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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 12, 2019

Consumers look for ways to blunt impact of consumption tax hike

Japan's consumption tax on goods and services has arguably been unpopular from the get-go. Introduced at 3 percent in 1989 as a means of improving public finances, the rate was raised to 5 percent in 1997, 8 percent in 2014 and, from Oct. 1 of this year, to 10 percent.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 11, 2019

Hirokazu Kore-eda talks politics as Japan flexes its movie muscle in Busan

Japan once again shows a strong presence at the Busan International Film Festival, with director Hirokazu Kore-eda taking the award for Asian filmmaker of the year
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 11, 2019

The consumption tax hike delays painful spending reforms

Kicking the can down the road on social security reform should not be a policy option.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 7, 2019

'Beginning of the full capitulation': Thousands rally in Kyiv to protest autonomy plan for eastern Ukraine

Thousands of people gathered in Kyiv's main square on Sunday to protest President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's deal with Moscow to grant autonomy to Ukraine's pro-Russian rebel-held east as part of efforts to end a five-year conflict there.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 4, 2019

Japan Finance Minister Taro Aso plays down need for stimulus after tax hike

Finance Minister Taro Aso on Friday dismissed the need to boost fiscal stimulus to counter the impact of the consumption tax hike, despite expectations the government and the Bank of Japan may act to reduce pressure on the world's third-largest economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Oct 4, 2019

Rip-off bars are taking advantage of Japan's tourism boom

With the number of foreign tourists to Japan increasing by the year, authorities are warning visitors to steer clear of so-called rip-off bars.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 4, 2019

Indonesian student protests threaten Jokowi's reform pledges

Indonesia's biggest student demonstrations in decades are testing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's pledge to go all out in his second term to boost growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy, a former finance minister and a government adviser say.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 4, 2019

Dmitry Medvedev visits Cuba in show of Russian support amid U.S. hostility

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev kicked off an official two-day visit to Cuba on Thursday in a strong show of Russia's support for the communist-run island as it faces escalating pressure from the United States and resulting fuel shortages.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 2, 2019

Amid gleaming skyscrapers, Hong Kong's poor set aside hardships and join protests

Just before midnight in Hong Kong's Mong Kok district, a slight man in his 70s peels away from a crowd of protesters jeering at police. Behind him, a young woman calls out, "Be safe!"
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 30, 2019

Tenuous ties: Few signs of substance behind warming Sino-Japanese relations as communist China marks 70th anniversary

As Washington and Beijing increasingly clash over global primacy, Japan's own ties with communist-ruled China have experienced an upswing — at least on the surface — ahead of Tuesday's 70th anniversary of the People's Republic.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 29, 2019

British leader Boris Johnson referred to police watchdog over alleged misconduct linked to U.S. businesswoman

The government of London said it has referred Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Britain's police watchdog for potential investigation over allegations of misconduct involving a U.S. businesswoman while he was mayor of London.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 23, 2019

BOJ's next step down a narrow path

Other central banks will likely release fresh rounds of monetary easing, but Japan's central bank is out of ammunition.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Sep 21, 2019

Natsuyo Nobumoto Lipschutz: Getting the word out in the United States

Public speaking coach Lipschutz has a plenty to say about taking command of language in a foreign country.
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2019

Pope may meet Japanese man seeking retrial over death sentence

Pope Francis may meet Iwao Hakamada, who is seeking a retrial for his conviction in a 1966 quadruple homicide, during his visit to Japan in late November.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 7, 2019

In first sign of better ties, Russia and Ukraine begin long-awaited prisoner swap

Russia and Ukraine on Saturday began a long-awaited prisoner swap in a step that could ease bitter tensions over Moscow's annexation five years ago of the Crimea region.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 5, 2019

Wife of Honduran ex-President Porfirio Lobo given 58 years in prison for corruption

Former Honduran first lady Rosa Elena Bonilla, wife of former President Porfirio Lobo, was sentenced on Wednesday to 58 years in prison on charges of fraud and undue appropriation of funds, a spokesman for the nation's highest court said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2019

Benghazi port bustling again despite Libya's divisions and violence

The commercial port in Libya's second city Benghazi is working round the clock three years after reopening, attempting to raise revenues for its restoration and expansion.
Japan Times
Rugby
Aug 30, 2019

Former captain Brian O'Driscoll backs Irish to end slump before Rugby World Cup

Irish rugby legend Brian O'Driscoll believes Japan's players "will be licking their lips" at the prospect of facing an out-of-sorts Ireland at next month's Rugby World Cup, with a first-ever quarterfinal place for the Brave Blossoms the potential reward.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Aug 23, 2019

Chinese became largest foreign community in Okinawa in 2018, excluding U.S. military personnel

Chinese people became the largest group of foreign nationals living in Okinawa Prefecture in 2018, surpassing American residents — excluding personnel on U.S. military bases and their dependents — for the first time since a new calculation method was employed in 2012.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 21, 2019

Russian-backed Syrian army poised to take key Idlib town hit by sarin in 2017 after rebels withdraw

Syrian government forces look set to recover a strategic town that has been in rebel hands since 2014 in a major Russian-backed offensive into the opposition's last major stronghold.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 15, 2019

Decluttering the Japan-South Korea debate

Accusations that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stands to gain politically by getting tough with South Korea miss the mark.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League / B. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Aug 8, 2019

Many Japan alumni a part of marquee summer event

The Basketball Tournament has grown in prominence as a new summer tradition during its brief history.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2019

The West has problems, but so do Russia and China

Protests in Hong Kong and Russia show the limits of what many see in the West as autocratic power.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2019

Asian business bloodlines on brink as lack of heirs pushes owners into arms of private equity

After 37 years in business, Shigeru Nagatomi handed over the keys in December last year. Nagatomi Pharmacy Corp., the Kyushu medical supplies shop bearing his family name, had grown to 23 dispensing pharmacies in Oita Prefecture .

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.