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JAPAN / Politics
Aug 19, 2015

Nakatani defends Joint Staff security bills document

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani admitted Wednesday that the ministry's Joint Staff Office created an internal document in late May about expanding overseas operations of the Self-Defense Forces, based on the assumption that security legislation currently under debate in the Upper House would be enacted....
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 18, 2015

Shinzo Abe's sorry apology

Critics of Shinzo Abe have to concede that he used the right buzzwords in his address marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the war. But did he really mean them?
JAPAN / History
Aug 18, 2015

Government Web page taken down for revamp following Abe war statement

The Foreign Ministry has deleted a page from its website that explained the government's position on historical issues stemming from World War II following Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new war anniversary statement last Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 17, 2015

Abe's unconvincing attempt to whitewash Japan's history

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's WWII anniversary statement glosses over unpalatable facts and attempts to interpret them in a favorable way for Japan.
JAPAN / History
Aug 15, 2015

Dependence day: Japan's lopsided relationship with Washington

Of all the post-World War II changes in Japan, the most momentous is that it never regained the status of a genuinely independent country.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 15, 2015

Growing influence of Japan Conference reflects resentment at Tokyo's postwar settlement with Washington

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in April delivered a speech to the U.S. Congress — the first by a Japanese leader — that lauded deepening trade ties and the military alliance with the United States.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 15, 2015

Abe is wrong to rush toward militarization

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to militarization could have dangerous unforeseen consequences for peace in the Asia-Pacific region.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 15, 2015

Abe, as LDP chief, sends via aide ritual offering to war-linked Yasukuni Shrine

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent an offering to a shrine for the war dead on Saturday, the 70th anniversary of Japan's World War II defeat, but had not made a personal visit to the shrine, seen in China and South Korea as a symbol of Tokyo's wartime militarism.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2015

Abe's WWII statement speaks of regret but dodges details

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in a much-awaited statement about World War II, spoke of “deep remorse” over Japan's wartime misdeeds.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 14, 2015

Full text of Abe's declaration on 70th anniversary of the end of WWII

On the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, we must calmly reflect upon the road to war, the path we have taken since it ended, and the era of the 20th century. We must learn from the lessons of history the wisdom for our future.
JAPAN / History
Aug 14, 2015

Japan's past apologies over WWII, colonial history, 'comfort women'

Following are some key excerpts from Japanese leaders' previous statements on the country's militaristic past.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 13, 2015

South Korea pardons SK Group leader amid growing discontent

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Thursday gave pardons to 6,527 people, including the chairman of the country's third-largest conglomerate, the SK Group, citing, in part, Seoul's efforts to revive a sputtering economy.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2015

Thailand and China build ties of convenience

The Thai military regime, isolated by the West, finds that China is more than willing to fill the void.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2015

In major victory for nuclear industry, first reactor goes online under post-Fukushima regime

Four years and five months to the day after the crisis began at the Fukushima No. 1 power station, Japan formally returned to nuclear power Tuesday with the restart of Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Sendai No. 1 reactor in Kagoshima Prefecture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 11, 2015

Accepting Japan at its word

If Asia is to move beyond its past, the victims of Japan's wartime aggression must recognize that the Japan of 2015 is not the Japan of 1931, 1941, or even 1945, and that forgiveness benefits everyone.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 11, 2015

Spying allegations deal a blow to Japan-U.S. ties

Washington must provide further clarification on the NSA's alleged spying activities to ensure the stability of Japan-U.S. relations.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2015

Reactor in Kagoshima poised for restart despite public opposition

Kyushu Electric Power will restart the No. 1 reactor at its Sendai nuclear plant on Tuesday, marking the country's first long-term return to nuclear power since the Fukushima crisis.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 10, 2015

Japan consumer confidence fell to lowest in six months in July

Consumer confidence tumbled in July to the lowest in six months, raising the risk of weakness in spending that could weigh on the economy this quarter.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan