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JAPAN
Apr 29, 2019

Emperor Akihito: A unifying figure who carved out a role as Japan's 'symbol of the state'

He and Empress Michiko have spent the last three decades comforting disaster victims and mourning the war dead, Japanese and non-Japanese alike.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2019

China's navy flaunts its power, but to what end?

The PLAN's 70th anniversary celebration raises important questions about China's increasingly capable military.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 29, 2019

Imperial swindle: Scammers reportedly handing out Japanese flags and then asking for money

Reports of con artists across Japan taking advantage of the celebratory mood ahead of this week's Imperial succession have caused a stir on social media.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2019

Japan's peaceful Heisei Era leaves legacy of change, growth and tragedy

Emperor Akihito's abdication Tuesday will end the three-decade Heisei Era that began on Jan. 8, 1989, a day after he inherited the throne upon the death of his father, Emperor Showa.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2019

Reiwa Era to open in wake of decades of tumultuous economic change in Japan

The Heisei Era began three decades ago with Emperor Akihito ascending the throne near the zenith of one of the biggest stock market bubbles in history. It's been punctuated by the triple hit of an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown, the fall of tech icons and the rise of automotive giants, and...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2019

The key ceremonies in Japan's Imperial succession

Emperor Akihito's abdication, one of several ceremonies marking the transition to his heir, Crown Prince Naruhito, will be a brief, relatively simple and rare event.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Apr 28, 2019

April 29, 2019

Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Apr 28, 2019

Growing old as the new era dawns

C. W. Nicol relects on more than 35 years of working to conserve the environment in Japan.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 28, 2019

San Diego-area synagogue shooting leaves one worshipper dead, three wounded

A gunman walked into a San Diego-area synagogue crowded with Sabbath worshippers on Saturday and opened fire with an assault-style rifle, killing one woman inside and wounding three others in a hate crime carried out on the last day of Passover, authorities said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 27, 2019

Keeping up appearances in the workplace in Japan

Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Inc., which employs about 17,000 people, announced earlier this month it would allow office workers to come to work in jeans and sneakers. Factory workers in the company will still be required to wear uniforms and sales staff will still be expected to don business suits as per...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 27, 2019

Trains, planes and automobiles to celebrate Golden Week

If you're looking for some mundane distractions to get you through the holiday period, Shukan Taishu (May 6-13) has got just the thing. Its "Reiwa Commemorative Edition" introduces unusual rides. Okinawa, for example, sports an "Ostrich Land," where you can hop a ride on the back of one of its giant...
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Apr 27, 2019

It will never fly

'Can chickens fly?'
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 27, 2019

Carlos Ghosn's release on bail is part of a wider trend in Japan's criminal justice system

The rate of bail approval increased from roughly 15 percent in 2007 to about 32 percent in 2017, according to the Japan Bail Support Association.
EDITORIALS
Apr 27, 2019

Reconsidering Chernobyl

The nuclear debate continues to rage.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2019

The unseen crisis of drug shortages

High costs plague American health care, but so do low costs: Life-saving generics can become so cheap that companies stop making them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 26, 2019

Foreign-born candidates discuss challenges and prejudice on the Tokyo campaign trail

In a nation where there are few foreign-born politicians in local assemblies or in the Diet, the sight of a candidate openly touting his or her foreign background through loudspeakers on the campaign trail can come as a surprise.
Reader Mail
Apr 26, 2019

Stop settling for appearance of achievement

Regarding the story "Medical school conducts roll call using facial recognition" in the April 13 edition, you can take a horse to water ... or in this case, you can force a student to sit in classes. But either way, if the water or the class isn't worth trying, it will come to nothing — the horse won't...
Reader Mail
Apr 26, 2019

Campaigning via noise pollution

I am sitting at a quiet beach, listening to the waves and seagulls. On the nearby road following the coastline, vehicles with loudspeakers blurring stupid messages regarding their political candidate.
Reader Mail
Apr 26, 2019

Is convenience really rewarding?

"Two Lawson stores to trial unstaffed night operations" in the March 31 issue was an absorbing story. I don't agree with self-service stores.
Reader Mail
Apr 26, 2019

U.K. keeps getting it wrong on India

Regarding the story "1919 massacre in Amritsar remembered" in the April 14 edition, the U.K. government has just missed the last bus to India and a golden opportunity to heal the wounds of the past.
Reader Mail
Apr 26, 2019

Fix Japan before Notre Dame

The Japanese government is too kind in offering to help France rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris ("Japan eyes helping with restoration" in the April 17 edition).
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 26, 2019

What Sudan tells us about 21st-century coups

While the figure at the top might change, the military-dominated power structures beneath may prove much harder to shift from power.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 26, 2019

Abe should postpone tax hike

A higher levy would undermine the Bank of Japan's ability to consider additional stimulus.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Beyond Tokyo
Apr 26, 2019

MICE work if you can get it: Kansai cities vie for a bigger slice of Japan's 'meetings industry' pie

About 20 minutes by car from Wakayamashi Station, across a bridge to a reclaimed island, lies Wakayama Marina City and the Porto Europa theme park. Its faux Spanish, Italian, and French buildings and European-style street designs give visitors the impression of being on a slightly dilapidated film set....
Japan Times
Vietnam report 2019
Apr 26, 2019

Vietnam’s first choice for MEP solutions

In just five years, JESCO Hoa Binh Engineering JSC (JHE), a joint venture between Vietnamese and Japanese companies, has achieved dramatic and rapid growth with annual sales reaching $21.6 million in 2018, approximately eight times the sales made in 2013 ($2.6 million), a year prior to the JHE joint...
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2019

Carlos Ghosn released from detention center, days after his fourth indictment

The court made the decision partly because it determined there was no risk of evidence tampering, legal experts have said.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 25, 2019

A whole new ballgame: Yokohama DeNA BayStars get an upgrade

Looking down at the sea of dark blue seats that frame one of Nippon Professional Baseball's smallest playing fields, one thing becomes clear: For the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, the ballpark, and the myriad experiences it offers those who take in a game, is their top commodity.
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Apr 25, 2019

Yuzuru Hanyu tops best efforts by Japan skaters this season

With the long season now over, Ice Time has collated a top 10 list of the best performances by Japanese skaters during the 2018-19 campaign.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 25, 2019

Shaving milliseconds off currency trades could make Singapore billions

Singapore is seizing an opportunity measured in milliseconds to win a bigger slice of the world's foreign exchange market, worth $5.1 trillion (¥570 trillion) daily.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person