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JAPAN / Politics
Jan 26, 2018

Proposed Kibo no To policy criticizes Abe-backed security laws, but conservative members may balk

The leadership of Kibo no To (Party of Hope) on Friday proposed to rank-and-file members that the opposition party strongly criticize the controversial 2015 security laws pushed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a senior member and media reports said.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 3, 2018

In 2017, Japan woke up to the issue of discrimination

The year saw a landmark human rights survey and action on hate speech and pensions — but conditions remain dire for foreign 'trainees' and other workers alike.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Dec 27, 2017

Teachers and schools in Japan brace for icebergs in 2018

After a year of scandals and promises, the 'five-year rule' and demographic woes cast a shadow over education in 2018.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 19, 2017

Japan's theater world increasingly shed its insularities in 2017

Never mind those North Korean missiles that provide politicians with heaven-sent pretexts to posture. These days, everyone's talking about a boozy party held by Mongolian sumo wrestlers that turned violent reportedly because of a generational dispute over the arcane traditions of Japan's highly regimented...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Dec 13, 2017

Taunts, tweets and tough talk: Japan's quotes of 2017

Soundbites tell the story of a roller-coaster year for Japan, from its Diet to its dohyu014d.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2017

Government mulls conferring national award to Japanese shogi, go champions

Japan considers conferring the People's Honor Award to two shogi and go champions after the pair won all major titles in their respective games.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2017

Eight bodies found as second suspected North Korean boat washes up in Akita Prefecture

Eight bodies were discovered in a wooden 7-meter boat that washed ashore in Oga, Akita Prefecture, on the Sea of Japan coast facing North Korea, the Japan Coast Guard said Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 22, 2017

Abe's gamble pays off as ruling bloc bags two-thirds majority in Lower House

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition is certain of a resounding victory in the Lower House election that will give it a two-thirds majority.
BUSINESS
Oct 14, 2017

Balance of power: Shift toward renewable energy appears to be picking up steam

Five years ago, Japan introduced a feed-in tariff system in a bid to promote the introduction of renewable energy on a large scale following the collapse of public trust in nuclear power due to the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and subsequent triple meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Oct 5, 2017

Carlos Ghosn's protege faces first crisis with 'shocking' Nissan Japan recall

Carlos Ghosn, one of the auto industry's most celebrated turnaround artists, saved Nissan Motor Co. by managing himself out of numerous tight spots. Now his hand-picked successor faces a big test of his own, just six-months into his tenure as Nissan's chief executive officer.
EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2017

Abe's hardly convincing reason for snap election

His decision to call the snap poll seems driven by the political calculation that the LDP can maximize its seat gains — or minimize its possible losses — by catching the opposition off guard.
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Sep 19, 2017

Honda, Higuchi make early statements in race for Olympics

The battle for the two women's spots on Japan's team for the Pyeongchang Olympics began in earnest over the weekend as Marin Honda and Wakaba Higuchi participated in Challenger Series events on opposite sides of the globe.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Aug 15, 2017

Murakami aiming for spot on Olympic team

Earlier this month veteran skater Daisuke Murakami competed in and won the club competition at the Philadelphia Summer International in Aston, Pennsylvania. That was good news for the 26-year-old Murakami, who missed nearly all of last season with a broken right foot.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 5, 2017

Beleaguered Abe on the ropes as support weakens

The public has seen the true face of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and doesn't like what it sees.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 1, 2017

With support rate in free fall, Abe eyes veterans for key posts in Cabinet reshuffle

Announcement is widely seen as part of a desperate bid to shore up plummeting approval rate amid a spate of scandals.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 19, 2017

Inada faces flak over renewed claims of SDF-related cover-up

The Defense Ministry was hit again Wednesday by another apparent data cover-up scandal involving Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, prompting opposition lawmakers to further step up their calls for her immediate resignation.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2017

Watch what you do and say: Broader ramifications of the new conspiracy law cause concern

"Big Brother in the form of an increasingly powerful government and in an increasingly powerful private sector will pile the records high with reasons why privacy should give way to national security, to law and order ... and the like." — U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Douglas, 1970
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 19, 2017

A contrite Abe takes blame for support plunge

Taking a recent plunge in his Cabinet's support rate to heart, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe admits that his government's recent handling of alleged favoritism scandals was at fault for stoking voter distrust.

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