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COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 10, 2015

The people's Emperor speaks truth to power

Emperor Akihito began the new year with a statement that pointedly referred to two major controversies: war memory and nuclear energy. His thoughts on these demonstrate why he is so admired by the public and underscore the crucial role the 81-year-old monarch plays in contemporary Japan.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2015

'Je suis Charlie'

The world has united in defiance of the terrorist attempt to silence a French magazine. It must remain equally vigilant against over-reaction to the killings.
EDITORIALS
Jan 7, 2015

Don't duck war responsibility

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe must carefully consider the impact of his upcoming war anniversary message to avoid damaging ties with China and South Korea.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 7, 2015

'Flies' festers at core of family life

Central to William Golding's dystopian novel "Lord of the Flies" is the notion of violence as a social construct. "Maybe there is a beast ... maybe it's only us," says the protective Simon before a hostile assembly of other schoolboys marooned on the uninhabited island where the English Nobel laureate...
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jan 3, 2015

Talking tanuki — or whatever you call them

After deer, easily the most commonly seen wild mammals up here in the Kurohime hills where I live, and in northern Nagano Prefecture in general, are the furry, short-legged burrowing creatures called tanuki in Japanese.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 30, 2014

Their nation in pieces, Iraqis ponder what comes next

The machine gun poking out from between a framed portrait of a Shiite imam and a stuffed toy Minnie Mouse was trained on anyone who approached the checkpoint.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2014

Texas license plate challenges sensitive people

The legal skirmish over a Texas license platet implicates a burgeoning new entitlement in the U.S.: the right to pass through life without encountering any disagreeable thought.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 24, 2014

2014: New horizons opened up in Japan's theater world

Looking back over the past 12 months in Japan's theater world, it's clear that one encouraging trend is a lessening of the capital's dominance.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 18, 2014

Sculpting the uncanny space between permanence and evanescence

Sculpture is supposedly the most solid and permanent of the creative arts, so it is a paradox that an artist like Junichi Mori — whose work often focuses on impermanence and evanescence — has chosen to work in this style, using materials like marble and wood, instead of something more fleeting and...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 17, 2014

Sony tells theaters they can pull 'The Interview' after threats

Sony Pictures executives told theaters they are free to pull "The Interview" from their multiplexes following threats of violence by a hacker group, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 15, 2014

Buzzwords of 2014: from killer drugs to robotic refusals

Once again, the massive reference book 「現代用語の基礎知識」("Gendai Yōgo no Kiso Chishiki," "The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words") is on sale. This annual publication that tracks additions to, and changes in, the Japanese language and various world developments over the previous year...
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Dec 14, 2014

Readers' letters: Hague abduction pamphlets, East Asia ties, temping teachers and learning English

Some emails received in response to recent Community articles.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 12, 2014

Shonan complex offers a curated lifestyle

A discreet black sign, concrete floors, industrial-style ceilings, wooden shelves filled with design toys and gourmet treats. This may sound like the minimal interior of an urban lifestyle store in some hip corner of Tokyo, but the reality is more surprising. It is, in fact, a new branch of one of Japan's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 11, 2014

Taking flight with Arata Isozaki

I once almost got to interview the architect Arata Isozaki, but it was canceled due to his ill health at the time. No doubt a consideration in the cancelation was the fact that interviews with him can go to extreme lengths, as Isozaki has much to tell, having collaborated with almost every big name in...
Reader Mail
Dec 10, 2014

Advances without atonement

I read with interest William Pesek's Dec. 6 opinion piece, "Japan's media needs to act as a watchdog, not a lapdog."
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 9, 2014

Methamphetamine use soars in Iran as lifestyles speed up

Women in headscarves and men in tatty clothes puff on a glass pipe as smoke swirls around their faces. The pictures published by Iranian media and blogs in recent months are a sign of a new drug epidemic: shishe, or methamphetamine.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 8, 2014

Bangkok hotel is one crime scene in Sony hack

The incursion into Sony Pictures Entertainment's computer system reached its climax in, of all places, the elegant St. Regis Bangkok in the capital of Thailand.
EDITORIALS
Dec 4, 2014

Weighing Abe's Asian diplomacy

Japanese voters should consider the results of the Abe adminisration's diplomatic moves with regard to South Korea and China, when they cast their votes Dec. 14.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2014

Tibet core to Sino-Indian ties

Tibet historically was the buffer that separated the Chinese and Indian civilizations. Ever since Communist China, in one of its first acts, gobbled up that buffer with India, Tibet has remained the core matter with India.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 28, 2014

A modern annex for an old favorite

I always feel a little inadequate arriving at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, shambling up its gravel drive in my slovenly journalist garb and running one hand over my face to check if I've shaved that day. It's such an elegant venue that I feel I really should be arriving in more style, possibly...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2014

Should Putin fear rebel leader who 'pulled the trigger of war' in Ukraine?

The ultranationalist who triggered Russia's military involvement in Ukraine views himself as a warrior in a bigger war against a godless West.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 26, 2014

Seeking Japan's gods and nobles in roots, stone and moss

If you've had a hankering to go hiking with Shinto deities, why not try the Kumano Kodo trail in Wakayama Prefecture?
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 25, 2014

U.S. senator calls for declaration of war against Islamic State

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a possible Republican candidate for president in 2016, is calling for a formal declaration of war against Islamic State militants who control parts of Iraq and Syria, the New York Times reported Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 24, 2014

Local governments finally getting around to public toilets

There will soon be many more Western-style toilets in Chiba Prefecture's public rest rooms

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