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WORLD
Feb 6, 2016

Australian state premier offers 267 asylum seekers refuge

The premier of an Australian state offered on Saturday to look after a group of asylum seekers facing repatriation to a camp on a remote Pacific island, adding to opposition to the federal government's policy of offshore detention.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Feb 3, 2016

Japanese Odissi dancer masters Indian classical art form

Masako Ono's skills in this ancient style of dance have won her kudos and success in her adopted land of India.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 3, 2016

Why the 'comfort women' statues should stay — and continue to disturb

On holiday in Hanoi, I found myself trying to explain 'comfort women' to my 13-year-old son.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 3, 2016

Sanctions alone didn't curb Iran's nuclear ambitions

The case of Iran demonstrates that sanctions can be a useful policy tool, but only as part of a coherent strategy that includes diplomacy and the credible threat of force.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 3, 2016

China reduces 11 Xinjiang jail sentences, calls de-radicalization a success

Authorities in China's unruly far-western region of Xinjiang have reduced the sentences of 11 people jailed for threatening state security after declaring the success of a re-radicalization programme, state Xinhua News Agency reported.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 3, 2016

FBI joins probe into Flint's 'man-made crisis' water contamination

The FBI is joining a criminal investigation into lead contaminated drinking water in Flint, Michigan, exploring whether any laws were broken in a crisis that has captured international attention.
EDITORIALS
Feb 1, 2016

NLD takes control in Myanmar

At long last, Myanmar has a democratic government.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 1, 2016

China says U.S. seeks 'hegemony' after South China Sea sailing

China accused the United States on Monday of seeking maritime hegemony in the name of freedom of navigation after a U.S. Navy destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of a disputed island in the South China Sea.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Feb 1, 2016

U.S. risks credibility gap by swatting China with international treaty it has never ratified

In the wake of Washington's second "freedom of navigation" operation near Beijing's man-made islets in the South China Sea, an often overlooked fact remains: The set of laws governing global maritime behavior that the U.S. has been touting has never been ratified by the Senate.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 1, 2016

U.S. presidential contenders vow status quo in Japan ties

With the Iowa caucus Monday, the primary voting process that will select Democratic and Republican candidates to run in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election has begun. Over the next four months, American, and international, attention will be focused on the primary races, and who emerges as their party's...
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 31, 2016

Osaka's move on hate speech should be just the first step

Ordinance officially 'Japanizes' the naming and shaming of haters, which is at least a start.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2016

EU welfare states under siege

If freedom of movement within Europe is to be maintained — and if high inflows of non-EU citizens continue — European welfare states face a stark choice: adjust or collapse.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2016

China's new era of diplomacy: engaging in Syria

China's involvement in the Syrian peace process is based on a mix of geostrategic interests and a desire to be seen as an influential actor on the state of global diplomacy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 30, 2016

Bringing Japanese folk dance into focus

As with many cultures, before modernization the Japanese people relied heavily on agriculture, holding a spiritual affinity with and respecting the power of nature. Bountiful harvests were celebrated in festivities that played a significant role in community activities, and the distinctive folk rituals...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 30, 2016

The uplifting tones of Okinawan blues

The winter vocabulary of the majority of Japan residents doesn't include the color turquoise. Or aquamarine, azure or the somewhat intellectually pompous "cerulean." This, however, is the palette I attempt to describe with my husband as we turn our tiny rental car onto the bridge leading to Kouri Island,...
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 30, 2016

Canada's Trudeau visits aboriginal town after deadly shooting

Residents of the remote Canadian town of La Loche, having softened frozen cemetery ground with bonfires, prepared to bury their loved ones as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived on Friday at the site of Canada's worst mass shooting in a decade.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / AEC SPECIAL
Jan 29, 2016

Working to optimize relationships

Japan welcomes the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community, or AEC, as the prosperity of the Association of South East Asian Nations is expected to also benefit Japan, the world's third-largest economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AEC SPECIAL
Jan 29, 2016

Universities working to foster closer relationship

The ASEAN region is increasing in importance as a market for Japanese companies because its member states are getting wealthier and accelerating their development. Hence, increasing the number of students from the region studying in Japan is essential to nurture future businesspeople or politicians to...
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 28, 2016

Ferguson, Missouri, releases details of proposed police reforms

The city of Ferguson, Missouri, released details on Wednesday of a tentative deal with the U.S. Justice Department to reform its police department and resolve a federal probe following the 2014 fatal shooting of a black teenager that ignited national protests.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2016

Implications of the U.S. Navy's FONOP program

When the U.S. last fall sent a warship on a Freedom of Navigation Operation near a Chinese-occupied reef, the message was unfortunately both confused and confusing.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 27, 2016

Do your Japanese colleagues drive you nuts? Maybe it's you, not them (or both)

The Trail Mix Incident — where cultural conditioning trumped Japanese social etiquette — highlights how the defense of territory is universal.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 27, 2016

'5 Flights Up' turns the horror of selling an apartment into a gentle fairy tale

Living in Tokyo has taught me that relationships matter but real estate matters more. My mom used to tell me never to date anyone who didn't have a down payment on a condo, which basically doomed me to permanent datelessness.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 26, 2016

Pyongyang's nuclear test leads Moscow to pivot east

Russia's break from North Korea in the wake of its latest nuclear test should be viewed as a tactical, short-term decision aimed at improving relations with Japan and bolstering its international reputation as a diplomatic arbiter.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 26, 2016

Xi's visit to Iran gives insight into Beijing's aspirations in Middle East

Chinese President Xi Jinping covered a lot of ground in his first swing through the Middle East, announcing $55 billion in aid and giving a speech to the Arab League in which he vowed not to seek proxies, a thinly veiled jab at U.S. history in the region.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 24, 2016

Kerry to press China over North Korea, urge ASEAN unity over South China Sea

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry begins a visit to East Asia on Sunday in which he plans to press China to put more curbs on North Korea after its nuclear test and to urge Southeast Asia to show unity in response to China's claims in the South China Sea.

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