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COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2015

Remembering when space could still awe us

Through a strange process of inversion, the U.S. victory in the 1960s space race against the Soviet Union rendered space travel boring.
EDITORIALS
Jun 7, 2015

Abe should heed Onaga's words

To avoid an all-out confrontation with Okinawa, the Abe administration needs to search in earnest for an alternative plan to building a new U.S. Marine base in Henoko.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 6, 2015

War and peace on Okinawa's Iejima Island

Beside their coastlines, there are other insistent geographical features that identify islands. In Okinawa, there is the great escarpment of Tindahanata on Yonaguni-jima Island, while Ishigaki Island has the strangely occult form of Mount Maapee, shaped like a sorcerer's hat.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Jun 6, 2015

Law still a long way behind fertility boom

As the population declines, the number of domestic businesses involved in fertility is growing, giving birth to a slew of additional problems.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 6, 2015

China says U.S. calls for Tiananmen accounting are 'unprovoked accusations'

China criticized the United States on Friday for "unprovoked accusations" in calling on Beijing to account for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on prodemocracy protesters.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2015

Mass death sentences now a part of life in Egypt

With its mass death sentences, Egypt's military regime is joining the ranks of Adolf Hitler's Nazis and Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 5, 2015

Tokyo, Manila eye 'visiting forces' pact to rein in China

Visiting Philippine President Benigno Aquino said Friday that Manila and Tokyo will start discussions on signing a "visiting forces agreement" that could allow Japan to use bases there to refuel aircraft and vessels.
Japan Times
SPORTS / NOTES ON A SCORECARD
Jun 5, 2015

Nishikori loses golden opportunity for glory in Paris

His draw at the French Open seemed almost tailor-made.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2015

Why Japan should, or shouldn't, join the China-led AIIB

When Finance Minister Taro Aso meets with his Chinese counterpart, Lou Jiwei, in Beijing on Saturday, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will loom large in the talks.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jun 5, 2015

Flashy FIFA's fast fall from great game to great shame borders on the farcical

In less than a week, the public face of FIFA has gone from something resembling an old-style Communist Party rally, with a defiant Sepp Blatter fronting ranks of flag-bearing youths, to what looks more like a scene from "Reservoir Dogs."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jun 5, 2015

South Korea reports third MERS death as alarm grows

South Korea on Thursday confirmed that a man who died a day earlier had been infected with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the third fatality in a virus outbreak that has caused growing alarm in the country.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2015

Futenma replacement base 'fundamental' to security, U.S. officials tell Okinawa governor

U.S. officials told the governor of Okinawa on Wednesday that a U.S. forces presence in his prefecture is key to the U.S. commitment to defend Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 4, 2015

Tomy, Docomo unveil conversational robot toy

Tomy Co. on Thursday introduced a conversation robot jointly developed with NTT Docomo Inc. that it claims can hold "natural" conversations with people.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2015

What next for ShinGinko Tokyo?

News that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is apparently planning to withdraw from managing ShinGinko Tokyo Ltd. has opened old wounds for residents who just seven years earlier saw their tax money poured into resuscitating the bank that was supposed to become a savior of small businesses.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 4, 2015

Success of Doraemon film in China reflects thaw in ties with Japan: expert

The success of a Japanese animation film recently released in China reflects a thaw in relations between the two nations as Beijing opens up to cultural exchanges, according to a Japan-based expert on the communist country.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jun 3, 2015

Here's hoping the ikumen fad fades as Japan ages like fine sake

When the Japanese media started to harp on about the fatigue emerging among ikumen — men who help their wives with child-rearing and other domestic duties — I just had to laugh. Being a Japanese sake brewer's husband, I was confident that I was streets ahead of these trendy men bragging about their...
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 3, 2015

Japan beefs up measures in bid to pre-empt arrival of deadly MERS virus

The central government is strengthening measures to minimize any potential impact from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) within its borders, amid an outbreak in neighboring South Korea that had claimed the lives of at least two people as of Wednesday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 3, 2015

Sink or sell? Russia standoff sees France saddled with two unused, unwanted warships

For sale: two French-built helicopter carriers, tested by Russians. Buy now for only €1.2 billion. Shipping extra.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2015

Google's project for 'smart clothes' gets it right

If Google Project Jacquard succeeds, we'll be able to wear touch-sensitive clothing that can control electronic devices.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2015

Why U.S. billionaires may be unable to buy 2016 election

Florida Senator Marco Rubio has one; Texas Senator Ted Cruz has one; even former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, considered a long-shot for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, has a billionaire in his corner. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has two.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 3, 2015

Tiananmen group to China: Atone for own historical crimes, as demanded of Japan

A group of families demanding justice for victims of China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown declared that the government must bear responsibility for historical crimes in the same way it has called on Japan to do so for its wartime past.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 3, 2015

Vietnam takes delivery of two Russian-design missile corvettes as maritime tensions mount

Vietnam took delivery of two new missile boats on Tuesday made locally and modeled on Russian vessels, the latest move by its military to strengthen maritime defenses as tensions simmer over sovereignty in the South China Sea.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 2, 2015

Japan Pension Service hack used classic attack method

The massive leak last month of personal data from the Japan Pension Service was the result of a simple error by its employees: opening a virus-laced email attachment disguised as a health ministry document.

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