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EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 2014

Abe's transparency move falls short

The Abe administration's decision to keep and release summaries of the minutes of Cabinet meetings sounds like a positive step, but it is not likely to lead to a substantial increase in the transparency of how the government makes decisions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 17, 2014

Automation set to affect our job prospects

Who needs an army of lawyers when you have a computer?
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2014

Ruling bloc readies bill to bolster cybersecurity amid growing attacks

Lawmakers in the ruling camp are preparing to submit a bill to the Diet next fall aimed at strengthening the government's cybersecurity to more quickly counter an increasing number of attacks.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 25, 2014

How we lose our marbles — and get them back

A remark by American actor George Clooney has reignited the debate over whether removing the Parthenon Marbles (aka Elgin Marbles) from the British Museum and returning them to their ancient home in Athens would be the right thing to do.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2014

Tokyu launches Shibuya info page

Private railway Tokyu Corp. has opened a new Facebook page in five different languages to cash in on foreign interest in Shibuya, the soul of Japanese entertainment and youth fashion.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 30, 2014

Are Britain's plans for its patients' private data totally healthy?

A few days ago, I dropped into my doctor's surgery to pick up a prescription and was confronted by one of those large floor-mounted pop-up displays that one finds at exhibitions, trade fairs and circuses. It informed me of an exciting new scheme by which the "quality of care and health services" would...
Japan Times
JAPAN / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Jan 12, 2014

Display technologies set to turn heads in cars and windows

From smartphones and high-definition TVs to digital displays, display technology has advanced in leaps and bounds to become ubiquitous the world over.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2013

Free Chinese-made software poses security risk

Japanese-language input program Baidu IME — potentially installed on millions of computers, including at government agencies — sends every character typed to the software provider's server without user consent.
WORLD
Dec 22, 2013

U.S. secretly helps Colombia kill rebel leaders

The 50-year-old Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), once considered the best-funded insurgency in the world, is at its smallest and most vulnerable state in decades, due in part to a CIA covert action program that has helped Colombian forces kill at least two dozen rebel leaders, according...
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2013

Ishiba's ominous words

Statements by LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba underscore the danger that the new state secrets law could pose to Japanese democracy.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 9, 2013

Major U.S. tech companies call for strict limits on surveillance

Eight of America's largest technology companies have called on President Barack Obama and Congress to impose strict new curbs on surveillance that, if enacted, would dramatically reshape intelligence operations that U.S. officials have portrayed as integral to the war on terrorism.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 6, 2013

Diet enacts controversial state secrets bill

The Upper House passes the state secrets bill despite soaring opposition over the lack of an independent oversight body to check the government's decisions.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 5, 2013

NSA tracking cellphone locations worldwide, Snowden documents show

The National Security Agency is gathering nearly 5 billion records a day on the whereabouts of cellphones around the world, according to top-secret documents and interviews with U.S. intelligence officials, enabling the agency to track the movements of individuals — and map their relationships —...
EDITORIALS
Dec 1, 2013

NSC council has dangerous flaws

The Upper House has enacted a law that establishes a Japanese version of the U.S. National Security Council. But there's no guarantee the NSC will contribute to the government's making rational security and diplomatic decisions.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 14, 2013

Ruling bloc may yield on state secrets bill

Eager to see its state secrecy bill passed by the Lower House next week, the ruling coalition is showing signs of giving ground on the controversial legislation.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 8, 2013

Abe's security bill aims to shutter 'spy's paradise'

With the prime minister's Liberal Democrats in strong control of both legislative houses, a bill to undertake the long-overdue modernization of Japan's national-security governance is certain to pass.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Oct 22, 2013

Russia eyeing NSA-like surveillance

Less than three months after granting asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, Russia is preparing to implement the kind of electronic surveillance that Snowden uncovered in the U.S.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2013

Defenders of Thai monarchy busy politicizing

You would think that Thailand's state agencies would be trying to de-politicize issues related to the monarchy in light of the country's deep polarization in recent years. You would be wrong.
LIFE / Digital
Oct 1, 2013

Wearable tech such as Google Glass, Galaxy Gear raises alarms for privacy advocates

Samsung's Galaxy Gear smart watch is set to hit stores this week, part of a new wave of wearable technology that some fear could open a largely unregulated door into users' private lives.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2013

The Bay of Pigs operation was a perfect failure

The CIA should release its final volume of its official history of the Bay of Pigs invasioni. America needs all the caution its history of misadventures should encourage.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 10, 2013

Anatomy app gives users a better understanding of the human body

Back in highschool, I was in the middle of basketball practice, when I suddenly felt an acute pain in my knee. I had no idea what had happened to me. After visits to several different clinics, none of which could identify the problem, I finally found an orthopedist who accurately guessed the cause of...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 31, 2013

Naoto Kan speaks out

Naoto Kan took his first steps in the world of politics around 40 years ago as a pugnacious citizen-activist, admonishing those with power as only those without it can. He likes to say he's the same man now, but of course there's an irony in that. After all, in the intervening years he acquired about...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2013

On guard against worker betrayal

The debacle of Edward Snowden walking away with electronic copies of thousands of classified documents illustrates the challenge of trusting people in any organization.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 12, 2013

So you want to start a business in Japan?

Reader VS writes: "I am a Spanish national interested in getting information about how to start a business in Japan. What is the minimum required to invest for this purpose and how is this linked to obtaining a residence status? Any information — in English — or links where I could get this information...
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal / ANALYSIS
Jul 31, 2013

WikiLeaks' founder may be next target

The conviction of U.S. Army Pvt. Bradley Manning on espionage charges Tuesday makes it increasingly likely that the United States will prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as a co-conspirator, according to his attorney and other civil liberties groups.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2013

End NSA's bulk collection of telephone records

Two Democratic U.S. senators express their belief that most Americans would agree that the White House should end the bulk collection of telephone records.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 26, 2013

Disaster-relief volunteer networks are essential

Takashi Yamamoto, 42, president of Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Center, is Japan's leading expert on volunteer disaster-relief activities. In 1995, when he was a staffer of the educational cruise ship Peace Boat, Yamamoto began working on disaster relief for Kobe after the Great Hanshin Earthquake...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji