Tag - freedom

 
 

FREEDOM

COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2015
Why the new USA Freedom Act is worthless
Most of the United States' controversial Patriot Act will remain in force under the USA Freedom Act.
EDITORIALS
May 23, 2015
Freedom of press declines worldwide
Freedom of the press is under attack in many countries around the world, including in Japan.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2015
Judge: Clinton's State Department emails must be released on rolling basis
Hillary Rodham Clinton's State Department emails must be made public on a rolling basis instead of waiting for a mass release in January, a federal judge ruled, rejecting a government proposal for releasing about 55,000 pages of the correspondence early next year.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 16, 2015
Are forces of darkness gathering in Japan?
Certainly it's worse in China, South Korean security recently beat demonstrators and Spain faces a blanket gag rule, but are concerns about the anti-democratic forces of darkness in Japan unduly alarmist? How bad can it be if protestors in Hibiya Park can carry placards depicting Prime Minister Shinzo...
Japan Times
WORLD
May 6, 2015
Security bolstered as Charlie Hebdo is honored in New York
The French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, targeted in a deadly attack earlier this year by Islamist gunmen, was being honored on Tuesday at a New York gala under heavy security, organizers said.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 2, 2015
Foreign media feels the heat from prickly government minders
Last month, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung journalist Carsten Germis wrote about the Japanese government harassing him just for doing his job. In his view, the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is overly sensitive to criticism, especially reporting about what Germis calls "a move by the right to...
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2015
LDP grills TV executives but denies use of pressure tactics
A Liberal Democratic Party panel conducts a closed-door meeting with NHK and TV Asahi executives to demand “explanations” about their troubles, raising suspicions of state intimidation.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 10, 2015
Popular news program hit by LDP demand for 'neutral' coverage of 'Abenomics'
The LDP pressured major broadcaster TV Asahi to run “fair and neutral” programs about “Abenomics” ahead of the Lower House election in 2014, it is learned.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 4, 2015
Koga's parting shot may not hit its target
In February, Reporters Without Borders published its annual list of countries ranked in terms of press freedom. Japan came in at No. 61, down two places from the previous year and lower than Taiwan (51) and South Korea (60). The reason for the decline was the state secrets act, which came into force...
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Mar 31, 2015
Indiana to clarify 'religious freedom' law; Georgia, North Carolina bills stall amid outrage
Indiana Republicans pledged on Monday to clarify a new "religious freedom" law, while similar proposals stalled in Georgia and North Carolina after businesses and activists said such measures could be used to discriminate against gays.
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Feb 28, 2015
The candy, the whip and freedom of press in Japan
We are familiar with the carrot-and-stick approach in the West, but the phrase in Japan is "ame to muchi" — literally, the candy and the whip.
EDITORIALS
Feb 12, 2015
Putting reporters on a leash
In an unprecedented move, the Foreign Ministry last week ordered a freelance photographer who planned to go to Syria to return his passport for his own good.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 27, 2015
Republican hopefuls Rubio, Paul, Cruz appear at U.S. billionaire Koch brothers' retreat
Three potential Republican presidential candidates appeared before a gathering of wealthy donors organized by the conservative billionaire Koch brothers in California on Sunday night.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2015
Self-censorship is biggest threat to free speech in Japan
An edgy art exhibition of works rejected or removed by other exhibitors offers insights into whether Japan can be considered a nation of free speech.
COMMENTARY
Jan 19, 2015
A perceived insult against religion is countered with words, not arms
There is a place for passionate debate on the moral question of how to balance freedom of speech with respect for religion. But the weapons of this debate should be the keyboard — not the Kalashnikov.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2015
The worldwide reality of religious persecution
While good judgment tells us not to express every thought we have, as moral agents responsible for our actions, we must be free to assess the world and express ourselves in vibrant public debate. Attacks on this freedom is spreading from Third World dictatorships to First World democracies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2015
Press freedoms threatened
A former British ambassador to Japan hopes that Japanese as well as British cartoonists continue to expose the pomposity, hypocrisy and inadequacies of their politicians, warning that press freedom can never be taken for granted.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’