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Reader Mail
Jul 9, 2014

English for third graders lagging

Since the education ministry announced its plan in October 2013 to start English education from the third grade of elementary school, more than half a year has passed and the ministry still has not decided when to start. Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, Japan faces the problem of how to improve and...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2014

Yahoo cyberattacks reveal gaping holes in Japan Inc.'s hacking shield

Shortly after the alert sounded at 9:10 p.m., Yahoo Japan Corp.'s risk team knew it had a problem. More than 20 million usernames and passwords belonging to its customers were being dumped into a file, primed to be stolen.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 9, 2014

First legal pot shops open in Washington state

Eager customers lined up before dawn on Tuesday as Washington became the second U.S. state to allow the sale of marijuana for recreational use, although shortages and high prices were likely to accompany any euphoria.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AT A GLANCE
Jul 7, 2014

Asakusa paints traditional Tokyo in a popular light

As one of Japan's representative tourist destinations, the Asakusa district never ceases to attract people looking for a taste of traditional downtown Tokyo. The 30 million visitors it draws each year are a testament to its popularity.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 4, 2014

Raising women's profiles, Cabinet names four as ministry bureau chiefs

To increase the number of female bureaucrats, the Cabinet promotes four women to bureau chief at four ministries where women have never held such lofty ranks.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2014

Lower school age and offer free preschool, education panel says

Japan should offer free education for children as young as 3 years old and reduce the age at which all children must start school, from 6 to 5, a government panel on education reform advised Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 1, 2014

Timeline of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement

July 1997: Hong Kong is handed back to Chinese authorities after more than 150 years of British control. Tung Chee-hwa, a Shanghai-born former shipping tycoon with no political experience, is hand-picked by Beijing to rule the territory following the takeover.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 30, 2014

Rakuten exec takes action to help moms

Mie Kurosaka, Rakuten Inc.'s first female executive, returned to work at Japan's biggest online mall operator only three weeks after giving birth in 2002.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 28, 2014

Abe fishing for casino card to help growth

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is nudging lawmakers to legalize Las Vegas-style casino gambling in Japan to help boost economic growth, but he faces tough odds winning lawmakers over.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2014

Ajinomoto looks to take 'umami' worldwide

Ajinomoto Co., the creator of monosodium glutamate flavoring more than 100 years ago, plans acquisitions and is looking to expand in Poland as it seeks growth in frozen food and seasoning in Europe and the United States.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2014

Casino legislation? Abe says you bet

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his ruling party will seek to pass a law in the next Diet session to legalize casinos as part of a plan to boost tourism before the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2014

Expanding roles for working women

The situation on gender issues may not be exactly the same in Germany and Japan, but the two countries have similar agendas; men and women must change their mentality to increase the number of female leaders, eight experts on gender issues from the two countries concluded.
Reader Mail
Jun 25, 2014

A plea for more public seating

"Duty-free reform to boost tourism" and the June 18 article "Narita Express train headed to Mount Fuji" are more ideas to boost foreign tourism in Japan, to encourage people to visit and shop here, and to make the country more inviting.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2014

Lawmaker apologizes for sexist jibe

A Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker apologized on Monday for shouting a sexist remark last week at a female colleague from Your Party during a plenary session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.
BASKETBALL
Jun 22, 2014

Kawachi appointed to JBA board

Toshimitsu Kawachi, the commissioner of the bj-league since its establishment in 2004, on Saturday was appointed to the Japan Basketball Association board, which has been tasked with forming the new, tentatively named P League for the 2016-17 season.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2014

Gambling experts await green light

At last month's Global Gaming Expo Asia (G2E) in Macau, casino and resort operators, game machine manufacturers, government officials and countless others gathered to review gaming laws and markets in countries ranging from Vietnam to China and the Philippines.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 22, 2014

University is not a business

Members of the Industrial Competitiveness Council and others are headed down a dead-end road trying to remake the governance of Japan's universities after that of business corporations.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jun 22, 2014

All-consuming school clubs worry foreign parents

School club activities — something that most Japanese parents accept as a normal and desirable rite of passage in their child's development — can leave foreign parents quaking in their boots at what lies ahead.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2014

Japan urged to do more to promote its language overseas

Japan needs to make bigger efforts to promote its culture and gain public support for the promotion of Japanese-language education overseas, according to a linguistics scholar who has taught the language for more than 40 years in the United States.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2014

Population woes crowd Japan

Holding Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's demographic red line will be difficult unless Japan opens the door to immigration, a step policymakers have no intention of taking.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 21, 2014

'Be visible,' top female lawmaker urges women

Japanese women in leadership positions need to do more to become role models for those trying to rise through the ranks if Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's campaign against gender inequality is to succeed, according to the nation's top female lawmaker.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2014

Son commits to Wi-Fi spots for foreign visitors

SoftBank Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son said Friday the company will offer free Wi-Fi to foreign tourists in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2014

China turning its attention to the Middle East

Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent invitation to Arab states to upgrade their strategic relationships with China reflects Beijing's broader goal of rebalancing its focus westward in response to America's 'pivot' toward Asia.

Longform

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How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan