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Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 29, 2014

High drama at Festival/Tokyo

News in March that 38-year-old Chiaki Soma had suddenly been removed from the post of program director of Festival/Tokyo, which she had held since it started in 2009, set many theater lovers worrying about the future of the flagship drama event whose stature at home and abroad had only grown with her...
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...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 29, 2014

Rocket headed to International Space Station blows up seconds after liftoff

An unmanned Antares rocket exploded seconds after liftoff from a commercial launchpad in Virginia on Tuesday, marking the first accident since NASA turned to private operators to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. Officials said no one was hurt.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 28, 2014

Former senior Chinese military officer to be prosecuted for graft

One of China's most senior former military officers has confessed to taking "massive" bribes in exchange for help in promotions, state media said on Tuesday, as the government moves closer to his court martial as part of its war on graft.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Oct 28, 2014

China announces plans to set up anti-terrorism intelligence system

China will set up a national anti-terrorism intelligence system, state media said Monday, as part of changes to a security law expected to be passed this week after an upsurge in violence in the far western region of Xinjiang.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2014

Young protesters rap state secrets law as movement gains rhythm

"Don't give up the fight! Stand up for your right!"
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2014

Catholic bishops hail the fringe

If you'd told a Jesuit priest reporter a few years ago that a synod of Catholic bishops on the family would make the front page of almost every newspaper and be a topic of heated conversation among Catholics worldwide, he would have called you crazy.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2014

Egypt rebuilding, backstage

Egypt is marching, slowly but surely, away from the omnipresent and omnipotent state that has dominated Egyptian economic life for many decades.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 27, 2014

Air bag maker in crisis used unique chemical explosive

The emerging crisis over air bags traces back to a little-known Tokyo company that for over 20 years has supplied the safety devices to automakers including Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Co.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 27, 2014

Toronto holds disaster drill following last week's attacks by local radicals

About 100 police, firefighters and other emergency workers held a disaster-response drill in downtown Toronto's deserted financial district Sunday following a week that saw two soldiers killed on Canadian soil.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 27, 2014

'Comfort women' issue refuses to go away

"Comfort women," as Japan refers to the females who were forced into sexual servitude for the nation's wartime forces, have been a constant source of controversy since the early 1990s, when the media started to take a serious look at their ordeal.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 25, 2014

Blondes have more fun in NHK's morning drama

Two weeks ago I received a message from a reader who asked me to ask NHK why the public broadcaster had changed the name and the hair color of the female protagonist of its new daily 15-minute asa-dora (morning drama series) "Massan," which is based on the life of Masataka Taketsuru, the first person...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 25, 2014

Understanding the complex web of life

"Biodiversity provides the foundation on which all life depends, including human societies," writes Nik Sekhran in the opening pages of "Biodiversity for Sustainable Development," a captivating book released earlier this month by the United Nations Development Programme.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2014

Surprise €2.1 billion EU bill leaves U.K.'s Cameron in bind as Euroskeptic rivals pounce

In a vivid display of fury at European Union technocrats, British Prime Minister David Cameron refused to pay a surprise €2.1 billion bill Friday as EU leaders ordered an urgent review of the calculations used.
Japan Times
JAPAN / HOTEL SPECIAL 2014
Oct 24, 2014

Renovating an iconic hotel

One of Japan's — if not the world's — most iconic hotels, and a member of the select luxury hotel collection, The Leading Hotels of the World, the venerable Hotel Okura Tokyo will from September 2015 embark on a renovation of its main building with completion of the new facilities scheduled for spring...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2014

Why the world shouldn't write off Iraq's army

There is little reason to think that the Iraqi army that the U.S. trained and equipped was professionally incompetent or unable to fight Islamic State forces recently. It simply chose not to fight.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2014

The U.S. has done enough damage in the Middle East

The notion that Iraq will 'destroy' the Islamic State at American behest is an illusion, and so is the notion that the U.S.-formed coalition can do it. Only Muslims themselves can resolve the Islamic crisis overtaking the Middle East.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 24, 2014

WHO voices confidence no wider spread of Ebola in Africa

The World Health Organization said on Thursday it was still trying to slow the rate of new infections but had "reasonable confidence" that the Ebola virus plaguing three West African countries had not spread into neighboring states.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 23, 2014

Rivalries growing with expansion of teams in Tohoku

Since the start of the 2010-11 season, the league's growth in Tohoku has been significant.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 23, 2014

New trade chief slapped by S&M scandal after only three days on job

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is saddled with another scandal after new trade chief Yoichi Miyazawa's staff admits paying a bill for u00a518,230 to a sadomasochism bar in Hiroshima.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 23, 2014

Gunman killed after shooting in Canadian Parliament; Harper safe

At least one gunman entered the Canadian Parliament buildings on Wednesday and many shots were fired just outside the room where Prime Minister Stephen Harper was addressing a meeting of legislators.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 22, 2014

Silver City: one man's dream of growing old in English

My friend dares to dream of a whole city for aged foreigners in Japan where everyone speaks the lingo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2014

Daiwa closes convertible-bond principal trading desk in London

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. has closed its principal trading desk in London for convertible bonds as Japan's second-largest brokerage reviews the profitability of its operations abroad.

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