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Reader Mail
Dec 21, 2018

Looking back on the good, and not so good, days

When I came to Japan, Emperor Showa had just died. Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita had just resigned and Chiyonofuji was the reigning sumo yokozuna under challenge from the behemoth Konishiki. Tsutomu Miyazaki was murdering little girls, Odaiba was still under development, Shunichi Suzuki was still the...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2018

A new Russian first lady? Putin hints he may marry again

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he would probably have to get married again, but did not say to whom.
Japan Times
Special Supplements
Dec 21, 2018

A tasty lesson in tradition for elementary school students

On Dec. 7, fifth graders at Oji Daigo Elementary School in Tokyo's Kita Ward had the chance to fry up and feast on umami-rich pork using shiokōji, a traditional Japanese fermented condiment.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 21, 2018

Nissan's jailed ex-chief Carlos Ghosn vows to restore his honor in court, NHK says

Nissan Motor Co.'s jailed ex-chairman, Carlos Ghosn, vowed to restore his good name in court after a month in detention, NHK said on Friday, quoting his lawyer.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2018

Trump mulls major Afghanistan troop withdrawal, seen growing impatient with interventions

President Donald Trump is considering significantly drawing down troops from Afghanistan, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, in the latest sign his patience is thinning both with America's longest war and overseas military interventions, generally.
Dec 21, 2018

Announcement: awasake specialty site "awasake.com" OPEN

ima Inc. (Headquarters: Taito-ku, Tokyo, Founder CEO: Miura Ami) has opened on 21st of December, 2018, an awasake online shop: “awasake.com". Until now, awasake could not be easily compared, reviewed or even purchased within the same website. Through opening an ecommerce site specializing in
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2018

Facebook's spiralling data misuse could pressure U.S. FTC to act, leading to billions in fines

The latest revelations about how Facebook Inc. shared user data could put pressure on the Federal Trade Commission, heightening the risk of a multibillion-dollar fine for the social media giant.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Dec 21, 2018

Libyan coast guard says it intercepted 15,000 migrants in 2018 but U.N. puts figure at almost double

Libya's coast guard has intercepted about 15,000 migrants trying to reach Italy by sea this year, a spokesman said on Thursday, while the United Nations — which gave a much higher estimate — said many were kept in inhumane conditions and subjected to abuse.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 21, 2018

'Like catching a falling knife': Markets suffer worst year since global financial crisis

Traders will be glad to see the back of 2018. Nearly $7 trillion has been wiped off world stocks, emerging markets have been trampled flat by a charging dollar and even gold and U.S. government bonds have lost money.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 21, 2018

New York justice lets movie maker Harvey Weinstein's criminal charges stand

A New York state judge on Thursday denied Harvey Weinstein's motion to dismiss criminal charges that he sexually assaulted two women, rejecting the movie producer's argument that the case was tainted by police and prosecutorial misconduct.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 21, 2018

U.S. expected to end air war against Islamic State in Syria, alarming allies, Kurd partners

The United States will likely end its air campaign against Islamic State in Syria when it pulls out troops, U.S. officials said, sealing an abrupt reversal of policy that has alarmed Western allies as well as Washington's Kurdish battle partners.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2018

King orders revamp of Saudi intelligence service after Jamal Khashoggi slaying fiasco

Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday the creation of three new government bodies aimed at improving the country's intelligence operations in the wake of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which has sparked international outrage.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Dec 21, 2018

Migrants brave Bosnia's bitter winter wilderness, and wolves, to cross into EU

Their shoulders hunched against the bitter cold, dozens of migrants tramped towards Bosnia's border with Croatia, trying to cross illegally into the EU along a route that days earlier almost claimed the lives of a similar group.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Dec 20, 2018

2018 was a busy year for gamers in Japan, with established franchises and open world epics reigning supreme

Many gamers began 2018 by teaming up with a garishly outfitted cat and rushing into battle against a big, angry monster. Some of those same people will usher out the year by punching Nintendo icon Mario in his famously mustachioed face.
Figure Skating
Dec 20, 2018

Shoma Uno and Daisuke Takahashi making final preparations for Japan championships

Olympic and world silver medalist Shoma Uno and former world champion Daisuke Takahashi went through their paces at practice ahead of the start of the Japan championships here on Friday.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Dec 20, 2018

December 21, 2018

WORLD
Dec 20, 2018

Sex crime survivors start caravan to India's capital, demanding justice

Hundreds of people set out from Mumbai to India's capital, New Delhi, on Thursday in a caravan aimed at pressuring authorities to speed up trials of perpetrators of sex crimes, and to encourage victims to speak out.
SPORTS
Dec 20, 2018

Shohei Ohtani receives Prime Minister Cup for second time at Japan Pro Sports Awards

Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani has collected another Prime Minister Cup at the Japan Pro Sports Awards.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2018

NPO Fukuribi's wigs offer Japan's chemo patients new weapon in their fight against cancer

When TV celebrity Miki Yakata was told she would need chemotherapy after undergoing a mastectomy in April, she realized she would have to buy a wig.
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Dec 20, 2018

International flavors for Christmas fare

Christmas in Japan is a uniquely multicultural notion — even more so in Tokyo where Japanese cuisine so frequently meets international innovation. Such is the sentiment of Trunk (Hotel), which in its quest to express the "how and now of Tokyo," has prepared exclusive Yuletide lunch and dinner courses...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 20, 2018

Bank of Japan keeps stimulus unchanged at last policy meeting of year

The Bank of Japan left its stimulus settings unchanged at its final policy meeting of the year, as risks to inflation mount and the Federal Reserve signaled just hours before a slightly more dovish rate path ahead.
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 2018

China takes hostages

The detention of two Canadians in China is a gross abuse of authority and makes abundantly clear Beijing's intent to take hostages to extort the government in Ottawa.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2018

Seven questions about Ghosn and Nissan

The arrest of Carlos Ghosn last month evinces layers of complexities and raises numerous questions and issues about corporate Japan in the global context that will surely be debated for years to come.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2018

The intellectual property front in the U.S.-China trade war

Just how sustainable will U.S. 'lawfare' efforts be in protecting American intellectual property?

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building