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February 2018
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JAPAN

JAPAN
Feb 13, 2018
Japan saw record number of refugee applicants in 2017, Justice Ministry says
The ministry attributes the surge to a rise in economic immigrants — what the government calls those who apply for refugee status to land jobs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 13, 2018
Japan says it won't fall for North Korean 'charm offensive' amid detente with U.S. and South
The stance risks making Tokyo appear at odds with Washington and Seoul — its two top allies in dealing with the North.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 13, 2018
April 1 marks start of Japan's new medical fees and processes
The new medical prices are out.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2018
For young Japanese seeking romance, beauty is in the eye of the dating app
Japan's millennials are apathetic about romance, and everyone knows it.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 13, 2018
10 years on, Osaka fiscal reform started by Toru Hashimoto remains unfinished
Since Toru Hashimoto was elected Osaka governor in January 2008 and subsequently launched a reform drive, the prefecture has turned its debt-heavy public finances around to achieve budget surpluses.

ASIA PACIFIC

Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 13, 2018
Malaysia further downgrading ties with North Korea a year after airport assassination, sources say
One year after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half brother was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur's airport, Malaysia is further downgrading once-close ties with Pyongyang, sources familiar with the government's plans said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 13, 2018
Hong Kong court rules pro-independence stance must bar standing for election
Hong Kong's High Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of barring a pro-independence activist from standing in an election, saying it is "fundamental" for lawmakers to accept the city as an inalienable part of China.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 13, 2018
Hackers hit Winter Olympics in apparent attempt to embarrass organizers
A cyberattack paralyzed internet networks at the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, in what appears to have been a bid to embarrass the organizers of the games.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 13, 2018
China's Xi stresses military modernization in pre-new year visit
Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed military modernization and technological advances during meetings with servicemen and women ahead of the Lunar New Year, state media said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 13, 2018
Disgraced senior Chinese politician Sun Zhengcai charged with bribery
Chinese prosecutors have charged disgraced senior politician Sun Zhengcai with bribery, state media said Tuesday, the latest development in a corruption probe into a man once considered a contender for top leadership.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 13, 2018
North Korea dials down border propaganda after Olympics open
North Korea has lowered the volume of its border propaganda broadcasts at the inter-Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) since Friday's Winter Olympics opening ceremony, a senior military official stationed at the border said Tuesday.

WORLD

Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 13, 2018
U.S. strikes said to kill scores of Russian fighters in Syria
U.S. forces killed scores of Russian contract soldiers in Syria last week in what may be the deadliest clash between citizens of the former foes since the Cold War, according to a U.S. official and three Russians familiar with the matter.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 13, 2018
Oregon woman first to be found infected with eye worm previously known only in cattle
An Oregon woman has become the first person worldwide known to have had an eye infestation by a tiny worm species previously seen only in cattle that is spread by flies that feed on eyeball lubrication, U.S. government researchers said on Monday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 13, 2018
'Dozens' of Russians allegedly killed in clash with U.S.-led forces in Syria
Russian fighters were among those killed when U.S.-led coalition forces clashed with pro-government forces in Syria this month, former associates of the dead said on Monday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Feb 13, 2018
Oxfam deputy chief quits as sex scandal linked to Haiti and Chad staff widens
The deputy head of Oxfam resigned on Monday over what she said was the British charity's failure to adequately respond to past allegations of sexual misconduct by some of its staff in Haiti and Chad.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 13, 2018
Obama jokes about his ears and gray hair as official portrait is unveiled
Former U.S. President Barack Obama joked about his ears and gray hair and praised his wife Michelle Obama's "hotness" at the unveiling of the couple's official portraits at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery on Monday.

BUSINESS

Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2018
U.S. to push for 'reciprocal tax' on trade partners: Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he will push for a "reciprocal tax" against countries, including allies of the United States, that levy tariffs on American products, but officials did not provide details on how such a tax would be structured or the goods to which it would apply.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 13, 2018
5G is here: Super speed makes worldwide debut at Winter Olympics
The first to experience the future of wireless technology, well before most humans, will be South Korea's wild boars. That's because 5G, the fifth-generation wireless network, is making its worldwide debut at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 13, 2018
Billionaire investors Icahn and Deason say Fuji-Xerox deal undervalues company
Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason have come out against Xerox Corp.'s plans to cede control to Fujifilm Holding Corp., arguing the deal "dramatically undervalues" the company.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2018
Stung by three deadly crashes in two months, Amtrak would lose half its federal funds under Trump budget
President Donald Trump is proposing to cut in half the federal subsidy for Amtrak, the troubled national passenger rail service that has experienced three fatal crashes in the past two months.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2018
Amazon cutting hundreds of Seattle jobs in rare cutback as it shifts focus
Amazon.com Inc. is cutting hundreds of jobs at its headquarters in Seattle, paring back older departments focused on selling goods online. The move is part of a broader reorganization at the company that's also hiring in newer lines of business like cloud computing and its Alexa platform.

Opinion

EDITORIALS
Feb 13, 2018
Maldives: trouble in paradise
The Maldives' location has elevated a domestic crisis into a geopolitical problem.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 13, 2018
The four mottainai in Okinawan affairs
Opportunities to defuse tensions surrounding the U.S. military presence on Okinawa have been wasted.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2018
U.S. foreign policy and the missing left
The U.S. left's silence over Trump's disastrous foreign policy has consigned it to irrelevance.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2018
From Pyeongchang to peace?
Kim's charm offensive is aimed at resurrecting the North's sanction-battered economy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 13, 2018
'More of the same' isn't a choice for Kuroda
Reports that Haruhiko Kuroda will be reappointed don't mean he can continue stimulus forever.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2018
North Korean charm sure beats the alternative
Engaging with Pyongyang may encourage the regime down the path of liberalization.

Sports

Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 13, 2018
Norway's Johannes Hoesfolt Klaebo triumphs in men's sprint classic
Johannes Hoesfolt Klaebo powered to a stunning victory in the men's sprint classic on Tuesday to claim another cross-country gold medal for Norway with a dominant performance in the final.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 13, 2018
Canadian curlers overpower Switzerland to capture first mixed doubles crown
Canada was crowned the first Olympics mixed-doubles curling champion on Tuesday claiming gold with a 10-3 blowout win over world champion Switzerland.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 13, 2018
Who to watch on Wednesday, Day 6 of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics
10 a.m. Figure skating, pairs short program: The pair of Miu Suzaki and Ryuichi Kihara will compete. Kihara competed at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, pairing with Narumi Takahashi, but has been competing with Suzaki since 2015.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 13, 2018
Spanish star Javier Fernandez says he's ready for Olympic competition
After Spanish figure skater Javier Fernandez won his sixth consecutive European title last month, he knew he still had work to do for a chance at the podium in Pyeongchang.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 13, 2018
Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics Day 4: Japan breaks into the medal rankings
Japan’s search for gold in Pyeongchang was stymied Monday night after its best shot so far, Miho Takagi, took silver in the women’s 1,500-meter speedskating event. She was foiled by the Netherlands’ Ireen Wust, who earlier bested Takagi in the 3,000m and with last night’s victory became the most...
OLYMPICS
Feb 13, 2018
Yuzuru Hanyu ready to give 'dream performance' at Pyeongchang Olympics
Yuzuru Hanyu went through a 40-minute practice on the main rink at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Tuesday morning and then met the media afterward to provide an update on his condition.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 13, 2018
Four years later, Sara Takanashi lands Olympic medal
Sara Takanashi exorcised the ghost of Sochi with a bronze medal in the normal hill jump at Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre on Monday night.

CULTURE

Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 13, 2018
Yasuaki Shimizu's artful jingles
An effective commercial jingle wedges itself into your brain. There's the incessant repetition of Meow Mix, the harmony of McDonald's "I'm lovin' it" or the youthful chorus of "Biiiku, biku, biku, Bic Camera."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 13, 2018
An excavation of hu-man traits
The excavation of the tomb of the Tang Dynasty general Mu Tai (660-729, buried in 730) took place in Qingcheng County in China's Gansu Province in 2001. Unearthed were colorfully painted and realistically detailed small-scale sculptures of "foreign" peoples and their animals, such as horses and camels,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 13, 2018
'Impressionist Masterpieces from the E.G. Buehrle Collection, Zurich (Switzerland)'
Feb. 14-May 7
CULTURE / Art
Feb 13, 2018
'Kan'ei Elegance: Edo-Period Court Culture and Enshu, Ninsei, and Tan'yu'
Feb. 14-April 8
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 13, 2018
'Yoshikazu Ooka Photo Exhibition: Tainan'
Feb. 11-24

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji