Tag - law

 
 

LAW

Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said he has instructed his ministry to investigate whether or not there have been any further incidents.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 26, 2024
Five senior SDF officers punished for mishandling secret info
They passed on secret information to personnel within their units who were not cleared to handle such data.
A bill on joint custody passes during a Lower House plenary session in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 16, 2024
Bill allowing joint custody after divorce clears Japan's Lower House
The move would bring Japan closer to adopting a practice seen in other countries.
Ai Fukuhara at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Friday
JAPAN / Society
Mar 15, 2024
Ai Fukuhara reaches custody settlement after abduction accusation
Although the physical custody of their son as well as their daughter will be with her ex-husband, the couple will continue to have joint custody over them.
A Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2024
Government OKs bill to introduce joint custody after divorce
The bill would permit either sole custody or joint custody. A family court will intervene if there is a dispute.
Under a proposed joint custody system, if parents cannot reach an agreement, a family court would make a decision based on the interests of the child and family relations.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024
Government panel proposes allowing joint child custody
Based on the report from the Legislative Council, the government plans to submit a related bill during the ongoing ordinary session of parliament.
Japan is the only country with a law requiring married couples to adopt the same surname. In 95% of cases, it is women who take their husband's name.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 7, 2024
The land where single surnames are the only option
The business lobby recently joined calls for Japan to accept separate surnames after marriage. What, then, is standing in the way of change? Politics.
Japan’s national bar exam was held on Nov. 8 with a pass rate of 45%. Though for decades the pass rate was much lower, this seeming improvement has come on the back of several regulatory blunders.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 20, 2023
The failure behind Japan’s bar exam pass rate
The pass rate for Japan's bar exam has fluctuated, with this year's level coming on the back of several misguided interventions.
Plaintiffs filing damages lawsuits over forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenic protection law head to the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 2, 2023
Grand Bench of top court to rule on forced sterilization damages
Five district courts have found the old law to be unconstitutional, but all rejected damages claims citing the statute of limitations.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee delivers his annual policy address at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 25, 2023
Hong Kong's leader says to create new national security law in 2024
Pro-democracy protests rocked the finance hub in 2019, bringing hundreds of thousands of people to the streets to call for more autonomy from China.
Many art critics rank Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d’Avignon," which hangs in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, as one of his greatest. But other critics describe the masterpiece as racist or exploitative.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2023
What should be done with art that is seen as racist?
So what exactly should we do when people consider extant art racist?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 11, 2023
Hong Kong police question family members of self-exiled activist
Relatives of Nathan Law, who was among those targeted last week with an arrest warrant and bounty, were taken into custody but later released.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 11, 2023
Japan tries to turn page on eugenics policies, but related ideas persist
A 1,400-page report by parliament on forced sterilizations of people with disabilities sets out Japan's grim history with eugenics, but experts say the matter is far from closed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2023
Some duped into sterilization surgery under eugenics law, parliament report says
Under a now-defunct eugenics law, 65% of sterilization procedures were carried out without consent and some were led to believe they were being treated for an illness.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2023
Japanese high court rejects appeal for damages over forced sterilization
The two plaintiffs in Miyagi Prefecture had sought a total of ¥71.5 million, arguing that the law deprived them of self-determination with regard to giving birth and raising children.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / EXPLAINER
May 19, 2023
What are the risks of 'dark' part-time jobs? A former detective explains.
Many young people are drawn in, mistakenly thinking that they won't be held responsible because of their age.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 24, 2023
Japanese court orders government to pay damages over forced sterilization
The Shizuoka District Court found the defunct 1948 law was unconstitutional and awarded ¥16.5 million to the plaintiff, who claimed she underwent sterilization surgery in 1970.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 25, 2023
Japan tries to fix a child custody system under fire from all sides
In Japan, child welfare in divorce often turns on single-parent custody, where one parent can be largely excluded from a child’s life.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 24, 2023
Japanese court orders government to pay damages over forced sterilization
One complainant in the sterilization suit said he was diagnosed with osteoarthritis as a child and was forced to have his testicles removed without his consent.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 26, 2022
Japan fires MSDF captain over alleged state secret leak
It is the first time that such a breach has come to light since the nation's secrecy law entered into force in December 2014.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2022
Japanese MSDF captain suspected of leaking state secret
Under the secrecy law, which took effect in 2014, civil servants and others who disclose sensitive information designated as a state secret can face up to 10 years in prison.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores