Search - international-reports

 
 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 20, 2015

Abe eroding Japan's soft power

Japan's considerable soft power is being undermined by political insensitivity, provocative policies and a reluctance or inability to explain and justify.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2015

Tokyo mulls cutting UNESCO funding after U.N. body registers Nanking Massacre documents

The U.N. body's acceptance of Beijing's documents on the Nanking Massacre prompts Tokyo to consider reducing or discontinuing funds.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 30, 2015

China's Xi struggles to show softer side during U.S. charm offensive

Before Xi Jinping flew to the U.S., his foreign minister promised a "people first visit" that would showcase the Chinese president's "extensive outreach to the American people."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2015

Several groups urge Abe to pledge to accept Syrian refugees

Private organizations supporting refugees on Monday urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to express during his upcoming speech at the annual U.N. General Assembly session Japan's pledge to accept Syrian asylum seekers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 14, 2015

China unveils details of state-firm reforms as growth sputters

China unveiled details on Sunday of how it would restructure its state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including partial privatization, as data pointed to a cooling in the world's second-largest economy.
WORLD
Sep 12, 2015

IAEA officials to be present when Iran takes Parchin nuclear samples

United Nations inspectors will be present with Iranian technicians as they take samples from a key military site, two Western diplomats said, undercutting an objection by U.S. Republicans to the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 9, 2015

Failure of Syria diplomacy exposes enduring divisions over Assad

While the desperate flight of Syrians from their country's war was dominating news bulletins this summer, yet another diplomatic push to end the 4-year-old conflict was quietly running into the sand.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 1, 2015

Child thyroid cancer unlikely to rise in Fukushima but extent of radiation exposure unclear: IAEA

An increase in thyroid cancer among children is unlikely after the disaster at the Fukushima No 1 nuclear plant four years ago, but it remains unclear exactly how much radiation children in the vicinity were exposed to, International Atomic Energy Agency said in a new report.
EDITORIALS
Aug 24, 2015

Regulating virtual currencies

Along with preventing the abuse of the virtual currency transactions for money laundering and criminal purposes, new cybermoney regulations should aim to protect the interests of its users.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 17, 2015

Bubka targets doping fight as IAAF's top priority

Former Olympic champion Sergey Bubka thinks the fight against doping is the main task facing whoever triumphs in Wednesday's IAAF presidential election, a vote he is still confident he will win.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Aug 17, 2015

U.S. marine wins compensation for Okinawa toxin exposure and calls for tests on residents near Futenma

The U.S. government has awarded compensation to the ailing former marine at the center of allegations that Agent Orange was dumped on Futenma Air Base in Okinawa.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 29, 2015

U.S. Congress' egocentric strategem in the TPP talks

With the passage of the Trade Promotion Authority Act, the U.S. will become increasingly self-centered in pursuit of its national interests in international trade negotiations, including the TPP.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 13, 2015

China targets rights lawyers as crackdown on activists widens

Chinese authorities have widened a crackdown on human rights groups, detaining or questioning more than 50 lawyers and activists in a sweep over the past few days, rights groups say.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2015

Time for the European Union to let Greece go

The world, which owes much to ancient Athens' legacy, including the idea of democracy, is indebted to today's Athens for the reminder that reality does not respect a democracy's delusions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 16, 2015

Unfortunately, corporate Japan thinks it's 1985

Japan's biggest companies are greeting reforms aimed at improving corporate governance with a halfhearted shrug.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 10, 2015

Foreign same-sex couples here enjoy rights that Japanese don't

Gay and lesbian non-Japanese couples married abroad can register as spouses with authorities here, but Immigration has mixed messages for foreigners married to Japanese same-sex partners.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 9, 2015

Academics fail Abe administration on history

On May 5, in an open letter in support of historians in Japan, an international group of 187 scholars (of which I am one) urged Japan to acknowledge and atone for the forced prostitution that occurred during wartime, stating: "Denying or trivializing" what happened to the "comfort women" is "unacceptable."...
WORLD
May 1, 2015

Britain says Iran still trying to buy nuclear technology

Britain has informed a United Nations sanctions panel of an Iranian nuclear procurement network linked to two blacklisted firms, according to a confidential report by the panel.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 23, 2015

SkyWest cabin pressure emergency spurs FAA probe

U.S. investigators are looking into why a SkyWest Inc. airplane with 75 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing in Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 4, 2015

'North Korea Confidential' shows how citizens flirt with consumption in their everyday lives

What is life really like for the more than 24 million citizens of Asia's so-called hermit state — the Democratic People's Republic of Korea?
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
Apr 4, 2015

Olympic channel set to innovate, inspire

The evolution of Olympic TV coverage mirrors technological changes that have transformed broadcast media — and society — over the past 50-plus years.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 13, 2015

It's time to punish Tepco

Four years on, it's still not clear whether Tokyo Electrip Power Co. has learned anything, or why Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has not demanded accountability from the company tht gave the world its worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
EDITORIALS
Mar 2, 2015

New phase of the Ebola battle

As the spread of Ebola slows, the Japan Social Development Fund, on the ground in Liberia, has announced the start of an effort to battle the psychological effects of the virus.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2015

Abe condemns Islamic State's slaying of Jordanian pilot

The apparent execution of Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh, a Jordanian air force pilot captured by the Islamic State, is “inhumane” and “despicable,” the prime minister said.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 29, 2015

Abe pledges to 'correct' the record on wartime sex slaves

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Thursday to increase efforts to alter views abroad on Japan's actions in World War II by disseminating the "correct" view, as he put it.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 25, 2015

Modi, Obama announce nuclear breakthrough after New Delhi talks

In a glow of bonhomie, U.S. President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a deal aimed at unlocking billions of dollars in nuclear trade, a step that both sides hope will help establish an enduring strategic partnership.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 3, 2015

The highlights of Japanese media in 2014

My choices for the most significant public phenomena of last year are associated with traditional media rather than the social kind, which isn't to say these phenomena didn't impact social media and vice versa, only that TV, newspapers and magazines still affect our perception of the world.

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