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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 19, 2021

Vaccination minister: Reward or punishment for Taro Kono?

Only the prime minister and the highest level of LDP executives know for sure the motivations behind tapping Kono as the minister in charge of the COVID-19 vaccinations.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 16, 2021

Stories that cater to the soul, the intellect and the stomach

Examining the challenges facing Soka Gakkai, a new teen comic book hero and coffee franchises nationwide amid the pandemic.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 10, 2021

For Trump and America, a final test of accountability

The fresh bid to remove Trump from office and strip him of his power without waiting until his term expires Jan. 20 capped a traumatic week that has rattled Washington.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 25, 2020

Mark Zuckerberg has another answer to Bitcoin

As German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz put it, referring to Libra's name change, 'a wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf.”
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 12, 2020

For Biden’s economic team, an early focus on climate

One issue that could distinguish Biden's core economic team from its predecessors? Climate change.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2020

Getting NATO back on track

Biden could start this process of reconciliation between France and Germany — and, more importantly, between the U.S. and its NATO partners — by canceling Trump's planned troop withdrawal.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 6, 2020

Report points to microwave ‘attack’ as likely source of illnesses that hit diplomats and spies

The report provides the most definitive explanation yet of the strange illness that struck scores of U.S. government employees.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 3, 2020

Thai protests target king’s billions of dollars in property investments

Thailand's royal family has long been the biggest shareholder in two of the country's most valuable companies as well as vast plots of land in central Bangkok.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2020

How Japan’s subscription economy could redefine the way consumers and firms interact

Japan has lagged behind other nations in terms of subscription-based activities, but the model is finally catching on as consumers explore new ways of doing business.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Oct 20, 2020

Let's discuss hanko

Take a look at the English vocabulary of traditions held in Japan's bureaucratic systems.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2020

Is Indonesia selling out to investors?

An omnibus law passed last week chisels away at Indonesia's wall of labor protections, making it a win for employers and investors while angering unions.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 9, 2020

Biden considering new White House office on climate change

Democrat Joe Biden is considering creating a special White House office led by a climate "czar” to coordinate efforts to fight global warming if he is elected president, according to people familiar with the deliberations.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 12, 2020

As Myanmar erases names of destroyed Rohingya villages, U.N. map-makers follow suit

On maps produced in 2020 by the U.N. mapping unit in Myanmar, which it says are based on Myanmar government maps, the site of the destroyed village is now nameless.
COMMENTARY / World / Post-Coronavirus Briefing
Sep 4, 2020

Neither U.S. nor China will lead post-coronavirus order

The age of the two economic superpowers, which have been engaged in a tit-for-tat trade war, could be over.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 31, 2020

Trump lauds Abe as Japan's 'greatest prime minister' as bromance set to end

In their phone call Monday morning — the pair's 37th such call — Abe said Japan would continue working to develop new national security policies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 15, 2020

Waking up to child abuse by caregivers

Children who are sexually abused may not understand what is happening to them or are cowed into silence by their abusers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 30, 2020

Split over Japan's virus law between cities and government widens

A nationwide surge in new infections has triggered debate at all levels of government on not only how the law should be changed but when.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 29, 2020

China hawks gain ground among Japan's conservatives, long divided on Beijing

In March, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was forced to postpone plans to greet Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a state guest. Months later, the topic is still making waves.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2020

In St. Paul, police reform is working

Not far from where George Floyd was killed, a young mayor is making big changes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2020

Pompeo warns U.S. investors against fraud at China companies

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday warned American investors against fraudulent accounting practices at China-based companies and said the Nasdaq's recent decision to tighten listing rules for such players should be "a model" for all other exchanges around the world.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 30, 2020

Resignation raises uncomfortable questions about Japan prosecutors' powers

The public and the media cried foul because Kurokawa was seen to be sympathetic to the interests of the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 18, 2020

U.S. mulls paying companies and providing tax breaks to pull supply chains from China

U.S. lawmakers and officials are crafting proposals to push American companies to move operations or key suppliers out of China that include tax breaks, new rules and carefully structured subsidies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2020

COVID-19: A strategic shock shakes the world

For Japan, COVID-19 has taken a 2020 that was meant to be a stable and historic year with the Olympics and has thrown it into disarray.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2020

Nine years after Fukushima, Japan can't quit its coal habit

A return to coal has left Japan with long-term climate goals that are unambitious — and increasingly, the subject of international censure.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2020

Net-zero at Davos

Corporate and finance leaders must recognize that as members of the global elite, they have a duty to lead the charge toward a clean, low-carbon economy.
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 25, 2020

Japan 2030: Tackling climate issues is key to the next decade

The new decade kicked off with images of Australia in flames.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2020

Japan should draft imperial succession measures, says Diet chief Tadamori Oshima

Tadamori Oshima, speaker of the House of Representatives, has said that the government should draft measures to ensure stable imperial succession as a basis for in-depth discussions by the Diet on the matter.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / The Climate Crisis
Jan 6, 2020

Emergency on 'lucky island': Iki Island seeks to lead Japan's fight against the climate crisis

It's golden hour on Iki, a pristine island in southwestern Japan. A gentle breeze cools the day to a perfect 24 degrees Celsius. The roads are clean, the trees are green, a playground sits atop a grassy hill. Locals call Iki a "lucky island" because it's rarely affected by natural disasters.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 4, 2020

Japan's bureaucrats take top news honors in 2019

A year ago, the big news story in Japan was former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn languishing in a jail cell while the media discussed whether he should be there, thus sparking an overdue discussion about the country's so-called hostage justice system. It was a nice discussion while it lasted. 

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.