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BASKETBALL
Dec 21, 2013

Aomori slams door on Ryukyu's 12-game winning streak

The Aomori Wat's recorded the biggest victory in franchise history on Saturday night, beating the Ryukyu Golden Kings 72-70 and ending the Western Conference powerhouse's 12-game winning streak.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 21, 2013

Upbeat in the face of adversity

Twenty-four-year-old Yura Tsutsumi was first attracted to Yuta Suzuki after seeing how positive he was in everyday life.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Dec 21, 2013

Coin Locker Babies

Ryu Murakami is known for the sex-drugs-and-violence style of his fiction and "Coin Locker Babies" has it all.
EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 2013

Japan hits top in use of apps

Japan may have become the world's top country for generating mobile app revenue, but this brave new world poses dangers to unwary customers.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2013

Dialogue with North Korea is the only way forward

The North Koreans have said repeatedly that they will give up their nuclear weapons programs when they are convinced that the U.S. wants a peaceful relationship. So why not work out a treaty that finally ends the Korean War?
Reader Mail
Dec 21, 2013

Hard-liners play to home crowd

Regarding the Dec. 15 feature article “Kim purge puts world on alert”: I vividly remember the tense atmosphere that often existed in Japan amid the Cold War, when we would be intimidated by news of Russian fighters intruding on our territory. We’d worry about the Kremlin’s every movement and...
Reader Mail
Dec 21, 2013

Mandela halted vengeful politics

Jennifer Kim’s Dec. 15 letter, “Can’t see Mandela as a ‘peace icon,’” reflects the typical hypocrisy that was shown by Western leaders like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan at the time toward white South Africa.
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Dec 21, 2013

Where there's smoke

Man #1: Can I please steal one of your smokes? You've got enough to see you through tonight?
Reader Mail
Dec 21, 2013

Exactly who do you think he was?

Nelson Mandela was seen and revered not only as a political hero but practically as a living saint. The hagiography surrounding him somewhat disguises his many family tragedies, his policy failures and his political cunning.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 21, 2013

It's business as usual 'back in the USSR'

Paul McCartney was in Japan some weeks ago. Having spent a totally Beatlemaniac four years of my pre-teen existence in the U.K., it was nice to see the erstwhile Beatle in such good form.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2013

Diplomat's arrest sparks clash of political cultures

The escalating diplomatic spat between India and the U.S. over the treatment of an Indian deputy consul-general who was arrested in New York highlights a clash of pathologies of two political cultures.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 20, 2013

Managerial carousel an ongoing story at Tottenham

For the seventh time in his 12-year tenure as chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, Daniel Levy agreed to a compensation package for a manager, not the sort of consistency football wants.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2013

Is wife Abe's main opposition rival?

Akie Abe is Japan's first lady of conviction and action, describing herself as an 'opposition force at home' who doesn't shy away from speaking out in public against the policies of her husband, Shinzo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS
Dec 19, 2013

A year of pancakes, donuts, flying fish

Japan has reached peak donut.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2013

'Cutie and the Boxer'

When 59-year old Noriko Shinohara calls herself "Cutie," you'll want to take her word for it. She grabs the viewer at the opening scene of the documentary "Cutie and the Boxer," which plays out like something from an early Jean-Luc Godard movie: It's early morning, and she's brushing out her long, silvery...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Dec 19, 2013

Where would Santa find Finnish flavors in Japan?

Dear readers, I have made a wonderful discovery: Finnish cinnamon rolls, korvapuusti, are not just cinnamon rolls. They are cinnamon and cardamom rolls and they are delicious. Also, korvapuusti translates to "slapped ear" — perhaps because the dough is rolled rather than coiled — which is adorable....
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2013

'Only Lovers Left Alive'

Most people define Jim Jarmusch by the impeccably cool hipster portraits of his early films in the 1980s, such as "Down by Law" or "Mystery Train." But if you think about it, he's really been moving through a series of genre flicks for the past two decades: a Western ("Dead Man"), a gangster movie ("Ghost...
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 19, 2013

Inose calling it quits over money scandal

Scandal-ridden Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose announced his resignation Thursday for taking money from a hospital operator mired in allegations of election law violations involving a Diet member.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 18, 2013

What goes around comes around in Nagatsuka's 'Macbeth'

Whether he likes it or not, unassuming Keishi Nagatsuka is widely seen as being foremost among the coming generation in Japan's contemporary theater world.
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2013

WTO breakthrough in Bali

Meeting with trade ministers in Bali, Indonesia, the World Trade Organization has concluded its first trade reform agreement despite last-minute threats from Cuba and India. It is a moment to savor, but it is just a start.
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2013

U.S. needs to accept China's rise

Regarding Victor D. Cha's Dec. 11 article, "An opportunity for America in China's overreach": To give this piece the proper context, consider that Cha was the Bush/Cheney administration's initial appointment to the directorate of Asian affairs for the U.S. National Security Council. Thus it is not surprising...
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2013

Refusal to recognize a 'dispute'

Regarding Noriko Fujita's Dec. 12 letter, 'Arrogant' China as a role model," I'd like to make a few points:
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2013

Students must show their mettle

What a great letter by Grant Piper — "A better use of students' time" — on Dec. 12. I am aware of the pressure put on Japanese students throughout their school years and of the challenge they face of just getting into a university.
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2013

Mindset that bedevils English

Regarding the Dec. 14 front-page article "English education set to get serious": What is all this nonsense? Haven't we heard this all before? Japan's education ministry spends far more money per pupil on English lessons than any other nation in Asia, yet Japanese students continue to lag far behind their...
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2013

Space to join research networks

Jeremy Rappleye's Dec. 13 article, "Higher-education stimulus would be sure bet for Japan," is right to point out that "internationalization" cannot just mean importing foreign faces onto Japanese campuses. It must involve expanding the scope for all Japan-based faculty and students to operate internationally....
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2013

Don't drop any nursing services

Regarding the Dec. 15 editorial "Nursing services under the knife": More attention should be paid to Japan's nursing care system.

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