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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2016

U.S. may stop subsidizing Israeli defense firms

U.S. President Barack Obama would like to phase out the agreement that allows Israel to spend 26 percent of U.S. annual aid at home.
JAPAN / Media
May 28, 2016

Shooting the messenger: journalism under siege in Japan

Journalists who refuse to toe the official line are under pressure, experts say
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 30, 2016

Japan's meek media kowtows to the government

Last week I compared the Catholic Church in Boston and Japan's "nuclear village" of atomic-power advocates — two powerful institutions that stifled embarrassing revelations for some time. The Oscar-winning film "Spotlight" depicts the comeuppance of the church hierarchy after investigative reporters...
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 25, 2016

Supreme Court apologizes for discriminatory treatment of Japan's leprosy patients

The Supreme Court apologizes to former leprosy patients for allowing lower courts to hold criminal trials involving them outside standard courtrooms over ungrounded fears about the spread of infection.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Mar 13, 2016

Making an impression in Japan: a hanko primer

Everything you wanted to know about chops, from cheapo ¥100-shop seals to the Privy Seal of Japan, which is wielded by the Emperor and hewn from pure gold.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 27, 2016

Participation in society should be barrier-free

When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe formed a task force last year to promote greater citizen involvement in whatever it is he is trying to accomplish, many people objected to the name of the group. "Ichioku Sokatsuyaku" reminded them of a slogan used before and during World War II that demanded national solidarity...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2016

Russia learns stealth warplanes are hard to do

While the U.S. is building up its fleet of stealth warplanes, financial circumstances have prompted Russia to buy greater numbers of cheaper, non-stealthy jet fighters.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jan 21, 2016

Chinese currency chaos

China's 'supply-side structural reform' to deal with production overcapacity includes the risky strategy of devaluing the yuan.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 20, 2016

Japanese government doubles estimated tax-hike burden, stokes opposition anger

Tokyo suddenly raises its estimated per capita burden from next year's consumption tax hike, drawing protest from opposition lawmakers.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 13, 2016

Abe eyes using boosted tax revenue to cover food exemption shortfall

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe indicated Wednesday that the higher tax revenues — which he attributed to Abenomics — may be used to cover a shortfall when food is exempted from the coming tax hike.
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Dec 20, 2015

Nuclear power plants feared vulnerable to terrorist groups

Security at France's 58 nuclear power plants was purportedly raised to its highest level last month as a result of the terrorist attacks in Paris, stoking concern over the safety of Japan's nuclear facilities.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Nov 21, 2015

Roanoke mayor apologizes for Japanese internment remarks

The embattled mayor of Roanoke, Virginia, apologized Friday for comments earlier in the week citing the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II in a statement defending his push to keep Syrian refugees out of the area.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2015

Europe's approach to Syria exodus contrasts with Japan's dodging of refugees

As Europe faces what is possibly its greatest refugee crisis since World War II, the issue remains a faraway problem for Japan, which accepted a mere 11 refugees in 2014.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jun 27, 2015

The custodians of culture in Koishikawa

Exiting the Nanboku subway's Korakuen Station near Tokyo Dome, I gaze up at clouds resembling bunches of purple hydrangeas. Directly overhead, a roller coaster car swooshes by, its passengers shrieking, which is a good sign, because, despite its aquatic name, the Thunder Dolphin coaster doesn't run in...
JAPAN / Media
Jun 12, 2015

Times advisory board meets, offers recommendations

Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
May 15, 2015

Funassyi — Japan’s favorite shrieking pear

It's all going pear-shaped, and that's a good thing for Funabashi's popular mascot.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2015

Obama's lesson in how to not make peace in Afghanistan

U.S. President Barack Obama's faltering strategy to win over the Taliban serves as a cautionary tale of how not to make peace with an enemy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 8, 2015

We need to talk about Abe

Shinzo Abe is bent on making Japan a 'normal' country, but has he thought out the consequences of elevating the SDF to a full-fledged military?
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 8, 2015

Cameron's disappearing act

A German newspaper is leading a chorus of cruel comments about how British Prime Minister David Cameron shines nowadays by his absence on the international stage.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2015

U.S. to fine Takata $14,000 a day for resisting air bag probe

Takata Corp. will be fined $14,000 for each day it fails to cooperate with a U.S. investigation into defects in its air bags that have led to millions of car recalls worldwide.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 20, 2015

Officials pull plug on teacher survey about LGBT students

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Education Bureau has halted an independent survey of how junior high and high schools cater to sexual minorities, citing problems with some of the questions.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2014

Three 'geos' push the world but leave Russia in a cloud

All the colonial empires of the 20th century have given way to young nation-states and to a new kind of relations between a capital and its former colonies, yet official Russia goes on shedding tears about its disintegrated empire.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 5, 2014

Lewis brings storied career back to track as coach

It's too early to know if Carl Lewis will one day be considered a legendary track coach.

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