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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2015

Asian supply lines hit by U.S. West Coast ports dispute

A labor dispute at ports on the U.S. West Coast is disrupting supply chains across the Pacific, forcing some Asian exporters to resort to costly air freight and pushing up shipping rates as more freighters are caught up in long lines to dock.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Pope decries beheading of Egyptian Christians in Libya

Pope Francis expressed deep sadness at the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya, departing from the script of an address on Monday to emphasise the unity of all Christians regardless of the denomination they follow.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Battle rages for town where Ukraine rebels reject cease-fire

Pro-Russian rebels pounded encircled Ukrainian government forces on Monday and Kiev said it would not pull back heavy guns while a truce was being violated, leaving a European-brokered peace deal on the verge of collapse.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 17, 2015

Liberia reopens dozens of schools as Ebola wanes

Thousands of Liberian children in pristine uniforms flocked back to school on Monday as classrooms opened their doors for the first time after a six-month hiatus designed to stem the spread of the worst Ebola outbreak in history.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Turkey closes Yemen embassy after telling citizens to leave

Turkey has closed its embassy in Yemen, the Foreign Ministry in Ankara said on Monday, the latest of a number of foreign powers to withdraw their diplomats as the country's civil conflict worsens.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Forces loyal to ex-president take over part of Aden

Forces loyal to Yemen's former president seized government buildings in the southern city of Aden on Monday after a five-hour battle, sources said, escalating a civil conflict that threatens to split the country in two.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 16, 2015

Abe affirms bid to revise Constitution

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has confirmed his administration aims to revise the Constitution, saying in the Diet that amending the pacifist charter is one of his party's most sought-after goals.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 16, 2015

Who benefits from the new overtime pay system?

On Feb. 13, a Labor Policy Council sub-committee submitted to the labor ministry a report with suggestions for a bill to revise the labor standards law. The revision, which the ministry plans to submit to the next regular Diet session, applies to the work of skilled white collar professionals and will allow them to 'work in a manner that demonstrates their achievements' more effectively, which is another way of saying that employers will no longer be required to pay these workers overtime for extra hours on the job, which in turn means that employers cannot be accused of pressuring them to work overtime for no pay, a system popularly known as saabisu zangyo, or 'free overtime.'
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2015

Second Tokyo ward speaks of action on same-sex unions

The mayor of Setagaya has suggested his ward may seek to recognize same-sex unions, days after neighboring Shibuya district announced it would vote on the issue.
BUSINESS
Feb 16, 2015

Takata shares tumble after Honda denies financial help

Shares of Takata Corp., the maker of air bags that led to millions of vehicle recalls by global carmakers, fell the most in three weeks Monday after Honda Motor Co., its biggest customer, said it wouldn't provide financial help.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2015

Great War cost Europe a century

There was absolutely nothing noble about U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's intervention in Europe during the carnage of 1917. It led to a peace of vengeful victors, triumphant nationalists and avaricious imperialists — when the war would have otherwise ended in a bedraggled peace of mutually exhausted bankruptcies and discredited war parties.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2015

Twisted spending priorities of a graying nation

All Americans ought to want effective and efficient government, but government is being strangled as the rising costs of baby-boomer retirees reduce the capacity of other programs to fulfill their missions.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2015

Your toothpaste is destroying Asia's rainforests

You probably had some palm oil today, which is found in roughly half of the products sold in modern supermarkets. It is the cause of one of the world's biggest environmental catastrophes, the decimation of Southeast Asia's rainforests.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2015

New Ukrainian peace deal is wrapped in a time bomb

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will find it hard to spin the second Minsk cease-fire deal as his victory. At least Western leaders will still treat him as an ally.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2015

Artwork by Kenji Goto on display at Tokyo gallery

Journalist Kenji Goto's efforts to aid people living in conflict zones may have gone widely unnoticed if his kidnapping and beheading by the Islamic State militant group had not caused outrage worldwide last month.
EDITORIALS
Feb 16, 2015

Minsk II: a pause, not peace

The second Minsk accord in six months, which was 16 hours in the making, may freeze the conflict in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia rebels, but it appears to lock in Russia's ability to meddle in Ukrainian affairs.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2015

Time to rein in greedy airlines

Hundreds of millions of airline passengers are facing unnecessary turbulence as airlines squeeze as much money as possible from them, and governments look away rather than see that passengers get a fair deal.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2015

Breaking Europe's climate-change stalemate

If Europe is to remain an environmental leader as well as a center of innovation, it will have to embrace realistic solutions that can deliver environmental benefits without sacrificing economic development.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 16, 2015

Exercise your intuition as you untangle chaotic headlines

Being somewhat 背が高い (se ga takai, tall), I shamelessly confess my height advantage — I stand about 188 cm — has facilitated my ability to 盗み読み (nusumi-yomi, literally "theft-read," meaning to read over other people's shoulders) on public transport.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Feb 16, 2015

The magical word that means 'hello' and 'sorry' and 'thank you'

Today, we will introduce various ways to use the adverb u3069u3046u3082, which is difficult to translate into English.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Feb 16, 2015

Last year was Earth's hottest on record

Last year was Earth's hottest on record, two U.S. government agencies said Jan. 16.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Feb 16, 2015

In appearance on far-right TV, U.S. official calls Okinawa base protests 'hate speech'

A senior official for the U.S. military has branded anti-base demonstrations in Okinawa as 'hate speech' in an appearance on a rightist TV network in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Feb 16, 2015

Readers split over issue of U.S. military presence in Okinawa

Some emails and online comments in response to the claim by a U.S. military official that Okinawan protesters have faked their injuries.
BUSINESS
Feb 16, 2015

Japan has more car chargers than gas stations

There are more electric-car charging points in Japan than there are gas stations.

Longform

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