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LIFE / Language / THE BUZZ
Mar 15, 2014

Zero-hour contract

A zero-hour contract is an employment contract used in the U.K. containing provisions that create an 'on-call' arrangement between an employer and employee.
Reader Mail
Mar 15, 2014

Western products might look better

Another word for xenophobia, of course, is racism. (Just look at the photo for the March 9 article.) What's so "normal" about anti-foreigner rhetoric and hate speech in an island nation dependent on international trade for its economic well-being, even for its daily bread?
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 14, 2014

Arsenal boss Wenger rarely gracious in defeat

"Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser," said Vince Lombardi, the legendary NFL coach. Fair point, but you can be a gracious loser and still maintain the fire and passion that Lombardi had.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 14, 2014

Lithuania won't recognize Crimea referendum: envoy

As Sunday's referendum in Ukraine's Crimea approaches, the visiting Lithuanian foreign minister called Russia's de facto occupation of the territory an act of aggression against a sovereign nation and said the Baltic state will not recognize the election results.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 14, 2014

A single mother's 'big family'; profile of Toyota's founder; CM of the week: Hyoketsu Strong

Each of the major networks have at least one "big family" they follow in fly-on-the-wall fashion over a period of years to yield two specials per annum. With their reality-show veneer of the joys and sorrows of raising a lot of kids, these shows are guaranteed ratings monsters.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 13, 2014

Top court case highlights U.S. rift over sex science

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a religious dispute over the "Obamacare" contraception mandate, advocates on both sides are trying to set the court straight on the science.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 13, 2014

'Don Jon'

The elephant in the room of almost any relationship in the age of Web 2.0 is, undoubtedly, Internet porn. Guys watch it, and their women either know or suspect they do, but nobody really wants to talk about it because, yo, it's nasty!
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 13, 2014

China waging psychological warfare in the East China Sea

Japanese and Western news reports suggest that the U.S. bombers and routine Japanese patrol fighters that flew into China's air-defense identification zone right after the ADIZ was proclaimed did not encounter any Chinese interceptors or radar beams.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2014

May election could set up a wild ride for India

A lot of people think they already know the outcome of India's national election in May. They think Narendra Modi will be prime minister and that India will swing hard to the right.
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Mar 12, 2014

Osaka's Bell takes pride in winning mindset, work ethic

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. D'Andre Bell of the Osaka Evessa is the subject of this week's profile.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2014

Jaczko recalls chaos of Fukushima early days

The central government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. fell into chaos when the triple meltdown crisis started at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission also faced a tough crisis-management situation characterized by limited information and mounting pressure to act,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Mar 12, 2014

J. League and media must show red card to racism

On Saturday, during their J. League match against Sagan Tosu at Saitama Stadium, some Urawa Reds fans hung a 'Japanese only' banner over an entrance to the stands.
EDITORIALS
Mar 12, 2014

Reducing PM2.5 pollutants

Recent spikes in the concentration of so-called PM2.5 air pollutants over wide areas of Japan once again raise alarms over the potential health risks from the small particles.
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2014

Expansionism allied with racism

Regarding Paul de Vries' March 6 letter, "The crimes of an imperial power": De Vries' attempt to dissociate Japan and Germany during World War II is based on a less-than-complete understanding of Adolf Hitler's war, which was a unified, flagrantly imperialist-expansionist push, exactly as Japan's venture...
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2014

Few American civilian casualties

Regarding the March 6 letters by Barry Andrew Ward ("U.S. actions much less egregious") and by James Hughes ("Japan wouldn't even save its own"): Maybe we are talking about atrocities of different kinds and on different levels.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 12, 2014

Paris Opera Ballet chief hails Japan 'challenge'

Thanks to Louis XIV's love of dance, French is the language of ballet and Paris has remained the center of the art for more than 300 years since the Sun King's splendiferous 72-year reign ended with his death in 1715.
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2014

Reasons for dropping the bomb

Regarding Barry Andrew Ward's March 6 letter, "U.S. actions much less egregious": I'd like to add my two pence worth.
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2014

Hong Kong likes Japanese tourists

I would like to mention something that the Hong Kong media never puts out when it comes to problems regarding Japan: Youths such as myself have no problem with Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 12, 2014

'Nakamura Kazumi'

The oil paintings of Kazumi Nakamura — sometimes visually simple as the works of Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko, and at other times as complex as a Jackson Pollock — are the result of an exploration of the ultimate question of artists: "What is the meaning of a painting?"
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2014

Dissenting scholars represented

Regarding Charles Muller's March 6 letter, "Dissenting review was welcome" (in which Muller welcomes reviewer Anthony Fensom's criticism of "Critical Issues in Contemporary Japan," a volume that I edited): Muller misunderstands my earlier objection, which focuses solely on Fensom's suggestion that Japanese...
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2014

Great divide over animal rights

When I read Philip Brasor's Feb. 23 Media Mix article, "Japan takes baby steps toward a proper debate about animal rights," I again felt regret that the gap of understanding between the two sides doesn't seem to be getting any narrower. I agree that the most important aim of the animal welfare movement...
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2014

West showed hypocrisy to Russia

Regarding the March 8 AFP-JIJI article "Russia stands firm on Crimea standoff despite sanctions": The illegal breakup of Yugoslavia occurred under similar conditions. Yugoslavia's constitution, [for which revisions] had to have majority approval by all six of Yugoslavia's republics, was disrespected....
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2014

Abe pitches trilateral meet to kick-start chilly ties with Seoul

The government is trying to arrange a trilateral summit with South Korea and the United States for this month in a bid to thaw Tokyo's frozen relations with Seoul, an official said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2014

Radiation from stricken plant not reaching U.S. West Coast waters: NRC chief

Claims that radiation from the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant is contaminating U.S. waters are "simply not correct," Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairwoman Allison Macfarlane said on the disaster's third anniversary.
LIFE / Japan Showcase / AOMORI PREFECTURE
Mar 12, 2014

Freshly grilled squid on a winter train: Taking a ride on the Tsugaru Railroad

A continuous bluster rips snow from the white ground all around us and keeps sending it flying into our faces, as we stand on the platform of Kanagi Station in Goshogawara. It is frigid weather and I am relieved when I finally spot our train emerge out of the bleached hazy distance. Two identical orange...

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person