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COMMENTARY / Japan
May 6, 2016

It's time Abe fired Aso as his finance minister

Shinzo Abe should admit that entrusting key parts of his shock-therapy program to Taro Aso was a mistake, and an increasingly costly one at that.
BUSINESS / Markets / CURRENCY MARKET
May 6, 2016

Abe vows to respond to excessive foreign exchange volatility

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday he was ready to respond to excessive currency moves if needed, adding that he may raise the issue of foreign exchange volatility at a meeting of Group of Seven leaders in Japan later this month.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 3, 2016

Abe's revisionist agenda subject of opposing rallies on Constitution Day

Marking the 69th anniversary of the postwar pacifist Constitution, supporters and opponents of constitutional revision held rallies in Tokyo on Tuesday to speak out on their respective causes.
JAPAN / Politics
May 2, 2016

Systemic avoidance of political issues by schools keeps youth vote in the dark

Although 2.4 million teens will have a chance to vote in one of Japan's most pivotal elections ever, most are indifferent because politics is widely ignored in class.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
May 1, 2016

Ex-bureaucrat on mission to trigger technological revolution

Almost a decade before the March 2011 quake and tsunami triggered the triple core meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, Ko Fujii knew the government could not effectively communicate the risks of nuclear technology.
EDITORIALS
Apr 30, 2016

Child poverty a serious problem

The government has long failed to take effective action to reverse Japan's child poverty rate.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2016

Examining 'Industry 4.0' opportunities

"Industry 4.0," or the fourth industrial revolution, can offer both opportunities and risks for the Japanese economy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 27, 2016

Van Sant plots a bleak hike through Aokigahara

At least Arthur Brennan didn't want sushi, an AKB48 concert or a night out on the town with a maiko (trainee geisha) on his arm. As Japan's ranking soars on the international travelers' destination lists, the more cliched their itineraries seem to get. But Matthew McConaughey's Brennan of Gus Van Sant's...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Apr 26, 2016

Hidden poverty growing under Abe, particularly among young and single mothers

As the government tells it, Japanese have it pretty good.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 23, 2016

The changing values behind school uniforms

Japan and China depend on each other economically, but not necessarily in an equal way. Sometimes slight changes in commercial prospects in China can have a profound effect on Japan, or, at least, more of an effect that people realize.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Apr 20, 2016

Loeb's pick to run 7-Eleven operator faces next task: boosting margins

The head of 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan survived an attempt by his boss to remove him and emerged as president at Seven & I Holdings Co. His next hurdles: turn around weaker units and navigate a leadership transition at the country's largest retailer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 19, 2016

Abe insider wages one-man campaign to challenge foreign media over reporting 'mistakes'

An Internet strategy adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is keeping his eyes peeled for what he calls "mistakes" by foreign media, because he thinks nobody in the government or the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has ever paid proper attention.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 18, 2016

Looking at migration as an opportunity to be managed

Japan's demographic trend can't be cured quickly. It has to be managed creatively.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Apr 17, 2016

Baby sitter option gains little traction amid parental reluctance

Nearly half of parents in Japan who responded to a recent survey by The Japan Times have considered using baby sitters but have not done so, with many citing lack of know-how on finding the right sitters as well as financial constraints.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 16, 2016

Donald Richie: The legacy of an entrenched view

The late Donald Richie lived at apartment number 804 in a block directly facing Shinobazu Pond in Tokyo's Ueno Park. The writer would lead visitors through his home's dimly lit entrance area — crammed with bookshelves — and his minuscule living room to the balcony, beneath which a vast lotus pond...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 16, 2016

Obama has unfinished business in Hiroshima

Barack Obama will attend the G-7 Ise-Shima summit of leading industrial nations in Mie Prefecture next month, sparking speculation that the U.S. President might venture to Hiroshima to pay respects at the Peace Memorial Park.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Apr 16, 2016

Matsui far from alone in pushing nuclear debate

Out from the murky, quivering flames/ Of burning, festering Hiroshima/ You look so monstrous, but could not know/ How far removed you are now from mankind— Excerpted from Toge Sankichi's "Hibakusha" ("A-Bomb Survivor"), translated by N. Palchikoff
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE UNRELIABLE FOOD CRITIC
Apr 15, 2016

Osaka, give us this day our decent European bread

Encountering strangers on trips back to Europe, I find myself falling into a familiar conversational call-and-response:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 11, 2016

Press freedoms under attack

Freedom of speech and of the press, a key democratic right, is increasingly under threat around the world.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2016

BOJ's backfire hangs over central bankers as IMF meetings start

The world's central bankers, already hitting the limits of their effectiveness on growth and inflation, are now contending with another risk: that additional stimulus could produce lackluster results and undercut investor confidence.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2016

G-7 foreign ministers to weigh nuclear future at Hiroshima meeting

The G-7 foreign ministers' summit taking place in Hiroshima carries a symbolic meaning as it offers an opportunity for world leaders to be reminded of the horrors of nuclear arms.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 6, 2016

Japanese researchers to test new weapon on unbeatable cancers

The National Cancer Center in Tokyo has unveiled a new weapon to treat cancers long considered unbeatable: neutrons that attack cancer cells only.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 4, 2016

Abenomics failure explained

It's taken two Nobel laureates to point out how Abe has squandered a rare opportunity to shake up Japan Inc.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 4, 2016

Wild-card topics may trump main agenda in coming Mie G-7 summit

On May 26 and 27, the leaders of Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Canada, along with the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, will attend the annual Group of Seven leaders' summit in the Ise-Shima district of Mie Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Apr 4, 2016

Okinawan's Taiwan redress ruling reignites calls for 'comfort women' compensation

A recent Taiwanese court ruling that found a Japanese man was entitled to compensation over his father's presumed death during the so-called 228 Incident has reignited calls for Japan to redress the former colony's few remaining "comfort women."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 3, 2016

Seeking Japanese courses for mature students; reconnecting with a lost mother

A British reader is keen to come to Japan and learn the language, and a woman in the U.S. hopes to get in contact with her Japanese birth mother.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 2, 2016

Finding the locus of David Mitchell

David Mitchell's world is always growing. Raised in England's West Midlands, Mitchell lived in London for a time before moving to Japan in 1994 — while he was in his 20s — to work as an English teacher. After eight years in Hiroshima, he returned to the U.K. to launch his career as a novelist.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years