Japan in Depth / My Number system aims to smooth out procedures
The My Number system, in which identification numbers will be assigned to citizens, is meant to make various administrative procedures smoother, as d...
Top News
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Agriculture ministry confirms data breach
An investigative panel set up by the agriculture ministry has confirmed, nearly a year after the ministry was notified of a suspected breach, that 12...
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Japan to be allowed to join 3 days of next TPP meeting
LIMA--The 17th round of negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact concluded Friday with participating nations agreeing to allow...
Image Index
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Panel blasts farm ministry / Cites lack of data security
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N. Korea signals willingness to return to 6-party talks
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Pearly heights
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Rubella shots lack funding nationwide
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Tizen OS for smartphones may test Android, iOS dominance
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Chile fines Barrick Gold $16 mil. for violations
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Down, but not out
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Lackey sharp as Red Sox slow Tribe
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Living the high life in Oman
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Inter fires Stramaccioni
More News & Features
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Panel blasts farm ministry / Cites lack of data security
An investigative panel has severely criticized the farm ministry for failing to take countermeasures against data theft after classified information was stolen in last year’s massive cyber-attack a...
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Hashimoto to withdraw 'sex industry' remarks
Toru Hashimoto, coleader of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), said Saturday he will withdraw his recent remarks that called on U.S. troops stationed in Okinawa Prefecture to use the loca...
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'60-70% chance' of massive Nankai quake within 30 yrs
There is a 60 percent to 70 percent chance of an earthquake with a magnitude of between 8.0 and 9.1 occurring in the Nankai Trough in the Pacific off Japan in the next 30 years, the government’s Ea...
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Measures to prevent abuses of system seen necessary
In deliberations on the My Number system, lawmakers spent most of their time discussing how to prevent the leakage of personal information and abuse of the system, in light of rampant identity theft ...
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Abe, Suu Kyi to discuss democracy
YANGON (Jiji Press)--Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi were set to meet Saturday afternoon in Yangon to discuss ways to promote democracy in the Southeast Asian...
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Taiwan office names new liaison for Japan
TAIPEI (Jiji Press)--The East Asia Relations Commission, Taiwan’s window for exchanges with Japan, on Friday appointed Lee Chia-chin, a former National Security Council adviser, as its new head, ef...
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N. Korea signals willingness to return to 6-party talks
BEIJING (AP)--A top North Korean envoy has delivered a letter from leader Kim Jong Un to Chinese President Xi Jinping and told him Pyongyang would take steps to rejoin stalled nuclear disarmament tal...
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Pearly heights
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Abe: No prospects on schedule
YANGON (Jiji Press)--Japan has no clear prospects at present on when to resume bilateral and six-party talks with North Korea, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Saturday. Abe made the comments to report...
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Rubella shots lack funding nationwide
Only four prefectural governments are offering municipalities subsidies for vaccinations against rubella, according to a survey by The Yomiuri Shimbun.
Of the nation’s 47 prefectures, just Tokyo a...
JN Learning Lab
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INDIRECTLY SPEAKING / Government needs different tack on improving English education
Last month I wrote about the folly of the Liberal Democratic Party's proposal to make the TOEFL exam a requirement for both entering and graduating from Japanese universities in the future. This month...
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JAPANESE FOR LAZY PEOPLE
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MUSINGS
The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun’s May 17 issue. The late actor Shoichi Ozawa was once invited to the wedding party of an acquaintance. After lea...
Culture
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Cosmic pursuit / Potter follows father's footsteps to reproduce rare teabowls
SETO, Aichi--Think of them as a tiny universe that fits in the palm of your hand. When illuminated, lapis lazuli-colored spots glitter like miniature galaxies on the blackish glaze inside Yohen Tenmo...
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Pianist Koyama grows more emotive with time
Critically acclaimed pianist Michie Koyama has arrived at a new stage in her career, and her latest release Chaconne, on Sony Music Entertainment Inc., is proof. The album contains five pieces that s...
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Innovative bunraku piece to show in Europe
A complete version of Sonezaki Shinju (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki), a seminal piece of traditional bunraku puppet theater, will be performed in Europe this autumn by master puppeteers and feature ...
Ranking
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TEPCO seeks reactor restart / Resuming Niigata plant seen key to stable power supply
Tokyo Electric Power Co. has decided to apply to the nuclear regulating body to restart two reactors at its nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture by the end of July, after revised safety standard...
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Kono remark twisted 'comfort women' issue
A statement in 1993 by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono that suggested the government admitted forced recruitment of so-called comfort women aggravated what had already become a diplomatic pro...
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Abe clarifies history stance / Suffering of Asian nations recognized
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Japanese slaves crossed Pacific / Taken to Mexico in 16th century
A rare document has been found that records the transport of Japanese people to Mexico as slaves in the late 16th century, the first documentation of Japanese people crossing the Pacific Ocean.
Lu...
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In the News / Mikko Koivumaa / Finnish 'ikumen' dazzles Japan
For Mikko Koivumaa, the Japanese buzzword "ikumen" was a surprise. The Finnish diplomat encountered the word, which means a father who actively takes part in raising a child, soon after arriving in ...
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100,000 yen care robots are coming / Subsidies to aid development; units could be cheaply rented
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Govt honors baseball greats / Nagashima, Matsui presented with People's Award
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Computers make their move / Exploring AI and the human minds behind it through shogi
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Mt. Fuji to get World Heritage nod
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Japan in Depth / Rethinking Japan's sovereignty
