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BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 3, 2014

'Reverse DH' adds intrigue to interleague play

The 10th season of interleague play in Japanese pro baseball begins in two weeks with a new twist. For the first time, a "reverse designated hitter" rule will be in place. Instead of the DH being used in games where the Pacific League club is the home team, it will be in effect in Central League parks....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
May 3, 2014

Telephone fraud: ‘Hello, is it me you’re looking for?’

For young sociopathic entrepreneurs in Japan, the best way to get rich quick is by learning to say the following three lines convincingly:
EDITORIALS
May 3, 2014

Test problems here and abroad

Recent news that two of the most popular English-language proficiency tests in Japan, TOEIC and TOEFL, can no longer be accepted for obtaining visas to Britain may have come as a shock to students, parents and test administrators.
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2014

China starts, loses unprovoked Twitter war

China loses an unprovoked war on Twitter after a semi-retired Twitter account of mostly Sinophiles suggests that a solemnly worded Twitter message fron the People's Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's official mouthpiece, is a parody.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 3, 2014

Obama, Merkel vow broader Russian sanctions if Ukraine election derailed

U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Russia on Friday it will face additional sanctions against key sectors of its economy if Moscow disrupts Ukraine's plan to hold elections on May 25.
JAPAN
May 2, 2014

Viewers target NHK chief Momii

A citizens' group launches a campaign against right-leaning NHK Chairman Katsuto Momii, demanding his immediate resignation and calling on viewers to stop paying their NHK subscription fees.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 2, 2014

Y!mobile to target smartphone users

Yahoo Japan prepares to launch a cellphone carrier in June that could pit it against parent SoftBank in the hunt for smartphone users.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 2, 2014

Toyota gives California push with hydrogen fuel stations

Toyota Motor Corp. is funding a startup led by General Motors Co.'s former marketing chief to accelerate the opening of hydrogen fuel stations in California for zero-emission cars.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2014

Soviet echoes in Red Square rally

Russia staged a huge May Day parade on Moscow's Red Square for the first time since the Soviet era on Thursday, with workers holding banners proclaiming support for President Vladimir Putin after the seizure of territory from Ukraine.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 2, 2014

U.S. military sexual assault reports jumped 50 percent last year

Reported sexual assaults in the U.S. military jumped 50 percent last year, the Pentagon said on Thursday, and officials welcomed the spike as a sign that a high-level crackdown has made victims more confident their attackers will be prosecuted.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
May 2, 2014

Senna remembered on 20th anniversary of his death

Thousands of fans joined Formula One drivers past and present on Thursday in marking the 20th anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna at the Italian circuit where the triple champion crashed 20 years ago.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2014

Freedom of expression under fire in America

If you can lose your job in the U.S. as Mozilla's CEO did — because those in charge found his politics repugnant — there are only two options available to those of us who need to earn a living: Keep our opinions to ourselves, or lie about them.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 2, 2014

Rethinking Japan's whaling

Although many Japanese seem indifferent to the question of whether they can get whale meat, pro and con reactions in and out of Japan will affect those who still live by whale hunting on a local scale.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2014

Corporate tax rate to be reduced by April '15, Nishimura says

Tokyo will start making significant cuts to the corporate tax rate by April 2015 in line with its aim of making the economy more competitive and of spurring a recovery driven by spending and massive monetary stimulus, deputy economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 1, 2014

This tale of brutal vengeance is no fantasy

A thousand things can go wrong in a kidnapping investigation, and "Prisoners" goes through about 100 of them before you lose count. After that it's easy to blackout under the chokehold of desperation that defines both the film and its protagonist, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 1, 2014

'Prisoners'

Cinematically speaking, Thanksgiving is beginning to have the same connotations as the white picket fences and manicured lawns of suburban America: symbols of disaster or tragedy. In "The Company Men" (2010), Ben Affleck feels his jobless life unravelling at the Thanksgiving table. In "Four Brothers"...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 1, 2014

China says three killed in attack at Xinjiang train station

Three people were killed and 79 wounded in a bomb and knife attack at a train station in the far western region of China on Wednesday, state media said, as President Xi Jinping was wrapping up a visit to the area.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 30, 2014

Ukraine crisis has Japan on horns of a dilemma

As the crisis in Ukraine drags on, Japan faces the difficult task of striking a balance between standing by the U.S. and maintaining good relations with Russia.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 30, 2014

Injuries reported after explosion in capital of China's Xinjiang region

An explosion at a railway station in Urumqi, the capital of China's restive far western region of Xinjiang, on Wednesday injured some people, state media said.
TENNIS
Apr 30, 2014

Wimbledon to go easy on Murray

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray should be spared a horror draw at this year's tournament despite his recent rankings slide, organizers said on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2014

Ferry crisis transports South Korea back to 1997

If South Korean President Park Geun-hye acts boldly and transparently to investigate the many failures that led to the Sewol ferry tragedy, her administration can still recover, and the nation's loss of face globally will be fleeting.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2014

Unfortunately torture is an all-American value

Even when Americans rose up in 2011 to protest their government as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement, torture was less than an afterthought on activists' menu of complaints.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Apr 29, 2014

Music curators deserve credit for keeping local scenes alive

The term "cultural curator" is one that tends to provoke reactions ranging from sneers to rage. It really is a horrible term in some ways, with problematic embedded associations.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 29, 2014

U.S., U.K. advise against use of Internet Explorer until bug is fixed

The U.S. and U.K. governments on Monday advised computer users to consider using alternatives to Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer browser until the company fixes a security flaw that hackers used to launch attacks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2014

Putin's sanctioned oil czar emerged from shadows to wield vast power

When Vladimir Putin brought Igor Sechin out of the shadows and into the Kremlin 14 years ago, Russian newspapers said they had no photographs of him and alluded to his behind-the-scenes influence by calling him Darth Vadar.

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