to be Japanese and encouraging diversity will only further Japan's role as a country fully in tune with the needs of the 21st century.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2018

Setouchi sets ¥500 million goal to bring renowned Japanese sword back 'home'

The city of Setouchi in Okayama Prefecture, which once flourished as a major producer of swords, said Tuesday it will use crowdfunding as part of an attempt to raise a total of ¥500 million from in and outside the country to bring back "home" a renowned sword called Yamatorige.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 23, 2018

John Bolton tells Russians their 2016 election interference was ineffective

White House National Security Adviser John Bolton told his Russian counterpart that his country's interference in the 2016 presidential election didn't affect the outcome but has nonetheless damaged relations with the U.S.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 23, 2018

Trump lawyer: Paul Manafort said nothing damaging in Robert Mueller interviews

Under an unusual arrangement, Paul Manafort's attorney has kept Donald Trump informed about the former campaign chairman's meetings with prosecutors investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and, according to Trump's lawyer, Manafort has not said anything damaging about the president....

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb