Search - new

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 27, 2014

The pathetic state of infrastructure in America

The deliberate starving of public funding for America's roads, bridges, parks, schools, public hospitals, even hospitals charged with caring for U.S. veterans, reflects the economic and political system's ass-backward priorities.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jul 17, 2014

Merger talks going slowly

Japan Basketball Association officials said that they would actively keep discussing how to overcome the differences between the nation's top two leagues in order to establish a new professional hoops circuit in two years.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 15, 2014

How World War I inspired independent India

It's been almost forgotten that more than 1 million subjects of undivided colonial India fought in World War I for the Allies — about 75,000 lost their lives — following a massive recruitment drive by their British masters. The new age of nationalism ushered in by the Great War inspired Indian independence.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2014

A consensus for giving BRICS more leverage

Leaders of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) travel to Brazil this month with the hope of establishing a new development bank and a reserve currency pool arrangement.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2014

A caliph in his own mind

The recent declaration of a caliphate by the militant group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is an unprecedented event in modern times, showing that violent jihadism is now an entrenched feature of the Arab political landscape.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 14, 2014

LDP candidate flounders in Shiga governor race

In a blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the ruling coalition, Shiga voters chose as their next governor Taizo Mikazuki, the designated successor to Yukiko Kada, over a candidate heavily backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jul 3, 2014

Happy birthday, Sailor Moon!

In 1992, a 14-year-old Japanese girl set out to save our universe from total annihilation.
EDITORIALS
Jul 2, 2014

Abe guts Article 9

With its Cabinet decision to allow Japan to exercise collective self-defense, the Abe administration has effectively gutted Article 9.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2014

Abe wins battle to broaden defense policy

The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe authorizes a reinterpretation of war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution, allowing Japan for the first time since World War II to come to the aid of an ally under attack.
COMMENTARY / World / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jun 30, 2014

A breed apart: liberal hawks who buoyed Bush

Those tough American liberal hawks who climbed aboard George W. Bush's war wagon into Iraq a decade ago were a breed apart.
JAPAN / JAPAN TIMES FORUM ON FEMALE SCIENCE MAJORS
Jun 30, 2014

Examining women's roles in Japan's corporate structure

Rikejo, or women majoring in the sciences, are currently under the spotlight in Japan. As the country faces a severe labor shortage, a declining birthrate and a rapidly aging population, there is a need to employ more female talent.
COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 28, 2014

Abe's nuclear renaissance ignores stiff opposition

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's nuclear renaissance involves downplaying risks, restarting reactors, building new ones, and exporting reactor technology and equipment. A number of hurdles remain before he can rev up the reactors, but the summer of 2014 will probably be Japan's last nuclear-free one for decades...
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 27, 2014

Collective defense deal near

The ruling coalition closes in on three new standards that would let the Japanese military use force in cases other than when Japan is under attack.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 27, 2014

Doing more to ensure peace in Asia

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe opines that a framework under which Asian governments publicly disclose their military budgets needs to be established if we are to build trust and avoid a regional arms race.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2014

Time to make 'Chindia' a reality

Ten years ago, Indian economist and politician Jairam Ramesh raised the idea of China and India joining forces to cooperate as much as they compete. With both countries now in the hands of self-described reformers, could 'Chindia' finally come to fruition?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 17, 2014

Blonde Redhead gets comfortable with past records

Formed in 1993 by Japanese singer Kazu Makino and Italian twins Simone and Amedeo Pace, and forged in the noisy underbelly of the New York alternative scene, Blonde Redhead has charted a path that has taken it from screeching underground noise rock to fragile, glacial, minimalist melody without ever...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2014

Giving a resolute pro-India neighbor its due

It's an indication of the ham-handed manner in which Indian foreign policy is managed that even relations with Bhutan have seemed troubled in the past few years.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 13, 2014

Kagan and the ruin of ideas

Neocon commentator Robert Kagan's belief — detailed in his new book 'The World America Made' — that the world will benefit from a benevolent American suzerainty, despite the side effects of the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghan wars, beggars the imagination.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jun 12, 2014

Wakayama can't afford Pavlicevic

After an ultra-successful start in the National Basketball League, the cash-strapped Wakayama Trians are implementing big budget cuts for the upcoming season.
EDITORIALS
Jun 10, 2014

A slippery slope to combat

The Abe administration's modifications of its proposed new conditions for the Self-Defense Forces to take part in overseas missions would still pave the way for the SDF to operate in combat areas, thus raising the risk of Japan being drawn into armed conflict.
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 2014

Promotion criteria for bureaucrats

Under a new government personnel management system, the prime minister's office will take the lead in promotions, transfers and appointments of senior officials at ministries and agencies to eliminate ministry sectionalism and to tap people more in line with the administration's policies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 2, 2014

Middle road sought for health food labels

In an attempt to cash in on consumers' growing interest in healthy eating, new varieties of fresh fruit and vegetables — each touting enhanced health-boosting properties — are making their way to supermarkets nationwide.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2014

India's diversity is Modi's burden

Whether new Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Gujarat state recipe can work well for all of India is problematic. India needs more competition, new ideas, new entrepreneurs — not new privileges for the rich
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jun 2, 2014

Generation gaps filled by brick and mortar

Though their numbers have dwindled in the developed world over the past century, multi-generation households are still common, and in fact may become even more common in countries where income gaps are increasing. In Japan, multi-generation households have social relevance owing to cultural norms, the...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 1, 2014

With an eye on Pakistan and China, Modi makes two key appointments

New Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen a daring former spy with years of experience in dealing with Pakistan as his national security adviser, a move that officials say signals a more muscular approach to New Delhi's traditional enemy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
May 23, 2014

Is Mideast xenophobia stalling cure for MERS virus?

In a north London laboratory one Saturday in September 2012, an email arrived from a team of virologists in the Netherlands that spooked even some of the world's most seasoned virus handlers.
JAPAN / Politics
May 20, 2014

Divided coalition begins defense talks

The ruling coalition kicked off discussions Tuesday aimed at overcoming a fundamental division on whether the Cabinet should reinterpret the Constitution and upgrade Japan's defense posture in a changing security environment.
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2014

Narendra Modi: India's Shinzo Abe

Just as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's return to power in late 2012 reflected Japan's determination to reinvent itself as a more competitive and confident country, Narendra Modi's election victory reflects Indians' desire for a dynamic, assertive leader to help revitalize their country's economy and security.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 20, 2014

Washington mixes signals about aims toward China

Even while reconfirming its 'pivot to Asia,' Washington tries to construct multifaceted bilateral ties with Beijing, raising questions about the ultimate fate of longtime alliances between the U.S. and a number of Asia-Pacific countries.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo