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Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 24, 2015

New heir to Saudi throne is said to be relatively liberal outsider

Saudi Arabia's new Crown Prince Muqrin represents the biggest break from the kingdom's tradition of any of his predecessors in the role — both because of his lowly maternal birth and his foreign education.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 24, 2015

New Saudi deputy crown prince marks generational shift for ruling family

Saudi Arabia's interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a close friend of the United States and a scourge of Islamist militants, will be the country's first king from the third generation of its ruling dynasty.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2015

Quirky in-flight magazine files for bankruptcy

AP —Apparently, airline passengers aren't buying enough garden gnomes, superhero pajamas and heated cat shelters. SkyMall has filed for bankruptcy.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 23, 2015

Former catcher Furuta voted into Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame

When bespectacled catcher Atsuya Furuta was ready to set out on a professional baseball career, he was told by many that pro ballplayers don't wear glasses.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 23, 2015

Abe briefing paper rules out strike on Islamic State

The prime minister's office explored the idea of conducting a military strike against the Islamic State group in Syria as the ransom deadline approached.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 23, 2015

Activist says Uganda documentary may aid LGBT cause

Japan has developed a more favorable view of sexual minorities in recent years, but activist Mameta Endo wants to raise awareness of the issue further by encouraging people to take in a documentary that captures the hatred, harassment, and risk of prison time such people face in Uganda.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2015

Tepco suspends Fukushima No. 1 cleanup to probe fatal accidents

Tokyo Electric Power Co. has said it will suspend decommissioning work at the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 power plant until it completes safety checks related to two fatal accidents at its facilities in the prefecture this week.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 23, 2015

Euro falls toward 11-year low as ECB targets government bonds

The euro slid toward an 11-year low against the dollar as the European Central Bank expanded its bond-buying program to include government bonds, a policy that tends to debase the currency.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 23, 2015

Coalition needs two years to expel Islamic State group from Iraq: U.K.

The U.S.-led coalition could take up to two years to expel the Islamic State group from Iraq, and Baghdad's own forces will be incapable of proper combat operations for months, Britain's foreign minister warned on Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2015

Abe forced to walk a fine line in oil-rich Middle East

The seizure of two Japanese nationals by the Islamic State militant group is raising questions about Japan's Middle East policies and the effectiveness of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's brand of personal diplomacy.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 22, 2015

As Obama prepares to visit, India pushes back against Chinese influence in region

When Sri Lanka unexpectedly turfed out President Mahinda Rajapaksa in an election this month, it was the biggest setback in decades for China's expansion into South Asia — and a remarkable diplomatic victory for India.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 22, 2015

Jiro Oyamada's dark side exposes his highlights

When it comes to selecting "tortured artists" — those driven to create from the deep wells of their souls by immense suffering — the 20th-century Japanese painter Jiro Oyamada must seem like a shoo-in. The Fuchu Art Museum, in the western suburbs of Tokyo, is now celebrating the 100th anniversary...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2015

Scholar offers secure way for employees to blow the whistle

One man is on a quest to create transparency in Japan with a whistleblower website that has echoes of Wikileaks and promises high-tech anonymity.
COMMENTARY
Jan 22, 2015

Punch from the pope when the cause is right

At least U.S. President Barack Obama — and Pope Francis — had the good sense to dodge world leaders' little pantomime of defiance in the streets of Paris after the Charlie Hebdo killings.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 22, 2015

Social media pressure Cambodian leaders

The CCTV footage is blurry but graphic. A gunman stands over a cringing victim, firing bullet after bullet into his body until the Phnom Penh street is spattered with blood.
WORLD
Jan 22, 2015

Russia says Pyongyang positive signal on Kim visit in May

Russia received a positive initial signal from North Korea after President Vladimir Putin invited its leader, Kim Jong Un, to attend anniversary celebrations of the Soviet victory over Germany in World War II, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 22, 2015

Guantanamo inmate details torture in first book from Cuba prison

The first book published by a longtime Guantanamo Bay inmate that describes torture, humiliation and despair during 13 years in captivity was selling briskly in the United States on Wednesday and drawing hard-won attention to his case.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jan 21, 2015

J-Wave to air live radio broadcast of Super Bowl

Japanese FM radio station J-Wave (frequency: 81.3) will carry live game coverage of the Super Bowl XLIX, the company announced on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2015

Respected journalist Goto aims to tell world of Syrians' suffering

Kenji Goto is among a rare breed of journalists who, while reporting from conflict-ridden Syria, has never regarded himself as a war reporter. Instead, he has tried to capture the voices of ordinary citizens whose fates have been irreversibly changed by war.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / NFL NOTEBOOK
Jan 21, 2015

Manning can thrive in Kubiak's system

My first impression when I heard the news that the Denver Broncos had hired Gary Kubiak to replace John Fox as the 15th head coach in team history was that Peyton Manning is one step closer to retirement.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2015

Japanese Muslims condemn Islamic State threat; some fear damage to Islam's image

Some assailed the threat issued in a video posted online as an “unforgiveable” act of cruelty, and said the hostage-takers were unworthy of calling themselves Muslims.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jan 21, 2015

Forty years after Zainichi labor case victory, is Japan turning back the clock?

Efforts against nationality-based discrimination in Japan have made zero progress in the four decades since a landmark court case against Hitachi.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2015

Democrats push back, want Keystone built with domestic steel, oil used in U.S.

Senate Democrats said Tuesday they'll push amendments to legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline requiring that it's built with domestically produced steel and that the oil it carries is used in the U.S.

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