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Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Oct 30, 2017

Lower House voter turnout second-lowest in postwar era

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced the final figures for voter turnout on Oct. 23. The typhoon didn't help.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 30, 2017

Rohingya asylum seekers face dim prospects of gaining refugee status in Japan

The plight of Rohingya Muslims has made headlines as the Myanmar military's escalating attacks against the ethnic group, often described in media reports as "one of the world's most persecuted minorities," have captured global attention.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Oct 30, 2017

Some war-displaced return to Marawi to find their homes either leveled or looted

Khaliluddin Ismail returned home Sunday after five months of war in the southern Philippines to find his house ransacked. But he's still smiling.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 30, 2017

Apple may tweak facial recognition technology to get iPhone X to market

As of early fall, it was clearer than ever that production problems meant Apple Inc. wouldn't have enough iPhone Xs in time for the holidays. The challenge was how to make the sophisticated phone — with advanced features such as facial recognition — in large enough numbers.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 28, 2017

Organ donations and transplants still face obstacles in Japan

It has been 20 years since the government legalized organ transplants from brain-dead donors, and seven years since the law was revised to allow children to donate organs and families to approve organ donations of loved ones unilaterally.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 26, 2017

Twitter could turn first-ever profit in 4Q as it slashes expenses

Twitter Inc. said on Thursday it could turn its first ever profit in the fourth quarter, after making sweeping cuts in expenses the past few months and finding sources of revenue beyond the advertising that dominates social media.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 26, 2017

Wanted: A better defense of modern-day capitalism

Capitalism is taking on new forms in the 21st century, and the old arguments to defend it no longer have any relevance.
WORLD / Society
Oct 24, 2017

U.K. lobbies for transgender rights but seeks to retain the term 'pregnant women'

Britain is seeking to extend to transgender people protection granted to women in pregnancy by a U.N. treaty but has not asked for the term "pregnant women" be dropped from the text, the government said on Monday after controversy over its wording.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Oct 22, 2017

Defiant Cambodia Daily is down but not out

Tokyo-based publishing family hopes to resurrect paper that was forced to shut last month amid claims it owes Cambodia a huge tax bill.
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2017

Slow regional revitalization

The demographic challenges confronting the nation are indeed enormous, but the regional revitalization policy of the Abe administration has so far accomplished little.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2017

Experts call on Japan to promote inclusivity with 2020 Paralympics and bring Asia up to speed

The 2020 Tokyo Paralympics will provide a key opportunity for Japan to promote a more inclusive society, sports experts said at a symposium in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 20, 2017

WHO works to contain plague that has killed 94 on Madagascar

A plague epidemic has killed 94 people on the island of Madagascar and could spread further, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Oct 20, 2017

New H7N9 bird flu strain in China has pandemic potential, U.S.-Japanese lab studies find

Lab experiments on a new strain of the H7N9 bird flu suggest the virus can pass easily among animals and can cause lethal disease, raising alarms that it has the potential to create a global human pandemic.
JAPAN / Politics / Decision 2017
Oct 20, 2017

Campaigns focus on economy and Constitution, but nuclear disaster-hit Fukushima sees other priorities

For Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the two biggest election-defining issues of Sunday's Lower House poll are how to spend the additional revenue from the planned consumption tax hike in 2019 and how to deal with North Korea's nuclear threat. Leaders from other parties see either proposing or preventing revisions...
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Oct 20, 2017

Kurdish officials say up to 100,000 have fled Kirkuk since Iraqi army takeover, fearing reprisals

Kurdish officials said on Thursday thousands of their people had fled the Kirkuk region fearing persecution since Iraqi armed forces retook it following a referendum on Kurdish independence that was rejected by Baghdad.
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Oct 18, 2017

Views from Osaka: Will you vote on Sunday? If so, based on what? If not, why not?

Japanese citizens in Kansai's commercial capital were asked whether they plan to cast a ballot in the Oct. 22 Lower House poll — and why (or why not).
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2017

Osaka, Japan's gritty second city, suddenly a destination amid Asian tourist boom

Amid the gloom and struggle that Osaka has gone through in recent years, a tourism boom has been an unexpected boon for Japan's gritty second city.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Oct 17, 2017

Macau plans 'simulated attacks' in security ramp-up after Vegas shooting

Authorities in the Chinese territory of Macau have ramped up security measures following the deadly Las Vegas shooting this month and unveiled plans for a series of mock attacks and crisis training to safeguard the world's largest gambling hub.
JAPAN / Politics / Decision 2017
Oct 16, 2017

Edano taking center stage as CDP gains momentum

Yukio Edano, founder and president of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, is taking the spotlight ahead of the general election.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 16, 2017

Austria shifts to right as conservative star Kurz seals election win

Young conservative star Sebastian Kurz is on track to become Austria's next leader after Sunday's election, but his party is far short of a majority and likely to seek a coalition with the resurgent far right.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Oct 14, 2017

Sound artist Aki Onda explores memory through sound

'I never miss Japan,' says New York resident Aki Onda. 'Now I have a distance — that's why I enjoy going back to Tokyo.'
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 13, 2017

U.S. coalition airstrikes seen taking heavy civilian toll as families flee Raqqa and Islamic State holdouts

Air raids by U.S. coalition warplanes have intensified in recent days as Kurdish and Arab militias seek to drive surrounded Islamic State militants from their last strongholds in Syria's Raqqa — but the toll on civilians has been severe.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 12, 2017

Islamic State takes credit as suicide bomber trio kill at least two in Damascus police HQ attack

Three men blew themselves up near the police headquarters in central Damascus on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring six others, state media said, citing the interior ministry.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA
Oct 10, 2017

Rakuten, NBA teaming up in media partnership deal

Rakuten, Inc. is active in expanding its brand on a global scale, partnering with some of the world's most famous sports teams like soccer powerhouse FC Barcelona and the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors this year.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 8, 2017

Freeing Japanese from English trauma

Recently, I have seen two trends going on regarding English communication skills in Japan. One is the heightened interest in developing English skills among young children. The other is the high expectation for auto-translation, particularly for English-Japanese.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Oct 7, 2017

Monk Kaishun Nishigaya's voyage from Japan to Seattle, Alaska and Saipan

Nishigaya was offered a resident ministry at Seattle Nichiren Buddhist Church and, undeterred by the 14-day journey by ship to reach the United States, snapped it up.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 7, 2017

Hate speech thrives on social media platforms

On Sept. 8, the anti-hate speech group Tokyo No Hate demonstrated in front of the Tokyo offices of Twitter. The group wants the social networking service to police its users more diligently with regard to racist and other discriminatory tweets.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person