Asia Pacific

Car bomb kills dozens outside Shiite mosque in Karachi

AP A car bomb exploded outside a mosque Sunday, killing at least 37 people and wounding another 141 in a mostly Shiite Muslim neighborhood in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi — the third mass-casualty attack on the minority sect in the country this ...

Fever from the fields

At least five people in Japan have died of severe fever from thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), a virus infection said to be transmitted by ticks.

Language | BILINGUAL

Tense times in Japan’s relationships with its neighbors

by Michael Hoffman

It's a dangerous, unpredictable world. Twice in January Chinese warships in the East China Sea challenged Japan's Maritime Self Defense Forces patrols in a manner deemed threatening. And on Feb. 12 came North Korea's nuclear test.

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT

Everything you wanted to know about Western women (but were afraid to ask): No-holds-barred guide targets Japanese men

by Kaori Shoji

Here's an open secret: Japanese men have a bad international reputation on the romance front.

Review

‘A person and a possession’: Japanese women in history

by Kris Kosaka

SELLING WOMEN: Prostitution, Markets and the Household in Early Modern Japan, by Amy Stanley. University of California Press, 2012, 282 pp., $49.95 (hardcover) In the vast cultural landscape, Japan fascinates the mainstream with manga and anime, the martial arts, Zen and kimono. Of course, ...

Baseball | World Baseball Classic

Maeda regains pitching form, holds China scoreless for five innings

Kenta Maeda shook off worries about his form with five shutout innings as Japan beat China 5-2 in first-round Pool A of the World Baseball Classic on Sunday at Fukuoka Dome. Japan improved to 2-0 following a tough win over Brazil in Saturday evening’s ...

More Sports / Football

Ravens center Birk hangs up helmet

BALTIMORE – Matt Birk’s final game was a Super Bowl victory.

The veteran center of the Baltimore Ravens retired Friday after 15 pro seasons.

“To cap it with a Super Bowl win, that’s a great thing,” the 36-year-old Birk said. “But, regardless of that, had that not happened, it would have still been a fantastic experience and one that I would have been very thankful and grateful for.”

Birk, the NFL’s Man of the Year in 2011 for his community service, announced his retirement at Battle Grove Elementary School. A father of six, Birk established the “Ready, Set, Read!” program, an initiative developed by his H.I.K.E. Foundation (Hope, Inspiration, Knowledge and Education) that motivates students to read at home.