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ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 20, 2015

In quest to improve PLA, Xi evokes Japan's victory over navy in 1894

In the "century of humiliation" that President Xi Jinping often evokes for his goal of turning China into a great power, one particular episode resonates: The defeat of China's navy by Japan in 1894.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 19, 2015

Michelle Obama, Akie Abe pledge bilateral effort for girls' education

Visiting U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and Akie Abe, wife of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, pledged Thursday to strengthen bilateral cooperation in helping girls around the world receive an education, especially in developing countries.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 19, 2015

Bryant still hoping Fukuoka can make playoffs

The Rizing Fukuoka face an uphill climb in their quest to make the playoffs.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Mar 19, 2015

Pretty as a picture at Tokyo Marriott; fine dining at Grand Hyatt Fukuoka; Royal Park cherry blossom cocktails

Pretty as a picture at Tokyo Marriott
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 19, 2015

Indonesia using U.S. Pacific Fleet as blueprint for naval buildup

Indonesia is modeling its naval forces after the U.S. Pacific Fleet as President Joko Widodo restructures the nation's military, according to his navy chief.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 19, 2015

Accused murderer Durst deemed suicidal

Robert Durst, the real estate scion charged with first-degree murder, is suicidal, according statements by Louisiana authorities released on Wednesday after they moved him to a facility for acutely mentally ill inmates.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 18, 2015

Forget Me Not: Falling in love is hard when no one remembers you

'I will never forget you," lovers say to each other. The truth is that sooner or later, almost everyone is forgotten. In fact, many people you've met, from your kindergarten classmates to that sloshed guy at the bar last night, have forgotten you already. If you ran into them on the street today, they...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 18, 2015

Young Ones: 'a portentous film set in a future dustbowl America'

It is just impossible in this day and age to make a sincere John Ford-style Western with plain-spoken folk holding guns while talking solemnly about "land" and "family" — unless, maybe, you're making a TV ad for Sarah Palin. It's even harder to do this straight-faced when your film involves robots,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2015

Nintendo finally enters smartphone game sector, with DeNA as partner

In a major policy shift, Nintendo Co. said it has partnered with mobile video game operator DeNA Co. to enter the smartphone game market.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2015

Why Czar Vladimir Putin is always correct

Russians have endured some of the worst despots in history, yet they have a near-apocalyptic fear of change of power.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 18, 2015

All change for Kanze noh theater

Of Japan's many traditional performing arts, noh is the most refined — and among its most prominent figures today is 55-year-old Kiyokazu Kanze, the 26th head of its largest faction, the Kanze School.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 18, 2015

Psycho-drama mystery tests Tani's 'pop' principles

"Probably nobody ever got involved with theater the way I did," Kenichi Tani said with a laugh, explaining that because his teachers at school were "really boring" he set his sights on becoming an interesting teacher in the future.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 18, 2015

Lawyer for Pakistan doctor who helped CIA find bin Laden shot dead

A Pakistani lawyer under death threats for defending a doctor who helped CIA agents hunt al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was shot dead on Tuesday, police said, and two militant groups claimed responsibility.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2015

Balance of power tips toward Iran

With Iraq essentially neutralized, Iran is set to become the dominant power in the gulf region.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 17, 2015

LLLL stays 'Faithful' to honest approach

Despite his elusive online persona, Kazuto Okawa, aka LLLL (pronounced "four-el"), is strikingly open and honest about his views in person. Speaking in a small Koenji cafe, he discusses his sophomore album, "Faithful," released this week via Tokyo label Progressive Form, with a critical approach that...
WORLD
Mar 17, 2015

Thai women warned against taking 'underboob selfies'

Thailand's military government warned women on Monday against posting "selfie" photos of the lower half of their breasts — a social media trend that has gone viral — saying their actions could violate the country's computer crime laws.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 17, 2015

Bathroom confession critical in Durst case, legal experts say

New York real estate scion and accused murderer Robert Durst's bathroom muttering that he "killed them all" would likely be admissible evidence in a murder trial, legal experts said on Monday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 17, 2015

Kurds report more chlorine attacks; Iraq pauses Tikrit offensive

Iraq paused its Tikrit offensive on Monday and officials called for more airstrikes against Islamic State militants, while an officer said Kurdish forces sustained two more chlorine gas attacks by insurgents.
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 16, 2015

Yokohama: What are you most proud or fond of about Japan?

People on the streets of Japan's second most-populous city wax positive about the archipelago's attractions.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2015

Corruption threatens to implode Bangladesh

With bomb explosions almost taking the life of the prime minister, the opposition leader charged with murder, and violent protests and arson sweeping the capital, Bangladesh again seems poised at the edge of an abyss.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 16, 2015

Beware the $300 billion shift into Treasuries coming from Japan

Back in the 1980s, the billions of dollars that the Japanese plowed into U.S. government debt reflected the Asian nation's burgeoning economic might.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2015

Aum foes review '95 sarin attack ahead of 20th anniversary

As Japan readies for the 20th anniversary this week of the deadly terrorist attack perpetrated by doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo on Tokyo's subway system, a number of those who fought the cult in its heyday gathered Saturday to reflect on their missteps in handling the crisis — and renew their vow to...
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 15, 2015

Return of Fukushima elderly gives preview of future

The nation honored its dead last week from the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Tohoku's Pacific coastline on March 11 four years ago.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 15, 2015

Attack on U.S. envoy renews debate over South Korean security law

Efforts by South Korean police to charge a nationalist over a knife attack on the U.S. ambassador have renewed debate about the use of a state security act as a political weapon and an attempt to gloss over security shortcomings.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 15, 2015

Bristol Palin to marry U.S. Medal of Honor winner Dakota Meyer

Bristol Palin, a reality TV personality and daughter of 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is engaged to marry Medal of Honor winner Dakota Meyer, the couple said on Saturday.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 14, 2015

Above the East China Sea: A Novel

Although this is supposedly Sarah Bird's "most ambitious" novel to date — and it is ambitious — it's not the novel that falls short, it's the marketing. Rather than Bird's ticket to entering the "literary elite," it is the best of young adult fiction.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 14, 2015

Turkish Airlines promotes name with pro game

Turkish Airlines and the bj-league were both seeking to strengthen their business brands when they announced a two-year tie-up last September.
Japan Times
JAPAN / UN WORLD CONFERENCE ON DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
Mar 14, 2015

Water-powered batteries, water purifier

Japan Times
JAPAN / UN WORLD CONFERENCE ON DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
Mar 14, 2015

Shirakami Sanchi: A forest outside of time

Japan is undoubtedly a land of abundant natural beauty. Its long island chain spans a huge diversity of environments that famously enjoy four distinct seasons. While the Japanese people are great lovers of nature, thousands of years of life on the archipelago have made swathes of untouched splendor somewhat...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past