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JAPAN / Politics
May 2, 2018

Ex-aide to Abe likely to admit meeting with Kake official in LDP move to mitigate opposition criticism

Tadao Yanase, a government official allegedly involved in the favoritism scandal involving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is expected to admit he met with a Kake Gakuen representative in April 2015.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Apr 20, 2018

Did North Korea's Kim Jong Un just remove a key stumbling block in negotiations with the U.S.?

By affirming that American troops can stay in South Korea under a possible nuclear deal, did North Korean leader Kim Jong Un just remove a key stumbling block in negotiations with the United States?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 7, 2018

In Japan no one wants to talk about sex education

The English 'penis' — which rhymes with 'Venice' in katakana — is the preferred technical term when discussing male genitalia in Japan, but even that seems to be taboo in broadcast situations.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 13, 2018

Australia to stress international law in South China Sea dispute

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was set to hail Tuesday the role of international law in settling regional conflicts, comments apparently aimed at bolstering Australian efforts to build a coalition against Chinese assertiveness.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 14, 2017

Democrats smell blood and bask in Alabama poll win as Republicans point fingers at Steve Bannon

Democrats said on Wednesday their U.S. Senate victory in Alabama could lead to a sweeping comeback for the party in 2018 elections, while Republicans sought to assess blame for a defeat in one of the country's most conservative states.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 7, 2017

As Trump was sworn in, Michael Flynn texted Russia sanctions to be 'ripped up' to speed reactor deal: whistle-blower

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn promised a business associate before the inauguration of Donald Trump that U.S. sanctions with Russia would be "ripped up" by the incoming administration, according to a witness account described by House Democrats.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Nov 14, 2017

Myanmar military denies any atrocities against Rohingya, replaces general in charge of Rakhine

Myanmar's army released a report on Monday denying all allegations of rape and killings by security forces, having days earlier replaced the general in charge of the operation that drove more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2017

Giant pumpkins a marvel of science

Record-breaking pumpkins have long since passed the ton mark, and they get bigger every year. The only constraint may be the laws of physics.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Oct 24, 2017

Hanyu on track in preparations for Pyeongchang

Yuzuru Hanyu is continuing to build momentum in his run toward a second straight Olympic gold medal.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 6, 2017

Making the case for a Trump visit to Okinawa

U.S. President Donald Trump can demonstrate the U.S. defense committment to the Senkaku Islands by visiting Okinawa next month.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Oct 1, 2017

Playing on a good sense of humor

There are some things in life that are designed just for fun. And why not?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 2, 2017

Pyongyang university to start classes without American staff due to travel ban

Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), North Korea's only Western-funded university, will start the fall semester without its dozens of American staffers after failing to secure exemptions to a U.S. travel ban that started on Friday.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Aug 7, 2017

Kagoikes arrested over alleged Moritomo Gakuen subsidy fraud

The Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office's special investigation unit on July 31 arrested Yasunori Kagoike, 64, former chief of Moritomo Gakuen in Osaka, and his wife, Junko, 60, for allegedly defrauding the central government of public subsidies.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2017

Tokyo plans new effort to ease commuter hell on rush-hour trains

Riding packed commuter trains pressed against strangers may be one of the worst parts of living in Tokyo, made worse by groping and long delays from people who commit suicide by jumping onto the tracks.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 16, 2017

Officials deny remarks attributed to them in Kake papers

Two senior government officials deny making the smoking-gun remarks linked to them in the Kake Gakuen document leak, pitting the education ministry against Prime Minister Abe's Cabinet.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 15, 2017

Education ministry says Kake papers exist after follow-up probe, dealing a blow to Abe's Cabinet

Education minister Hirokazu Matsuno said Thursday that the ministry has found digital copies of 14 of 19 documents related to the Kake Gakuen scandal, including those suggesting the Cabinet Office pressured the ministry to approve a university project citing "the intent" of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe....
EDITORIALS
Jun 2, 2017

Unanswered Kake Gakuen questions

The Diet needs to seek clear answers to the questions that continue to surround the Kake Gakuen issue.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 19, 2017

The grand fiction called missile defense

Japan's vulnerability to an attack by multiple North Korean missiles is leading the government to consider developing a preemptive strike capability.
JAPAN / Media
Mar 31, 2017

Uncovering the truth in the era of fake news

About three years ago, Makoto Watanabe, then an investigative reporter at The Asahi Shimbun newspaper, had a "hunch," based on his experience covering the pharmaceutical industry, that an advertising agency might be paying a major news organization to write stories about certain drugs to promote companies...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 25, 2017

Radiation brings fear, and kids let it all out

Children too young, one might think, to even know the word 'radiation' have picked it up and flung it with gleeful malice at disoriented new classmates who have enough to cope with already.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 1, 2017

Trump's first address to joint session of U.S. Congress

Remarks as prepared for delivery and released by the White House.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past