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Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 11, 2014

Despite ongoing civil war, Assad readies for election

After three years of grinding conflict, the destruction of whole city districts and an exodus of refugees all triggered by an uprising against his rule, President Bashar Assad is quietly preparing to be re-elected.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 31, 2013

Abe's quest to revive, reshape nation rides on the economy

Just six months ago, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was riding high after his party swept the Upper House election. Now things aren't looking so rosy.
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2013

With 8% hurdle cleared, Aso eyes 10% sales tax

Just a week after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his intention to raise the 5 percent consumption tax to 8 percent next April, Finance Minister Taro Aso said he was upbeat about raising the levy further to 10 percent.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 30, 2013

Hashimoto's Osaka merger dream in jeopardy

Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto was facing a critical battle. And he lost.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 29, 2013

Unions mull a 'Labor Party'

The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, feeling somewhat estranged from the Democratic Party of Japan, is mulling the idea of realigning opposition parties into a labor party.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2013

CCP's plan for pro-democracy voices: repression

A semisecret directive from the senior members of the Chinese Communist Party tells us how President Xi Jinping plans to manage pro-democracy voices in China: by shutting them down.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2013

Is Obama rolling the dice too fast on Myanmar?

Has U.S. President Barack Obama's administration been too quick to embrace Myanmar's democratic path, or is such support essential to the fledgling reform process?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 4, 2013

Anti-corruption outsiders join political hurly-burly in India

They wore little white caps, called themselves "the common man," fasted for days and shouted slogans against politicians during massive anti-corruption demonstrations two years ago.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 18, 2013

Internal GOP clash pits tea party against Rove

The internal conflicts that have roiled the Republican Party since its dismal showing in November appear to be deepening as conservative activists and tea party officials have begun to loudly resist an establishment effort to blame them for the GOP's 2012 troubles.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Feb 4, 2013

Keep Abe's hawks in check or Japan and Asia will suffer

On Jan. 1, The Japan Times' lead story was "Summer poll to keep Abe in check." It made the argument that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party alliance falls short of a majority in the Upper House, so until elections happen this summer he lacks a "full-fledged administration" to carry...
EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 2012

Ms. Park returns to the Blue House

Ms. Park Geun Hye has eked out a victory in South Korea's presidential election. The conservative candidate narrowly bested progressive rival Moon Jae In in a contest whose outcome was not apparent until the votes were counted.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2012

Hashimoto's opposition a big hurdle in Osaka nuclear plebiscite drive

Efforts by a citizens' group to hold a plebiscite in Osaka on the future of nuclear power hit a major stumbling block when Mayor Toru Hashimoto formally announced his opposition to the plan this week.
EDITORIALS
Feb 15, 2012

Punish Okinawa poll meddler

A conservative candidate on Sunday won the mayoral election in Okinawa Island's Ginowan City, the site of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. The election was held after the head of the Okinawa Defense Bureau made a controversial pre-election move in connection with the relocation of Futenma's functions...
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2012

How far can Hashimoto ride wave?

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's political fortunes in and out of Osaka continue to rise, as a growing number of local- and national-level politicians seek his cooperation to form what could well be the ruling coalition after the next Lower House election.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2012

Demilitarizing Muslim politics

Can Muslim governments free themselves from their countries' powerful militaries and establish civilian control comparable to that found in liberal democracies? This question is now paramount in countries as disparate as Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2011

Political earthquake in Osaka

Toru Hashimoto's huge victory in the Osaka mayoral election was undoubtedly a political earthquake. The question now is how sweeping and powerful will be the tsunami that follows. My worry is that Tokyo, and particularly the political and bureaucratic establishment, does not comprehend the tectonic forces...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2011

Winning the transition to democracy

Is the Arab Spring turning into a gloomy autumn? With brutal crackdowns in Syria, a bloody civil war in Libya, and Yemen teetering on the brink of chaos, the number of skeptics is growing. Although Egypt and Tunisia's prodemocracy movements achieved rapid regime change, uncertainties remain in those...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2011

Russian alienation and the cost of freedom

MOSCOW — The Russian government, with its solid hold on power, has invariably gotten away with poor performance, inefficiency, corruption and widespread violation of political rights and civil liberties.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2011

Prospects for an integrated army in Nepal

BEPPU, Oita Prefecture — Be it the Nepali Congress Rebellion in 1950-51 and 1961-62 or the movement for democracy in the 1990s, such events have had profound impacts on the political and socio-economic condition of the country.
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2010

Vote of no confidence in Australia

There is little for Australian politicians to be proud of as they contemplate the results of last month's parliamentary elections. The vote was almost perfectly divided, resulting in the first hung Parliament since 1940. At this point, the two major parties are courting the four independents to see who...
JAPAN / OKINAWA'S HOSTAGE ECONOMY
Jul 7, 2010

Futenma relocation has certain bidders salivating

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — Last month an executive of a major construction company in Nago confessed what was considered a long-held industry secret in this city that is poised to be the replacement site for the Futenma military base: For decades most local contractors had rigged bids for public works projects,...
COMMENTARY
May 1, 2010

How news skews views

BEIJING — I am not good at flying kites. But during a recent visit to the Olympic Village of Beijing, I felt compelled to do so. Despite the cold and late hour, there were many kite runners around me. A salesman insisted that I try my hand before committing to any purchase, and I did. After purchasing...
Reader Mail
Sep 27, 2009

Lesser threat from a minority vote

Regarding the Sept. 22 article "Ozawa positive about granting local voting rights to non-Japanese": At first glance, the statement by Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) that granting suffrage to non-Japanese residents could destabilize the nation seems to suggest that non-Japanese residents are not...
COMMENTARY
Sep 7, 2009

Duel of market ideologies past due in Japan's polls

The world has undergone drastic change in the first decade of the 21st century. There appears to be no end to terrorist activities and international disputes in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide attacks on the United States.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 23, 2009

Sling some mud and have some election fun

Nothing I've read exemplifies the misdirection of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's campaign for the Aug. 19 Lower House elections better than a letter that appeared in last Tuesday's Asahi Shimbun from a reader who said he had to look up sekinin-ryoku after seeing it used in various LDP ads.
COMMENTARY
Aug 22, 2009

The decline of policymaking

I have misgivings about the decline of Japanese policymaking abilities.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 12, 2009

'Campaign' star no longer life of the party

Takafumi Horie, the former CEO of Livedoor Inc., has nothing to do with the documentary "Campaign," which had a special public screening at the Rise X theater in Shibuya the morning of June 30. However, the subject of the movie, politics, is close to his heart, so he agreed to discuss it with the film's...

Longform

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