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EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 2015

Higher wages, but for how many?

The higher wage hikes at leading firms are indeed good news, but that covers only a small proportion of the nation's workforce.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 24, 2015

Indonesia to withdraw local language plan for foreign workers

Indonesia will withdraw a plan that would force foreign workers to take local language proficiency exams after protests from investors, two government officials said.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 24, 2015

As U.S. exits Yemen, foes square off amid Saudi-Iran rivalry

Yemen's top factions are squaring off for battle after months of skirmishes, turning respectively to neighboring Saudi Arabia and its regional rival Iran for help in what may become all-out war.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 23, 2015

Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew was among 'greatest leaders,' Abe says

Japanese leaders pay tribute to the life and legacy of Singaporean senior statesman Lee Kuan Yew, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calling him 'one of the greatest leaders of modern times that Asia has produced.'
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Mar 23, 2015

Spare a thought for the Western men trapped in Japan

Japan can be the best place in the world for some, but for others it can be a trap — especially for Western men.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2015

There's no exaggerating the role of two parents

Dismayed by inequality and the intergenerational transmission of poverty, the U.S. must face the truth that economic success depends less on whether your father was rich or poor than on whether you knew your father at all.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 23, 2015

U.S. Marines official dismissed over Okinawa protest video leak

The Pentagon has reportedly dismissed a senior U.S. Marine Corps official in Okinawa following the leak of on-base surveillance video to a Japanese neo-nationalist group.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 23, 2015

Malaysia parties promise Islamic penalties in bid to lure votes

Six months after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak stood before the United Nations and urged Muslims worldwide to be moderate in their religion, members of his own party are supporting a law that punishes adulterers with death and thieves with amputation.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 23, 2015

Britain's Conservative Party suspends candidate over far-right plot claims

Britain's ruling Conservatives have suspended a Muslim candidate in a key seat following allegations he plotted with the far right English Defence League (EDL) to stir up racial tension to help win votes in May's election.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Mar 22, 2015

University teachers in Japan work under the shadow of a falling ax

For most teachers, their job is more than an economic exchange of time for money — it is a vocation. Concern for students' educational development is genuine, as is a deep belief in the value and importance of education, and a regard for the institution's reputation and welfare.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 20, 2015

Arctic sea ice covers record low extent this winter

Arctic sea ice has set a new winter record by freezing over the smallest extent since satellite records began in 1979, in a new sign of long-term climate change, U.S. data showed on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 19, 2015

Michelle Obama, Akie Abe pledge bilateral effort for girls' education

Visiting U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and Akie Abe, wife of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, pledged Thursday to strengthen bilateral cooperation in helping girls around the world receive an education, especially in developing countries.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2015

Three Japanese women killed in Tunisia museum attack

The assault in the Tunisian capital, reportedly by two gunmen wearing military fatigues, also injured three Japanese, one of whom has spoken about her ordeal.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 18, 2015

Rights groups stage racism summit for embassy staff

Ethnic minorities and other socially vulnerable members of Japanese society gathered Wednesday to relate their stories of racial discrimination to embassy representatives in an effort to raise global awareness of their plight and fight racism.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 18, 2015

Komeito agrees to permanent law on dispatch of SDF

The Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner have agreed in principle on a framework for security legislation to expand the scope of the Self-Defense Forces' activities.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Mar 18, 2015

From a minstrel no-show to a black beauty queen, in a week

From preventing a blackface TV broadcast to the nation embracing a black face as the embodiment of Japanese beauty, it's been quite a week.
COMMUNITY / Voices / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Mar 18, 2015

Japan desperately needs more little monsters

The lack of future taxpayers presents a chilling scenario for a nation with lots of debt on one hand and lots of pensioners on the other. The nation needs more hands.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2015

Government support for wind power may increase offshore capacity

Japan's bid to install more floating offshore wind capacity may be bolstered by the government's commitment to support the technology.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 18, 2015

Guinea Ebola cases rise; three doctors infected

Guinea has suffered a setback in its fight against Ebola with a rash of new cases, including three doctors infected by the virus, with officials blaming weak surveillance and a failure to follow safety procedures.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 17, 2015

Syrian asylum seekers sue for refugee status

Four asylum seekers from strife-riven Syria sued the central government at the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday, demanding that they be recognized as refugees.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 17, 2015

Aid agencies to begin helicopter flights to cyclone-stricken Vanuatu

International aid agencies are preparing to begin emergency helicopter flights on Tuesday to the remote outer islands of Vanuatu, which they fear have been devastated by a monster cyclone that tore through the South Pacific island country.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Mar 16, 2015

Japanese activists fight against the tide to save whales and dolphins

Homegrown foes of dolphin hunts and 'research whaling' face off against a daunting array of powerful interests.

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