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CULTURE / Books
Feb 28, 2015

Shimada Kenji: Scholar, Thinker, Reader

Shimada Kenji, a Japanese scholar of China's intellectual history who died in 2000, is endearingly represented in this short, incisive and, at times, personal book. In bringing together examples of Kenji's writing with an interview and other critical texts, it provides a comprehensive, albeit brief overview...
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Feb 28, 2015

Security blanket

I noticed there wasn't a terrorist attack on the Tokyo Marathon today.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 28, 2015

Animal body sizes tend to increase in over time

Renowned 19th-century American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope proposed "Cope's Rule," hypothesizing that animal lineages tend to increase in body size over time.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Feb 28, 2015

'Kid' Yamamoto ready to rumble

Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto still gets asked about the time he knocked out an opponent in four seconds with a flying knee to the head.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 28, 2015

Flood of retired numbers can lessen significance

You probably saw the article last week with the news the New York Yankees will retire the uniform numbers of former players Andy Pettitte (46), Jorge Posada (20) and Bernie Williams (51). That brings to 20 the total of retired numbers by the Yanks, and Derek Jeter's No. 2 will follow and that means no...
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Feb 28, 2015

The candy, the whip and freedom of press in Japan

We are familiar with the carrot-and-stick approach in the West, but the phrase in Japan is "ame to muchi" — literally, the candy and the whip.
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2015

Trying to stop the repetition of stupidities

Bloomberg writer Noah Smith, in his Feb. 24 op-ed article titled "Will Japan become Asia's next autocracy?," warns of the danger in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's attempt to amend the Constitution with the Liberal Democratic Party's illiberal draft proposals, yet thinks it sensible to repeal Article 9,...
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2015

Right-wingers toe the U.S. line

The other day, while driving in Naha, I encountered a sound truck operated by ultra-nationalists. It was blaring out Imperial Japanese Army tunes with two national flags hoisted on top: One was the Rising Sun and the other was the Stars and Stripes. Clearly these right-wingers identify themselves not...
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2015

Too tired to care who is standing

Having returned to Japan nearly five years ago — after living in the United States for 15 years — I was wondering why the Japanese generally lacked courtesy on the train when it came to yielding their seats to elders, pregnant women or people with small children. In the U.S., gentlemen yielded seats...
JAPAN / Society
Feb 27, 2015

Most Tokyo wards less keen on recognizing same-sex unions

Most of Tokyo's wards are hesitant to propose or consider certificates that would declare same-sex unions as equivalent to marriage, The Japan Times finds.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 27, 2015

Americans must tell Washington no more war

No matter how disastrous the outcome, the American war lobby of fools lives on, insisting that the idea to go to war was sound and that any problems resulted from engaging too few troops, not doing enough bombing, ending an occupation too soon or spending too few dollars.
BASKETBALL
Feb 26, 2015

Ex-NBA big man Ely sparks Gunma in victory over Saitama

Former NBA center Melvin Ely notched a double-double and three teammates also scored in double figures as the Gunma Crane Thunders cruised past the visiting Saitama Broncos 75-61 in Thursday's series opener.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 26, 2015

Former teen star Yui Aragaki heads back to school in 'Kuchibiru ni Uta wo'

It has been 10 years since Yui Aragaki made her debut as an actress — first as a teen in the sci-fi TV series "Sh15uya" ("Shibuya 15"), and then in a breakthrough role as high school student Yoshino in the dramatic series "Dragon Zakura."
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 26, 2015

Korean-American activist raps Suga's response to failed lawsuit against 'comfort woman' statue

A Korean-American leader in California criticizes Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga's regret after a lawsuit failed to remove Glendale's 'comfort women' war memorial.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Feb 26, 2015

Late trainer Tanaka recalled fondly by coaches, players

The Gunma Crane Thunders have lost their beloved athletic trainer and translator Takashi "T" Tanaka.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 26, 2015

Who'll prevail in the Greece-Europe face-off?

The immediate danger of a run on Greek banks may have eased, but could resume at any point. Neither Europe nor Greece has caved to the other's economic demands because nothing is decided.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 25, 2015

Visionary firms on the wrong side of 'Abenomics'

The Abe adminstration's retrograde focus on a lower exchange rate is arguably doing the economy more harm than good.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 25, 2015

A 'Swan Lake' of diversity

"Ballet must be accessible," the French choreographer and artistic director of The Ballet of Monte Carlo, Jean-Christophe Maillot, believes — and the upcoming Japan premiere of "LAC," his most ambitious reconfiguration of a classic to date, promises to attract both fans of Tchaikovsky's famed 1876...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 25, 2015

French artiste par excellence hails noh highs

French comedian extraordinaire Guillaume Gallienne has a sizeable Japanese fan base, which gratifies him most heartily.
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 25, 2015

Unique exhibition reveals some K-Ballet gems and pure Kumakawa gold

"Looking at my last 15 years' work, I see it as a series of excitements," Tetsuya Kumakawa told The Japan Times.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Feb 24, 2015

Rare shot at postseason has Panthers fans warming up plastic rats

Fans of the NHL's Florida Panthers are currently rotating their shoulders and arms in a circular manner.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 24, 2015

Brazilians, Japanese and the virtues of integration

Japan can strengthen its future by integrating foreigners and rejecting voices that call for separation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Feb 24, 2015

Beef served big and loud at Buff

Highway FM is possibly the worst radio station ever, unless you like your music country and each song laced with messages of patriotism, a work hard, play hard mantra or neighborly love. Sometimes a bit too much love.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2015

High levels of yellow sand, PM2.5 heading in from China

High levels of yellow sand and particle-laden smog known as PM2.5 are now being registered in some parts of the nation, creating misery for allergy sufferers and posing a potential hazard from prolonged exposure.

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