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JAPAN
Sep 12, 2014

Daily Asahi Shimbun retracts faulty Fukushima story, sacks top editor

The Asahi Shimbun on Friday carried front page articles and an apology concerning an erroneous article that alleged workers fled the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant during the meltdown crisis in March 2011, retracting the scoop story that drew strong criticism from the public, lawmakers and government...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 6, 2014

Push for casinos runs into headwinds

Until a few months ago, it seemed a sure thing that casinos would be open in Tokyo by the time the Olympics rolled around in 2020. For years now, a group of lawmakers have been working to legalize gambling resorts in Japan, and Tokyo was considered the ideal place for them thanks to the capital's ease...
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 1, 2014

Top Chinese university warns against criticizing Communist Party

One of China's top universities has urged students and teachers to "fight against" criticism of the ruling Communist Party, an influential party journal said, in the latest curbs on free expression.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 22, 2014

Polarizing Abe learns the long game

Shinzo Abe is one of Japan's most polarizing prime ministers in decades. He may also have a good shot at becoming that rarity in Japanese politics — a long-serving leader.
EDITORIALS
Aug 7, 2014

The right path to pursue peace

The city of Hiroshima marks the 69th anniversary of its atomic bombing under completely different circumstances than in previous years, what with the Abe administration's recent decision to change the government's constititutional re-interpretation that paves the way for Japan's possible participation in military conflicts overseas in the name of collective self-defense.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 14, 2014

Minesweeping in Mideast 'OK under changes'

The Cabinet's recent decision to reinterpret the pacifist Constitution means that Japan would be allowed to engage in a minesweeping operation in the Strait of Hormuz even without a cease-fire in place, as long as three self-imposed legal conditions would be met, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tells a special Diet session.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 7, 2014

Can Japan's democracy survive Abe's designs?

Many Japanese are so happy to have a leader who's acting boldly that they seem willing to give Shinzo Abe the benefit of the doubt when he does exactly what they and others oppose.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jun 22, 2014

About half opposes collective self-defense

A Kyodo News survey said 48.1 percent of the public opposes allowing the government to legally exercise Japan's right to collective self-defense and 39 percent support it.
JAPAN / Politics
May 22, 2014

Komeito to LDP: Self-defense not same as collective defense

The Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito remain at odds as the ruling coalition debates the contentious proposal to revamp defense policy by reinterpreting the Constitution.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2014

Defensive realignment with U.S. a balancing act for Abe

For Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, exercising the right to collective self-defense will help Japan become what he calls a "normal" country on a more equal footing with the United States.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 21, 2014

Is Japan a 'normal' country simply trying to stick out?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's apparent aspirations for Japan to become a 'normal' country again are undermined by the government's attempts to impose conformity and limit freedoms.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2014

China wages media war around missing jet

A 'news media war' has broken out in China over the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, as loyal local news outlets face an abstract entity commonly known in China as the 'foreign media.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 19, 2014

The media get ready for open season on Tanaka

"In the Spring," wrote Alfred, Lord Tennyson in his famous poem "Locksley Hall," "a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love."
Reader Mail
Apr 16, 2014

Confused by energy conclusion

I am slightly confused over Jeff Kingston's April 6 Counterpoint article, "Lessons of Fukushima: Reactor restarts are unwise". It focuses on the findings of an online report by Kingston's colleague Kyle Cleveland, titled "Mobilizing Nuclear Bias: The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis and the Politics of Uncertainty."...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 31, 2014

Call the sitter: Parents resort to online services out of economic necessity

Most Japanese parents who use babysitters do so because of work obligations.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Mar 26, 2014

Japan's Constitution: never amended but all too often undermined

If Japan's unwritten constitution is already so flexible, why are Abe and his party so bent on amending the written one?
Reader Mail
Mar 26, 2014

Curious caller on Anne Frank

Regarding the March 25 Reuters article "Abe hails 'lessons of history' on visit to Anne Frank house": A couple of factors need to be addressed.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 22, 2014

Media await rightist ex-general's next move

"Thank you, everyone," wrote Toshio Tamogami in his weekly column in Shukan Asahi Geino (Feb. 27). "This has given me great courage toward my next move."
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 5, 2014

U.S. and Japanese apologies for war crimes could pave way for nuclear disarmament

Acknowledging responsibility for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan's rampage across Asia could serve as first steps toward a world free of nuclear weapons.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 27, 2014

Have your say on English education

Letters and online responses to the Jan. 6, 13 and 20 Learning Curve columns by Teru Clavel on English education.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Jan 15, 2014

Three cases, three paths to legitimacy for Supreme Court

When I began studying Japanese, one of my goals was to be able to read the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's version of The Wall Street Journal. Achieving that goal, however, meant realizing that it is possibly The Most Boring Newspaper on Earth.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 12, 2014

Readers speak up about the obstacles Japan faces in English education

Letters in response to the Jan. 6 Learning Curve column by Teru Clavel, "English fluency hopes rest on an education overhaul." Letters have been edited for size.
Reader Mail
Jan 8, 2014

Helping animals in Fukushima

Regarding the Dec. 31 article "In Fukushima, abandoned pets are multiplying": Thank you for picking up this topic. I wish all the people who simply left their pets behind in Fukushima after the 3/11 nuclear plant disaster would read this article.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 5, 2014

The outbreak of the Great War: 100 years on

On New Year's Day 1914, a respected weekly literary publication carried a long article penned by an author referred to only as A Rifleman. Entitled "Letters on War" and published in The New Age, an influential radical magazine in Britain, the three-page piece argued forcefully in favor of military conflict....
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2013

A year to become politically active

In 2014 the Japanese people risk having their rights to freedoms of the press, thought expression curtailed as a result of the state secrets protection bill that the Abe administration rushed through the Diet in December.
EDITORIALS
Dec 12, 2013

Repeal the state secrets law

Repeal of the recently enacted state secrets law appears indispensable for ensuring that Japan remains an open society with democratic principles fully upheld.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2013

Celebrity stands up to talent agency 'stalker'

Miss International, Ikuu00admi You00adshiu00admau00adtsu, files criminal and civil charges against one of Japan's most powerful talent agencies' executives for stalking her and attempting to ruin her career.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Dec 7, 2013

Impending Japan-China war has the makings of a Clancy classic

On Nov. 23, China announced the creation of a newly expanded air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, overlapping a large expanse of territory also claimed by Japan. The move has produced a visceral reaction in the Japanese vernacular media, particularly the weekly tabloids. Five...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji