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JAPAN / Politics
May 17, 2015

Osakans cast ballots in historic referendum

Osaka voters head to the polls in a historic plebiscite that will decide the future structure of the city government.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 16, 2015

'Kantei Santa' makes himself heard over the din of the election vans

Is crime justified in the service of good?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
May 16, 2015

South Korean spy agency under scrutiny after reporting execution by Pyongyang

The South Korean spy agency's assertion that North Korea purged its defense chief and executed him with anti-aircraft fire is one of its boldest claims ever and, given the agency's checkered history, has come under growing scrutiny.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
May 15, 2015

Astroscale opens lab in Tokyo in bid to clean up space junk

A Singapore-based company that aims to sweep junk from space has expanded to Tokyo and has handed its biggest broom to 32-year-old female President Miki Ito.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 15, 2015

Abe Cabinet OKs bills to relax limits on SDF operations abroad

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet adopted two security bills on Thursday that would, if passed by the Diet, greatly expand the scope of the Self-Defense Forces' joint operations with foreign forces overseas.
EDITORIALS
May 14, 2015

Osprey deployment a risky move

Deploying Osprey aircraft at the Yokota base in Tokyo risks alienating the area's residents.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2015

GOP hawks twist Reagan's foreign policy legacy

A de facto peacenik who was horrified by the prospect of needless war, Ronald Reagan would be angry at Republican hawks' attempts to use his legacy to justify a failed foreign policy.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2015

Pope Francis is right to call for climate action

U.S. conservatives are dead wrong for criticizing Pope Francis' message on protecting the environment.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 14, 2015

Gunmen storm guest house in Kabul, at least one American dead

Gunmen stormed a guest house popular with foreigners in the Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday evening, police said, with at least one American killed and dozens others trapped by fighting between the attackers and rescuers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
May 13, 2015

Filmmakers Ash and Kamanaka discuss radiation, secrets and lives

Two filmmakers who have tackled the Fukushima issue — American and Japanese, storyteller and activist — discuss their work and their films, and consider the notion of 'being a 'foreign' filmmaker.'
JAPAN
May 13, 2015

Residents upset by move to base Ospreys at Yokota, municipalities cite broken promises

Some residents and municipalities near the Yokota Air Base are upset the U.S. military plans to deploy Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to the facility in western Tokyo.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 13, 2015

Saudi-led airstrikes hammer Sanaa hours before truce; U.S. urges Iran to divert freighter to Djibouti

Saudi-led airstrikes hit the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa on Tuesday hours before a five-day humanitarian truce was set to begin, and Washington cautioned against "provocative actions" after Iran dispatched a cargo ship to Yemen.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 12, 2015

Triumphant Giants stage seventh-inning comeback against Carp

The Yomiuri Giants beat Kenta Maeda in a close game again, and this time he helped them do it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2015

Little Englandism goes big in British elections

The unraveling of British identify, which started when Britain lost its empire, will likely accelerate in the months to come.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 11, 2015

If Japan can really say sorry

If Japan can really say sorry for its wartime actions, it will help the entire region.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 11, 2015

Imperial family will pay close attention to Abe's statement

The Abe administration's effort to break away from the postwar regime is a defiant political move to file a formal objection to the postwar Imperial family and to put Japan's best 'knowledgeable and thinking people' into a subordinate position.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 11, 2015

Ruling coalition reaches agreement on bills to expand SDF's role

The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito reach agreement on legislation that would expand the scope of the Self-Defense Forces' activities overseas and expand the areas in which they can operate.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 11, 2015

Drop base money goal to regain market's trust, ex-BOJ economist says

The Bank of Japan risks losing the confidence of investors by sticking to a bond-buying plan that is failing to drive inflation to its goal, says a former chief economist at the central bank.
JAPAN / Politics
May 11, 2015

LDP produces manga to make case for constitutional revision

The Liberal Democratic Party has published a new manga targeted at younger voters that argues the pacifist Constitution should be revised because it was hastily written in just eight days — by foreigners.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
May 11, 2015

Dinner, data part of Obama's courting of Democrats on trade authority, TPP

By the time Air Force One touched down in Oregon on Thursday before a pro-trade pep rally at Nike Inc., Rep. Suzanne Bonamici already had gotten the full Barack Obama treatment.
MORE SPORTS
May 10, 2015

Fujimitsu outsprints field for 200-meter triumph

One week after helping the Japan men's 4x100 meter relay team punch its ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics with a third-place finish in Nassau May 3, sprinter Kenji Fujimitsu shouldered the load all by himself and raced to a little more success on Sunday.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
May 10, 2015

Akita, Iwate, Hamamatsu, Shiga advance to Final Four

The Final Four picture is now set, and it's a decidedly different look this year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 10, 2015

Writers in Kyoto offers expats a forum to discuss state of publishing in Japan

Those who love the English language and the written word have always found like-minded souls to associate with, formally or informally, in cities where English-speaking expats and immigrants are located. In Japan, though, once one is outside Tokyo, such gatherings are rare.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
May 10, 2015

Perfect storm of factors conspires to empty Japan

While 'empty-house syndrome' may seem like a problem mostly afflicting rural Japan, it is already an issue in metropolises such as Tokyo and Osaka, and will become more so in the years to come.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 9, 2015

Dancing on the waves at Miyajima

"The mystery of the Orient is legendary . . . it was in the air the moment we stepped ashore in Kyoto, and now in Tokyo it began to envelop us." That's how Charlie Chaplin described his arrival in Japan. I'm not sure if the "Little Tramp" ever visited the island of Miyajima on any of his four trips to...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING
May 9, 2015

Stores struggle to adjust in a shrinking Japan

From McDonald's to izakayas and konbinis, food outlets are learning the hard way that as Japan's population drops, so will consumption.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan