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COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Apr 12, 2015

Bridging corruption and legitimacy: amakudari

Amakudari reaches into almost every aspect of civil and economic life, quietly taking its cut in the form of higher prices, obscure but lucrative monopolies and seemingly bizarre regulations.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2015

U.S. alienating European allies

Trans-Atlantic relations are worse than they have been in some years, as Europeans widely attribute the new jihadism, the chaos in Iraq, Syria and Libya, the newly proclaimed Islamic State group, tension with Iran, and the sinister turn of events in Israel/Palestine to American irresponsibility and adventurism.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 18, 2015

Food concerns mount in Vanuatu after monster cyclone

International aid agencies ramped up appeals for cyclone-hit Vanuatu on Wednesday, warning that the powerful storm that affected more than two-thirds of the South Pacific island nation had wiped out crops and destroyed fishing fleets, raising the risk of hunger and disease.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2015

Poroshenko aims for arms by calling for peacekeepers

It's a shame that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's call for U.N. peacekeepers to help enforce the Minsk ceasefire is so belated and insincere.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2015

What does Vladimir Putin really want in Ukraine?

Sowing confusion is how Russian President Vladimir Putin, increasingly isolated from Western conversations, keeps the world on its toes about the conflict in Ukraine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 27, 2014

Learning to love robots

With half the decade complete, we examine an industry that has significantly changed the way we think about ourselves.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 7, 2014

Putin allies channeled billions to Ukraine oligarch with sweetheart deals

In Russia, powerful friends helped him make a fortune. In the United States, officials want him extradited and put behind bars. In Austria, where he is currently free on bail of $155 million, authorities have yet to decide what to do with him.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2014

As Chinese live longer, Alzheimer's cases rise

The Chinese government should be prepare for a sharp rise in the number of dementia patients as the world's second largest country's population rapidly ages.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2014

Danger from loose nukes in volatile countries

The inherent danger in possessing nuclear assets becomes far more acute in a combat zone, such as today's Middle East, where nuclear materials and weapons are at risk of theft, and reactors can become bombing targets.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 7, 2014

Synthetics strike fear in the heart of world diamond industry

Diamonds are a girl's best friend — but only if they are natural.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
Jul 19, 2014

New sports center symbol of Haiti's recovery

Haiti's recovery from the 2010 earthquake that devastated the Caribbean nation is a slow, difficult process.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2014

Abe and Aquino pledge stronger security ties

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Philippine President Benigno Aquino III pledged Tuesday to deepen security cooperation, at a time when their countries are facing growing military assertiveness from China.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 26, 2014

Security revamp mulls SDF role in policing coastal areas

The push to address low-intensity conflicts explores the idea of letting the SDF assume the policing functions of the Japan Coast Guard to respond more quickly.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 23, 2014

Thai army chief summons ousted PM for talks a day after coup

Thailand's army chief, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, will begin to govern a polarized country on Friday, a day after he seized power in a bloodless coup in a bid to end six months of turmoil.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2014

Regional reactions to the protests in Vietnam

Reversing China's oil-drilling activities in a part of the South China China also claimed by Vietnam may be asking too much. But it will take more than Washington's finger wagging to convince Beijing that there is real cost against taking further steps.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 9, 2014

U.N. accuses both sides in South Sudan conflict of crimes against humanity

The United Nations on Thursday accused both government and rebel forces in South Sudan of committing crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and other sexual violence, during almost five months of fighting that has left thousands of people dead.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 1, 2014

Abe eases weapons export rules

The Cabinet approves eased principles and guidelines for weapons exports, ending a strict ban that lasted nearly 50 years as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sets the stage for Japan to play a more active role in global security.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 28, 2014

Anniversary of NATO's Kosovo airstrikes fuels Russian cries of hypocrisy

Russian television this past week has blasted viewers with 15-year-old footage of NATO bombing raids, burning buildings and wounded people in the Balkans to step up a media campaign against the West over the Crimea crisis.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2014

Nuclear peril should galvanize Asian leadership

This week leaders from around the world gather in the Netherlands at the third Nuclear Security Summit to discuss and agree on actions that should be taken to reduce nuclear risks in Asia and elsewhere.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 14, 2014

Lithuania won't recognize Crimea referendum: envoy

As Sunday's referendum in Ukraine's Crimea approaches, the visiting Lithuanian foreign minister called Russia's de facto occupation of the territory an act of aggression against a sovereign nation and said the Baltic state will not recognize the election results.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2014

Big power talks on Ukraine crisis make little progress

High-level diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine made little apparent headway at talks in Paris on Wednesday with Moscow and Washington at odds and Russia's foreign minister refusing to recognize his Ukrainian counterpart.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2014

Color-coding won't explain mess in Thailand

Recent developments in Thailand may put paid to the international media's tendency to make sense of the protests by describing the 'red shirts' as representing the poor and the 'yellow shirts' as the elite.
EDITORIALS
Feb 5, 2014

Stalemate in Syria

The first round of Syrian peace talks began in controversy, proceeded in the most formal of terms, then concluded after a week with a whimper. A second round is uncertain.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2013

No Chinese jets scrambled: Japan

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera denies China's claim it scrambled fighter jets in response to Self-Defense Forces aircraft entering its new air defense zone.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2013

Tokyo cries foul over China's declaration of air defense zone

Beijing's setting up an air defense identification zone over a section of the East China Sea violates a basic rule under international law and is a 'very dangerous' move that could lead to 'an unexpected event,' a high-ranking Japanese official warns.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 27, 2013

Rajapaksa: Sri Lanka's affable authoritarian?

Down in the deep south of Sri Lanka, where life usually moves at a leisurely pace, there is one small town that is less tranquil. Hambantota — population 20,000 — is expanding fast. There is a vast new deepwater port, built with $360 million of borrowed Chinese cash; a new 35,000-seat cricket stadium;...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 12, 2013

Myanmar takes helm of ASEAN while sectarian violence persists

Myanmar last week took the baton from the Sultan of Brunei, assuming the rotating chair in 2014 of Asia's most important regional organization, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2013

Japan must go green

In releasing the first part of its fifth assessment report on Sept. 27, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that temperatures are likely to rise by 0.3 to 4.8 degrees Celsius and sea levels could rise by 26 to 82 cm by the end of the 21st century compared with the latest 20 years.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Aug 29, 2013

West missed chances to cut arsenal

The United States and its allies may be headed for a war that they could have tried harder to prevent.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 9, 2013

The Central African Republic abandoned to its violent fate

It was dusk when armed Seleka rebels dragged the teenager from the road leading north toward Kobe. They pulled her into the jungle and raped her for several hours. Her friend, Lisa Moussa, 17, was more fortunate. As soon as she saw the rebels, she began running. They tried to kill her, shooting until...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami