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Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 20, 2016

Pakistan Taliban kill at least 19 as they storm university

Islamist Taliban militants stormed a university in volatile northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least 19 people and wounding dozens as the army hunted for any gunmen still holed up on the campus, officials said.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 20, 2016

Petroleum's plunge is great news for most of us

The initial shock from the oil collapse might be negative, but it will be outweighed by the positive effects before too long.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 20, 2016

J-horror master Yoshihiro Nakamura returns to form

Yoshihiro Nakamura entered the film world on a well-trodden path. After making 8 mm films while studying at Tokyo's Seijo University and winning a prize at the 1993 Pia Film Festival — a famous incubator for young Japanese filmmakers — he worked as an assistant director for Juzo Itami, Yoichi Sai...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2016

Japan's Foreign Ministry councils caution when traveling to Bali after fresh terrorism fears

The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday issued a warning calling on Japanese to exercise caution when traveling to the resort island of Bali, Indonesia, following recent media reports of an alleged terrorist threat made against the popular holiday destination
Japan Times
BUSINESS / DAVOS SPECIAL 2016
Jan 20, 2016

Turning challenges of cybersecurity into new opportunities for growth

As information and communication technology (ICT) has extended into all areas of society, we have become ever more reliant upon it. The subtle ways in which it is changing the world, though both exciting and frightening, are not widely recognized or understood. This year, Japan will host the G-7 summit...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2016

Visitors to Japan surge to record 19.73 million, spend all-time high ¥3.48 trillion

A record 19.73 million people visited Japan in 2015, marking the first time in 45 years that the number of incoming travelers surpassed the outbound figure.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2016

Will Cameron suffer Neville Chamberlain's fate?

Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to hold a referendum — perhaps as early as June — on the U.K.'s continued membership in the EU could bring down his government, destroy his political party and literally tear his country apart.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 19, 2016

Chinese ambassador hails 'inseparable' relationship, urges Japan not to adopt policy of containment

Adopting a policy of containment with regard to China's growing clout would be a mistake, the Chinese ambassador to Japan said Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 19, 2016

Son's SoftBank vision at risk as Sprint goes from bad to worse

The acquisition of Sprint Corp. was supposed to help Masayoshi Son realize his vision of transforming SoftBank Group Corp. into the world's most valuable company. Instead, the 2013 deal has become his biggest setback so far, dragging down SoftBank shares and cutting into the billionaire's wealth.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 18, 2016

Kudo, Saito lead Class of '16 into Japan's Baseball Hall of Fame

Masaki Saito and Kimiyasu Kudo, a pair of former MVP hurlers, were voted into the Japanese baseball Hall of Fame, the organization announced on Monday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 18, 2016

As Xi heads into Middle East feud, China says aims for balance

China intends to retain a balanced stance in the Middle East, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Monday, as President Xi Jinping prepared to leave on an unusual visit this week to Saudi Arabia and Iran, regional powers currently locked in a bitter dispute.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 18, 2016

Another year of living precariously in 21st-century Japan

2015 was a pretty gloomy year worldwide. And the same could be said for life on the archipelago.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 18, 2016

Rescues point to dangers of searching out backcountry powder

Backcountry skiing and snowboarding have come under scrutiny after the recent rescue of two groups of skiers stranded in mountains in Nagano and Fukushima prefectures.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 18, 2016

South China Sea? For Beijing, Taiwan is the No. 1 security issue

For China, whose President Xi Jinping is already taking an increasingly muscular approach to claims in the East and South China seas, the question of Taiwan trumps any other of its territorial assertions in terms of sensitivity and importance.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2016

Trump blasts Cruz as 'nasty guy' as rival fires back over 'New York values'

A rolling brawl between the two U.S. Republican presidential front-runners didn't abate on Sunday as Donald Trump termed his closest competitor, Ted Cruz, "nasty" and the Texas senator stood his ground in criticizing the billionaire's "New York values."
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Jan 17, 2016

Foreign tourism emerges as bright spot amid Japan's dim economic prospects

With few positive signs of recovery for Japan's slumping economy, foreign tourism remains a sole ray of hope, and tourism authorities, local governments, industry players as well as retailers are eagerly awaiting another possibly record-breaking surge in Chinese tourists during next month's Chinese New...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 16, 2016

Murakami is right about jazz and the brain

"Music brings a warm glow to my vision, thawing mind and muscle from their endless wintering."
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Jan 16, 2016

Osaka Ishin walks a tightrope under its big top

Does the fate of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts (at least in the Diet) to revise the Constitution lie in Osaka?
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 16, 2016

Cruz blasted for 'New York values' comment in debate

Ted Cruz — be careful who you mess with.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2016

Osaka assembly passes nation's first ordinance against hate speech

The city of Osaka passed the nation's first ordinance by a major city against hate speech late Friday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 15, 2016

China's Xinjiang region adopts nondiscrimination rules amid ethnic violence

China's western region of Xinjiang has set new rules to boost "ethnic solidarity," state media said on Friday, amid roiling violence between Muslim Uighurs and the majority Han Chinese that has left hundreds dead in recent years.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2016

Architect Kengo Kuma dismisses alleged similarities with Hadid stadium design

Kengo Kuma, whose flatter, less expensive design will be used for the Olympic Games' main venue, said his plan and Hadid's differed in concept and cost.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / David Bowie in Japan
Jan 15, 2016

15 minutes more

One day in 1996, when I was working as an editor/writer on the features desk, I arrived at work and was told as I walked in the door that an unnamed person had called. They were looking for someone at The Japan Times to do a one-on-one interview with David Bowie.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Jan 15, 2016

In the wake of Starman's sudden departure

After an 18-month battle for liver cancer, cultural icon David Bowie passed away on Sunday, Jan. 10, two days after his 69th birthday. Here is a snapshot of the mourning and tributes that followed.

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