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Reader Mail
Aug 7, 2015

English reform must be top-down

Regarding the Walt Gardner column "Learning English requires a different approach" in the Aug. 2 edition, Honda's actions aren't belated at all. They stem from the recent effects of the weakening yen to drive Japanese sales abroad so high that better English would make sales more efficient.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 7, 2015

China removes cross from church after lengthy rooftop protest

Chinese authorities removed a cross from a church Friday after Christian protesters ended a month-long sit-in on the building's roof in a bid to protect the cross from what they said was its unfair removal, witnesses said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 7, 2015

Bill Cosby ordered to give sworn deposition in suit alleging sexual abuse of minor

Bill Cosby has been ordered to give a sworn deposition in a lawsuit brought by a woman accusing the comedian of plying her with alcohol and sexually abusing her at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles when she was 15 years old.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 6, 2015

Hibakusha of 'Korea's Hiroshima' still press for redress

The nuclear bomb detonated as a 16-year-old girl sat in a shanty town cradling her baby, waiting for her mother to return from selling candy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 5, 2015

Time for UNSC members to ban their own WMD

Rather than nuclear disarmament, the world is witnessing an upgrading — and, in some cases, expansion — of nuclear arsenals.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Aug 5, 2015

Mount Koya sites exemplify 'parallel universe' where war criminals are martyrs

Japanese leaders who continue to condone the country's wartime actions inhabit a 'parallel universe' whose version of WWII history is at odds with the rest of the world's.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2015

U.S. stands by Henoko plan despite move by Tokyo to suspend construction

The United States will continue to back plans to relocate the U.S. Marine base at Futenma to Henoko, both in Okinawa, despite the surprise decision by Tokyo to suspend construction for a month due to opposition in the prefecture over the project, a U.S. official in Washington said Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Aug 5, 2015

Abe, offer a WWII apology alluding to the shame the West should share

The prime minister should explain to the world that he is sorry for the implications of Japan's warmongering past but rather glad that Japan avoided the fate of its neighbors by treading the imperial path.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Aug 5, 2015

Asahi Shimbun apologizes for 'inappropriate' tweet about Shinzo Abe

Tadashi Tominaga, the newspaper's senior staff writer, had posted a photograph of an ultranationalist rally, writing that the participants were supporters of the prime minister.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Aug 5, 2015

The 47 ronin seek vengeance in medieval Europe

"Chushingura,"the 18th-century tale of the 47 ronin, is one of Japan's most beloved historical legends. And once again it has become fodder for a flashy Hollywood movie, this time called "Last Knights," starring Morgan Freeman and Clive Owen, and directed by none other than Mr. Flash himself: Kazuaki...
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 5, 2015

China to place security staff at major Internet firms, websites

China is planning to set up "network security offices" in major Internet companies and for websites so authorities can move more quickly against illegal online behavior, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 5, 2015

Corporate earnings in Japan outshine rest of Asia amid weak yen

Japan is emerging as the star of Asia's latest earnings season, with most companies reporting higher-than-expected profit growth as businesses continue to benefit from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 4, 2015

Dinh Q. Le's art of nuanced criticism

Dinh Q. Le says he's not angry about the American war in Vietnam anymore. This makes our interview a lot easier; we are both of Vietnamese descent and there is a chance that talking about the war could polarize us very quickly, even though we are one generation removed from those that fought.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 4, 2015

Turkish ambassador says Japan needs Abe's national security reforms

Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Bulent Meric during an interview Tuesday expressed a keen interest in the ongoing debate over the Abe government's contentious security bills.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2015

Turkey's democracy is being quietly stolen

If President Recep Erdogan succeeds in using a rekindled Kurdish conflict to secure his presidential powers, it will be difficult for Turkish democracy to survive in any meaningful sense.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 4, 2015

Grassroots capitalism an economic reality in North Korea

From the dark alleys of Pyongyang, the showpiece North Korean capital, tiny specks of torchlight shine carefully into the eyes of passersby, leading to bustling and illegal street markets where traders, usually women, call out "buy, buy!"
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2015

Europe has its own serious air pollution issues

When it comes to air pollution, Europe might consider doing less lecturing and taking more action.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Aug 3, 2015

No student should be without the Japanese double-negative

The pattern X-nai+noun wa nai/inai expresses that, in fact, everyone is/does X.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Aug 2, 2015

Puppy perfect: a dog named Breton

Cute as a button and quite the character, the 3-month-old Breton is as happy-go-lucky as they come.
WORLD
Aug 2, 2015

Texas man shoots armadillo, gets hit in face by bullet ricochet

An East Texas man was wounded after he fired a gun at an armadillo in his yard and the bullet ricocheted back to hit him in his face, the county sheriff said Friday.
WORLD
Aug 2, 2015

Extraordinary measures used to fight militant Islam in 'stans'

Authorities in Central Asia's former Soviet "stans" are taking draconian measures to stamp out militant Islam, but their harsh methods and the absence of democratic politics risk provoking a backlash that could bring even greater instability.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 1, 2015

Exploring Japan's military past

History buffs in Japan can also visit a variety of sites related to this country's military past. In addition to the enormous Yushukan Museum on the grounds of the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward (www.yasukuni.or.jp/english/yushukan), numerous spots with historical significance can be found within...
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Aug 1, 2015

Innocence and distraction

Mama-chan, can you wait a bit? You're going too fast.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2015

No final deal in TPP trade talks

Efforts to conclude the framework for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement ended in failure Saturday, with negotiators unable to bridge differences over issues ranging from pharmaceutical patents to expanded imports of agricultural, and particularly dairy, products.
EDITORIALS
Aug 1, 2015

Lessons of plane crash in Chofu

The July 26 airplane crash in Chofu, western Tokyo, demonstrates the need for tighter rules governing small airports and the pilots and companies that use them.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Jul 31, 2015

August 1, 2015

Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 31, 2015

Never mind the lineup: Fuji Rock is more than music

It has only been three years since Fuji Rock Festival posted its highest-ever attendance figures, with a little help from Radiohead and The Stone Roses, but you wouldn't have known it from the steady drumbeat of glumness that heralded this year's edition. Following a lackluster showing in 2014, when...

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo