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EDITORIALS
Feb 23, 2016

Get more serious on electoral reform

Electoral reform should focus on a fundamental solution to the disparity in the value of votes.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 22, 2016

Lawmakers can't break logjam over Japan's unequal voting districts

One month after an expert panel proposed key electoral reforms to correct wide vote-value disparities between urban and less-populated areas, major political parties remain divided on the issue.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Feb 21, 2016

As residents and reactors age, Fukui's fortunes fade

On a gray winter day late last month alternating between rain and sleet, many in the Sea of Japan town of Takahama, Fukui Prefecture, were feeling sunny. For the restart of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Takahama plant No. 3 reactor means not only a return to nuclear power, but a return of the money stream...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 13, 2016

Onagawa is on the rebound from devastation

On March 11, 2011, the magnitude-9 Great East Japan Earthquake propelled a powerful tsunami through the port of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, claiming 827 lives — nearly 10 percent of the town's population — and destroying 70 percent of all of its buildings. It was the most severely damaged town in...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 13, 2016

Japan is losing its drive to get behind the wheel

Even domestic automakers seem to be concentrating on expanding overseas as the market at home looks bleak.
EDITORIALS
Feb 13, 2016

Taking aim at alcohol abuse

The government is coming up with measures to address heavy drinking, but they don't go as far as they should.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 12, 2016

Happiness is a warm farm: How home cooking is reviving rural Yamagata

It's late January in Tokyo, and a rare 6-centimeter snowfall plunges the city's famously efficient transport network into chaos. Train lines report delays of up to four hours, leaving snaking lines of frustrated commuters steaming, despite the freezing temperatures.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2016

Tokyo's Ota Ward approves first short-term, Airbnb-style home rentals

An online travel service provider gets government accreditation to start renting out private homes on the model popularized by Airbnb.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 11, 2016

Rapidly aging Thailand tells businesses to hire more elderly

Pornsak Bowornsrisuk pulls an umbrella towards him to shield his head of thick gray hair from the blazing sunshine at the Bangkok bus terminal he manages.
EDITORIALS
Feb 10, 2016

Takahama's problematic restart

The restart of reactors at the Takahama nuclear power plant raises a number of worriesome issues.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 9, 2016

Japan should seek a society upholding human values

Japan can embrace its most positive characteristics and build on them to ensure an innovation-rich future.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2016

Is it time for the U.S. to dump Saudi Arabia?

Washington must accept the fact that Saudi Arabia is a major contributor to worldwide Islamic extremism and reevaluate its relationship with Riyahd.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Feb 7, 2016

As technology improves, future of organic solar cells looks bright

The stereotypical image of solar cells may be of panels placed on the roofs of homes or of vast rivers of panels lined up on large swaths of land, often called mega-solar projects.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2016

Japan's power producers scour forests in search of wood to burn

With almost 70 percent of its land covered by forests, Japan is leading a drive to return to wood as a source of cleaner energy.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 4, 2016

Olympics minister denies cash-for-favors allegation involving English teacher dispatch agency

Toshiaki Endo has admitted taking cash from the founder of a Tokyo teacher dispatch agency but said he did nothing wrong.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2016

Mitsui slashes profit forecast 21% amid rout in commodities

Mitsui & Co., the nation's second-biggest trading house, has lowered its full-year forecast 21 percent amid a collapse in commodity prices.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2016

Ministry tests smartphone app to navigate underground stations

The land ministry on Thursday started testing a smartphone app that provides detailed navigation services in underground areas around Tokyo Station.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 3, 2016

Travel ban fuels talk of Myanmar constitutional challenge

The party of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi has instructed its lawmakers not to leave the capital, rank-and-file members said, fueling speculation of a legal bid to sidestep a clause in the constitution barring the democracy champion from the presidency.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2016

An unforgiving look at 'Unbroken' in Japan

Flashback to 1983: Director Nagisa Oshima's "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence," set during World War II in a Japanese-run POW camp in Java, is opening in theaters across Japan. It starred David Bowie with two huge local stars: comedian Beat Takeshi and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. The film confronted the reality...
Japan Times
Rugby
Feb 1, 2016

JRFU lays out vision for future under new coach Joseph

Following the Japan Rugby Football Union's recent announcement that Jamie Joseph would take over as head coach of the men's national rugby union team, the governing body explained its selection process for Eddie Jones' successor and the team's plans for the future on Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 29, 2016

Despite spin, Amari's exit delivers major blow to Abe

The unexpected loss of Abenomics architect and TPP negotiator Akira Amari appears crafted to shield Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but trouble is on the way, experts say.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2016

Third reactor restart spurs fears over shaky Kansai evacuation plans

Kansai Electric fires up a reactor at the Takahama plant in Fukui despite misgivings about the region's ability to respond to a nuclear accident.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan