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JAPAN
Feb 2, 2012

Okinawa poll meddling irks defense chief

A senior Defense Ministry official came under suspicion Wednesday of not only trying to tamper with the upcoming mayoral election in Ginowan but taking similar action in 2010 for a vote in Nago — the two cities in Okinawa deeply connected to the controversial relocation of the Futenma U.S. air base....
EDITORIALS
Feb 1, 2012

Epic information failure

It has surfaced that the government failed to keep minutes of meetings of various units it set up to cope with the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. In view of the disasters' historic significance and devastating...
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2012

Cyber-attack disrupts website of nuclear crisis panel

The website of the government-appointed panel probing the Fukushima disaster was hit by a cyber-attack Saturday night that lasted until Sunday morning.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jan 30, 2012

Royal challenge awaits Noda

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda appears strongly committed to revising the Imperial Household Law to let female members of the Imperial family remain in the royal family even if they marry commoners. The Imperial family is the oldest royal family in the world and Chapter 1 of the Japanese Constitution...
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2012

Bond yields could soar if Noda's tax hike plan stalls

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says doubling the consumption tax is a necessary remedy to address soaring debt and social welfare costs, and while his opponents don't disagree, they're still not going to let him do it.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Jan 26, 2012

Hirano backs Todai plan for fall enrollment

New education minister Hirofumi Hirano said he supports the University of Tokyo's recent proposal to shift the start of its academic year from April to autumn, a move that would put the school in line with international norms.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY
Jan 25, 2012

Conversations with Thaksin, Thailand's prime suspect

THE SHOCKING COUP: "The situation is no good." "It's just a matter of time," a top minister had told him. "We only have a few weeks left before they act." Another had told him: "Our days are numbered."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2012

Sales tax shouldn't be the priority: Takenaka

Before hiking the 5 percent consumption tax, the government should first cut trillions of yen in public spending and adopt measures to spur economic growth, former economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka says.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Jan 21, 2012

New defense chief says he won't take Futenma shortcut

New Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said he doesn't intend to draft a special bill to bypass the Okinawa governor's authority and start building a contentious new facility for the U.S. Futenma base.
COMMENTARY
Jan 21, 2012

Bring the world closer to Japan

Once the Cold War was over, globalism was widely expected to expand but has since lost its momentum due to the credit crunch stemming from the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the ensuing economic recession around the world. As a result, the World Trade Organization gave up in December on concluding...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2012

Foreign Ministry hires interpreters for media

Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba has begun providing simultaneous interpretation in English at his weekly press conferences to provide more information to the international community about Japan's diplomatic activities.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2012

Opposition quick to brand new defense chief an amateur

New Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka drew flak from the opposition camp Monday for making statements over the weekend that seemed to indicate Tokyo was intent on beginning the contentious relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa by the end of the year.
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Jan 15, 2012

Anniversary of Korean annexation, "harakiri" row halts Diet, Socialist Party-China communique, Kyoto Journal debuts

100 YEARS AGOSunday, Jan. 7, 1912
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 15, 2012

Recall, for inspiration, that young people made the last 'Japanese Spring'

How can Japan extricate itself from the morass it sank into two decades ago when its asset-inflated bubble burst? This is the question on nearly everyone's mind in this country today. One thing is for sure: You can't get out of quicksand by pulling on your own hair.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan