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WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 19, 2015

Anti-Israel ad can be barred from Seattle buses, appeals court rules

County officials in Seattle can prohibit an advertisement criticizing Israeli policies toward Palestinians from appearing on local buses without violating constitutional protections on free speech, a U.S. appeals court said on Wednesday.
JAPAN / History
Mar 18, 2015

Japanese historians seek revision of U.S. textbook over 'comfort women' depiction

A group of 19 Japanese historians and scholars plan to file a protest with U.S. publisher McGraw-Hill, claiming a history textbook it published in 2011 contains a number of "factual errors" on the "comfort women" issue.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Mar 18, 2015

JX signs on as latest sponsor for 2020 Olympics

JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corporation has become the sixth Gold Partner, or a top domestic sponsor, for the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Japan Olympic Committee announced on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2015

Toyota's measly wage increase won't help turn Japan around

The government should reengage in old-fashion industrial policy to force companies into being more generous.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2015

The real lesson from the Clinton email imbroglio

The flap over Hillary Clinton's use of private email reflects the tension between the drive for transparency and the instinct for privacy.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Mar 18, 2015

Jeter, Matsui team up for good cause

When Derek Jeter was asked whom he idolized growing up, he immediately mentioned Dave Winfield, saying the former Yankees player was "larger than life," and that he had a poster of Winfield in his room as a child. Then a wry smile flashed across his face.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2015

In development bank battle, surge to China rattles Japan, U.S.

Tokyo is expressing doubts over the credibility of China's planned development bank, as European nations seek to join the new institution.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 18, 2015

Russia says Chinese, North Korean leaders to attend WWII commemorations in Moscow

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will attend celebrations in Moscow to commemorate the end of World War II.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 18, 2015

U.S. loses drone; Syria claims to have brought it down

The United States lost one of its Predator drone aircraft over northwest Syria on Tuesday, U.S. officials said, as Syrian state media reported its air defenses brought down the spy plane in the government-controlled Latakia province.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2015

Balance of power tips toward Iran

With Iraq essentially neutralized, Iran is set to become the dominant power in the gulf region.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2015

Should we worry about robots taking away jobs?

The fear of technological job loss to robots is real, but probably exaggerated.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 17, 2015

Investor Dan Loeb takes on Japan's mega-bot

Hedge-fund manager Dan Loeb's budding success with Fanuc hints change may be afoot in corporate Japan.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 17, 2015

Taxpayers shouldn't fund war on Asahi Shimbun

The Abe administration's 'kulturekampf' against Asahi Shimbun makes it look like the Chinese Communist Party in its hostility to a free press.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2015

BOJ maintains stimulus but sees inflation weakening to 'around zero percent'

The Bank of Japan maintained its massive stimulus program Tuesday and signaled its conviction that a steady economic recovery will help achieve its ambitious price target without immediate, additional monetary easing.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 17, 2015

U.N. official to probe reports of North Korean workers exploited as slave labor overseas

The U.N. human rights investigator for North Korea said on Monday that he would probe allegations of an estimated 20,000 North Koreans working in slave-like conditions abroad, mainly in China, Russia and the Middle East.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 16, 2015

Myanmar tries to placate China over bombing deaths

Myanmar expressed "deep sorrow" Monday for the deaths of five people across the border in China's Yunnan province that it has been blamed for, while Beijing said it was clear Myanmar's air force was responsible.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2015

How to succeed in business on the frontiers after China

So how should investors conduct business in Asia's frontier markets beyond China — in countries with limited rule of law and transparency?
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 16, 2015

Floating fortress Musashi, symbol of Japan's naval ambitions, now a war grave

The super-dreadnought that once served as the flagship of the Imperial Japanese Navy has been found lying in sections in the dark ocean depths of the Philippines, 70 years after the end of World War II.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 16, 2015

Kerry suggests place for Assad in Syria talks

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States would have to negotiate with Syrian President Bashar Assad for a political transition in Syria and was exploring ways with other countries to pressure him into agreeing to talks.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 16, 2015

Beware the $300 billion shift into Treasuries coming from Japan

Back in the 1980s, the billions of dollars that the Japanese plowed into U.S. government debt reflected the Asian nation's burgeoning economic might.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 16, 2015

Suspect, 20, charged in shooting of Ferguson police officers

A 20-year-old man was charged on Sunday with first-degree assault for last week's shooting of two police officers during a protest in the troubled city Ferguson, Missouri, a crime that fueled a national debate on race and policing.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 16, 2015

Kremlin declines comment on report Putin absent in Moscow: Dozhd

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined comment on a report from the independent news outlet Dozhd on Sunday that said Russian President Vladimir Putin had not been in Moscow for the last several days.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2015

Economic transformation creeping into Egypt

With bad news generating many of the headlines from the Middle East, it has been easy to miss the ongoing transformation of the Egyptian economy.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 14, 2015

When nature evolves to be awesome

A few years ago, an anthropologist told me an amazing story about a wild chimpanzee she had observed in Senegal. A bushfire had ignited in the summer heat, and she saw a chimp stand upright on its hind legs, face the fire and perform "a really exaggerated slow-motion display."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Mar 13, 2015

Nikkei closes at 15-year high, but many analysts remain skeptical

The stock market has stayed the course in making gains, and the benchmark Nikkei 225 average finished at 19,254.25 on Friday, its highest level in 15 years, and top government officials were quick to give credit to "Abenomics" economic and financial policies, claiming they have been a boon for market...

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