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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
WORLD / Politics
Nov 24, 2014

Israeli Cabinet approves Jewish nation-state law

A divided Cabinet approved on Sunday a bill to anchor in law Israel's status as the nation-state of the Jewish people, legislation critics say could undermine its democratic foundation and the rights of its Arab minority.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 20, 2014

Treasures worth standing in line for

There is a fundamental problem with the Tokyo National Museum (TNM), which I come up against time and time again. In a nutshell, the venue is too big for its exhibits and too small for its audience. This is underlined yet again by the latest exhibition "National Treasures of Japan."
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 18, 2014

Putin-bashing at G-20 meeting was juvenile

What were Western leaders trying to achieve by humiliating Russia President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit?
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 16, 2014

In Iraq, Iranian masters behind feared Shiite militias

Among the thousands of militia fighters who flocked to northern Iraq to battle the extremist Islamic State group over the summer was Qais al-Khazali.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 15, 2014

Holiday gifts they'll cherish from cover to cover

As the holiday season rolls around, it's time to dash about in a mad panic in search of gifts that say "I've given this one some thought, honest." Or you can just let us do the thinking for you, with gift suggestions from our regular book reviewers — tailor-made for the Japanophile reader.
WORLD
Nov 14, 2014

Islamic State leader, in taped speech, calls for attacks in Saudi Arabia, 'volcanoes of jihad'

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called for attacks in Saudi Arabia, said his caliphate was expanding across the Arab world and called for "volcanoes of jihad" in a speech purported to be in his name on Thursday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2014

Obama faulted over thinning bench of China policy experts

Three years after President Barack Obama vowed to shift his focus toward Asia in response to China's growing power, the advisers who set that policy in motion are gone. So is their expertise.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 8, 2014

Mediator says South Sudan rivals reach deal to end conflict

South Sudan's warring parties committed to ending fighting and bringing their months-long conflict to an end without conditions, the chief mediator for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)regional African group, said Saturday after two days of talks in the Ethiopian capital.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 4, 2014

Chinese Communist Party's great leap backward

Chinese President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign was supposed to signify a shift toward a more transparent system based on the rule of law, but the officials who have been purged so far have been Xi's political adversaries. Xi appears to be pulling China backward politically.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Nov 3, 2014

Redaction of a 'comfort woman' story

One of the Japanese stories sometimes mentioned in the 'comfort women' controversy was written by the late Taijiro Tamura in the spring of 1947. It depicted Korean 'comfort women,' but the U.S. Occupation 'suppressed' it.
Reader Mail
Oct 29, 2014

Keep out the military jargon

The Oct. 11 article by William Pfaff, "The war against Islamic State," contains a reference to "asymmetric wars." Can Pfaff please tell us what this means? I am sure I am not the only one who is baffled by this arcane term, which was no doubt the intention of the Pentagon when they dreamed up this piece...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 29, 2014

Town hall meetings: Abandon logic, all ye who enter here

The first thing you want to do when you get to the meeting room, whether it be summer or winter, is open all the windows. This is because you'll have to throw all logic out the window. Open as many as possible, 'cause there's a lot of logic to heave.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 28, 2014

Questions remain over how Japan would handle actual Ebola cases

Health experts have said authorities were correct to intercept a Canadian journalist who subsequently tested negative for the Ebola virus and remains under observation.
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2014

Moral education's slippery slope

An advisory body to Japan's education minister calls for upgrading grade school 'moral education' — which deals with children's way of thinking and their attitude toward life — to an official subject on a par with mathematics and science.
COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 18, 2014

The Abe conundrum and the pitfalls ahead

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a polarizing figure, lauded as the resolute leader Japan needs to revive its flagging fortunes and slammed for mishandling history issues in ways that undermine national interests.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes