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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Nov 25, 2018

School rules in Japan offer harsh lessons in mindless assimilation

"You may not put more than three pencils in your pencil box/ If you wish to speak in class, raise your hand forward at a 70-degree angle/ No going to the toilet in groups/ You must finish using the toilet within seven minutes/ Use no more than 30 cm of toilet paper each time/ Even if parents or siblings,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 24, 2018

Variety show's fabrication scandal offers a glimpse into the nature of TV content

Earlier this month, weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun ran several articles on Nippon Television Network Corp.'s Sunday night variety show, "Sekai no Hate Made Itte Q," claiming that the program had fabricated "festivals" in foreign countries and presented them in one of its semiregular segments as real...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 23, 2018

Pig out? Asia gets a taste of climate-friendly vegan 'pork'

It's Friday afternoon at the Venetian Macao hotel's Portofino restaurant, and on the terrace a handful of chefs in white uniforms are preparing the casino hub's famous pork chop bun for waiting guests.
Reader Mail
Nov 23, 2018

Go slow on migrant worker programs

The discussion regarding the new migrant worker programs is ongoing in response to growing calls to address Japan's acute worker shortage. However, in a recent online survey, 56.3 percent of the respondents were fine with the status quo, 23.9 percent hoped for more laborers from abroad and 19.8 percent...
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Nov 22, 2018

Over 80,000 Yemeni children may have died from hunger, aid group says

An estimated 85,000 children under five may have died from extreme hunger in Yemen since a Saudi-led coalition intervened in the civil war in 2015, an aid agency said on Wednesday, as the U.N. special envoy arrived in Yemen to pursue peace talks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2018

Boeing boosts response to Lion Air crash criticism as shares nosedive

Boeing Co.'s shares tumbled as the company pushed back on suggestions it could have better alerted airlines to a new anti-stall feature in the 737 Max jetliner involved in a fatal Indonesia crash and canceled a call with carriers to discuss the model.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2018

Now the U.S. Congress can push Saudi Arabia on Yemen

Control of the House will enable Democratic lawmakers to exercise greater oversight of U.S. military involvement in the Saudi-led war.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Nov 19, 2018

Wrangling over planned shake-up of Japan's immigration control law intensifies after government admits to data errors

A ruckus in the Diet over erroneous statistics leaves the government's Dec. 10 deadline for passage of new legislation in doubt.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 19, 2018

Before a packed court, three Hong Kong Occupy leaders plead not guilty to public nuisance charges

Three leaders of Hong Kong's 2014 pro-democracy Occupy movement, which paralyzed parts of the Chinese-ruled city for nearly three months, denied public nuisance charges on Monday as international criticism of the erosion of civil liberties grows.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 19, 2018

Chinese city urges those 'poisoned by extremism' and who follow conservative Islam to confess to crimes

A city in China's far-western Xinjiang region has ordered people who are "poisoned by extremism, terrorism and separatism," in contact with overseas terror groups or act in a conservative Islamic manner, to turn themselves in to authorities.
Japan Times
ESG CONSORTIUM
Nov 18, 2018

Green, social efforts span work, play, unity

Environmental and social factors in particular are what leading food tray container manufacturer FP Corp. (FPCO) incorporates into its core business and daily operation among the much-talked-about ESG (environmental, social and governance) efforts.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Deep Dive
Nov 18, 2018

Japan's IT firms enthusiastically open doors to overseas tech workers

The dozens of young Chinese engineers looked nervous, but eager, as they presented their work in English during a hack-athon in September at the high-rise Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Deep Dive
Nov 18, 2018

Miyazaki finds solution to IT labor crunch thousands of kilometers away

Like many of Japan's smaller cities, Miyazaki has been hit by a growing labor crunch, a trend highlighted by the mere 56.8 percent of high school graduates that chose to remain in the prefecture to work — third-worst among the 47 prefectures.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 17, 2018

Hong Kong's freedoms under scrutiny as Occupy democracy leaders face trial

Nine leaders of Hong Kong's 2014 civil disobedience Occupy Central movement go on trial Monday at a time when the Chinese-ruled financial hub's civil liberties are coming under increasing strain.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Nov 15, 2018

Dutch court rejects bid to ban 'Black Pete' pre-Christmas character

A court in the Netherlands has rejected a request by activists to ban the holiday character Black Pete from state television but encouraged debate over a tradition that has prompted protests on both sides.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 15, 2018

A Chinese tailwind for Japan's economy?

The Chinese government has reversed its previously chilly attitude and now favors better relations with Japan, creating new economic opportunities for Japanese businesses.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2018

Over 80% of Japanese positive about robotic nursing care

Over 80 percent of people in Japan hold positive views about receiving nursing care from robots, according to a survey by nursing care service provider Orix Living Corp.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 15, 2018

Manga artist draws on history for tales of politically powerful women

A feminist manga-style artist says she plans to use characters based on an Egyptian pharaoh and a Chinese empress to bring more female empowerment to the male-dominated world of comic books.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 14, 2018

I feared the crush of the rush, but now my commute completes me

Everybody knows that it is hard to make a good living from writing alone. However, every aspiring writer I've met has thought they might end up as that one-in-a-million exception to the rule. Most learn the hard truth in their 20s, but some have to get to their late 40s, like me.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2018

You probably had plastic for breakfast

Welcome to a global experiment about the effects of eating and drinking microplastic.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 12, 2018

After mixed results in U.S. midterms, Trump likely to hit Japan on trade: Thomas Friedman

Results of last week's U.S. midterm elections were mixed, leaving a chasm in the U.S. political landscape.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2018

Despite depopulation, only 14.6% in Japan feel local communities should accept foreign workers: survey

While more than half of Japanese feel that their communities are shrinking, only about 14 percent believe it is necessary for society to actively accept foreign workers and those wishing to settle in order to keep their regions going, a survey has found.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Nov 10, 2018

Illustrators use social media to highlight the minutiae of everyday life in Japan

Garbage collectors perform a service that is essential to the functioning of society, and yet their contributions are often overlooked. Whatever a person’s social standing, however, it doesn’t mean their observations on life aren’t worth examining.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2018

U.S. ends refueling support for Saudi coalition aircraft in Yemen conflict

Saudi Arabia and the United States have agreed to end U.S. refueling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi insurgents in Yemen, ending a divisive aspect of U.S. support to a war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
Japan Times
JAPAN / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 9, 2018

Effort to nudge Japan to go cashless with offsets to sales tax hike faces many hurdles

On Oct. 15, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed during an extraordinary Cabinet meeting that the government would raise the consumption tax from 8 to 10 percent next Oct. 1. The tax hike has already been postponed twice owing to jitters over how it might affect consumption. The last consumption tax increase,...
EDITORIALS
Nov 8, 2018

Make real cuts to cellphone charges

The carriers need to continue their efforts to improve their services while reducing the charges for consumers through more efficient operation and use of their resources.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 8, 2018

Japan leaves no stone unturned as it prepares to cushion blow from Abe's 2019 sales tax hike to 10%

With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe determined to increase the sales tax next year, the government is testing public reaction to a string of potential measures to ensure people keep spending.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight