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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
May 11, 2014

Returnees' experiences drive a will to give something back

The returnees profiled here highlight the potential that can be unlocked within individuals lucky enough to have the chance to live overseas and, crucially, receive the right support on their return to Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2014

Trouble with revoking citizenship extralegally

In the absence of global citizenship, it may be best for the U.K. government to retain the principle that citizenship is not to be revoked without a judicial hearing.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
May 11, 2014

A dog named Shoronpo: The un-chihuahua

If you like the idea of a "pocket-size" dog — one that fits the size of a tiny apartment, a tight budget, or a dog that doesn't need lots of exercise — then the 5-year-old Shoronpo is the one for you. If you're saying, "Oh, anything but one of those skittish, yappy little Chihuahuas," then read on...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 10, 2014

Kiev to east Ukraine: Rebel vote for self-rule would be catastrophe

Ukrainian acting President Oleksandr Turchynov told eastern regions gripped by a pro-Russian uprising that they would be courting catastrophe if they voted "yes" in a separatist referendum on Sunday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 10, 2014

Rhododendrons, azaleas: blooming marvels of the plant world

Nothing tops turning a corner on a trail and encountering a sudden splash of pink, red or gold amongst the greenery.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 10, 2014

Convenience stores give our nation pride

Japan's prime minister is an unabashed patriot, as outspoken in his love for his country as in his desire to instill that love in his compatriots. Are his compatriots receptive? Opinion polls on attitudes toward pending revisions of long-standing interpretations of the pacifist Constitution, prologue...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 10, 2014

Brush up on pop idol feuds before the exam

Last month, Meiji University's law department announced it would offer a social-psychology course on the boy band Arashi. The syllabus includes lectures about the group's individual members; its work in TV dramas and advertising; and the "culture of Johnny's Jimusho," Arashi's powerful production company....
JAPAN / Politics
May 9, 2014

Wiser Abe Cabinet logs record 500 days in office

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet on Friday marked the 500th day since its inception in December 2012, extending its record as the longest-serving lineup in the postwar era.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 9, 2014

Housing bank matches empty properties, renters

Since the city of Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, merged with six towns and villages 10 years ago, the population has grown by 3.4 percent to more than 421,000 people.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 9, 2014

Pellegrini most deserving of Manager of Year award

The Manager of the Year award, we have been told, is between Brendan Rodgers and Tony Pulis.
LIFE / Digital
May 9, 2014

The Twitter paradox: the pros and cons of being free

Life is so unfair. Consider the humble newt — which, in case you're wondering, is an aquatic amphibian of the family Salamandridae. He has had such a bad press over the years. When PG Wodehouse, for example, was looking for a way of signaling that Bertie Wooster's chum Gussie Fink-Nottle was a feeble...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 9, 2014

Asia's myriad film genres celebrated at Udine festival

Why go to a film festival that specializes in the sort of popular Asian genres — from Hong Kong actioners to South Korean comedies — that the other "better" sort of festivals have traditionally sniffed at?
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2014

Beware of economists who hide assumptions

There's nothing wrong with making crazy economic assumptions to help get your mind around something. The deception comes in claiming that your conclusions have real-world relevance when the assumptions are nuts.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
May 9, 2014

Manga becomes a major draw at Toronto Comic Arts Festival

The 11th annual Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) kicks off May 10. As its title suggests, it's less a fan-focused pop convention than a platform for comics and graphic novels as art, and for the artists who create them. It has also emerged as a great friend to manga over the past few years.
Japan Times
WORLD / EU SPECIAL 2014
May 9, 2014

European Union's Quality Logos

Protected Designation of Origin (PDO): PDO indicates a food or drink originates in a specific region or country, is particularly linked to the place of origin through inherent natural or human factors and is produced, processed and prepared in the defined geographical area.
JAPAN
May 8, 2014

LGBT bullying rife in schools: survey

About 70 percent of sexual minorities have experienced bullying in school and 30 percent have thought about committing suicide, according to a survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 8, 2014

'Momose, Kocchi wo Muite (My Pretend Girlfriend)'

First love, or hatsukoi, is a big topic in Japanese teen films, as well as almost everywhere else in popular culture. It's attractive because of its innocence and purity, as well as the almost inevitable fleetingness of the relationship — if indeed, it is one; someone is often far more besotted than...
JAPAN
May 8, 2014

Most shared Japan Times stories from April

In case you missed them, here are the most shared stories from The Japan Times for April 2014.
EDITORIALS
May 8, 2014

The changing face of society

It is important that Japan reform its employment systems and social security programs so that it can better cope with the shrinking labor supply and the needs of the 65-and-over crowd, now more than one-quarter of the population.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2014

SoftBank tops archrival Docomo for first time on record profit

Amid growing smartphone sales and a raft of acquisitions, SoftBank Corp. has announced that its group operating profit hit a record ¥1.08 trillion, and its net profit an all-time high of ¥527 billion in fiscal 2013, surpassing rival NTT Docomo Inc. for the first time.
CULTURE / Stage
May 7, 2014

Surrender yourself to 'Fuerza Bruta' fun

Standing around with a drink in your hand as if you were on the dance floor of a club might not be a good idea at a Diqui James production.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 7, 2014

Bunraku legend gets set for his grand finale

On the occasion of his retirement after three decades as a bunraku narrator, the designated living national treasure Takemoto Sumitayu VII will present part of a program of traditional puppetry (ningyō jōruri) being staged by the National Theatre in Tokyo from May 10-26.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2014

Republicans dredge up Benghazi controversy in bid for election-year ammo

Benghazi is back.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 6, 2014

Genome scientist Craig Venter in deal to make humanized pig organs

Genome pioneer J. Craig Venter is teaming up with a unit of United Therapeutics Corp. to develop pig lungs that have been genetically altered to be compatible with humans — a feat that, if successful, could address the urgent need for transplant organs for people with end-stage lung disease.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
May 5, 2014

O'Malley all smiles about return to NPB with Tigers

A wry smile played across Tom O'Malley's lips as he nodded in the direction of a group of Hanshin Tigers players stretching on the ground outside of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows' indoor facility on Sunday as the Swallows wrapped up practice inside.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 5, 2014

U.S. teenager who survived flight in wheel well back in California

A 15-year-old Somali boy who survived a nearly six-hour flight stowed in the wheel well of a Hawaii-bound jet has been returned to California and placed in the custody of social services, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 5, 2014

Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams urges calm after release

Northern Ireland police released Gerry Adams from custody Sunday and the Sinn Fein leader sought to calm fears that his four-day detention could destabilize the British province by pledging his support to the peace process.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers