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BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Aug 12, 2013

MLB chatter sure to increase as Tanaka dominates in NPB

It was Friday morning in Japan when Detroit Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer earned his 17th win of the MLB season.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2013

Tax hike backers seize on positive GDP data

Real gross domestic product rose an annualized 2.6 percent in the three months to June, bolstering the Abe administration's claim its economic policies are succeeding.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 10, 2013

'Haiku killings' recall infamous horror story

Mitake, a tiny mountain hamlet located in eastern Yamaguchi Prefecture, is administrated as part of the city of Shunan (pop. 150,000). The area is so remote, cell phones don't always receive signals there.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 10, 2013

Aso's Nazi gaffe tarnishes Abe's agenda for constitutional revision

The other night at my local sushi bar conversation turned to Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso's comments about constitutional revision — specifically, his suggestion there is something to be learned from the way the Nazis revised the Weimar Constitution in 1933.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 10, 2013

Three versions of the 'good wife' in Japan

Once upon a time, not so long ago, it was unusual for a Japanese woman to aspire to be anything other than a "good wife and wise mother"— an aspiration so predominant that the Japanese for it, ryosai kenbo, is a set phrase in the language.
Reader Mail
Aug 10, 2013

A suspicious display of beauty

The photo accompanying the Aug. 6 article by The Washington Post, titled "Opening of Iwaki beaches offer semblance of normalcy," belies any notion of a typical summer day at Nakoso Beach. The two lovely young ladies look as though they're having a lovely afternoon, but in the background the beach looks...
Reader Mail
Aug 10, 2013

Policy at odds with its purpose

Chris Clancy's Aug. 1 letter, "Language policy hurts children," makes for an interesting debate as a followup to the July 14 editorial "More people studying Japanese." I can understand that children must be the ones who are affected the most.
Reader Mail
Aug 10, 2013

Avoiding the 'solitary death'

Reading Amy Chavez's Aug. 3 article, "The yellow flag outside the door — life or death" was instructive and impressive. In bigger cities of Japan, what they call "solitary death" has become a serious social problem because of the graying of society, the trend toward the nuclear family and people's...
Reader Mail
Aug 10, 2013

Women leaders in the church

Regarding Peter McDonough's Aug. 4/5 article, "The real mission for Pope Francis": While McDonough seems to want a politically correct Catholic Church, I prefer a church that is doctrinally, morally and Biblically correct. Reforms are fine provided that they never breach that wall.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 10, 2013

'Broad standard' OKs NSA snooping

The Obama administration on Friday asserted a bold and broad power to collect the phone records of millions of Americans to search for a nugget of information that might thwart a terrorist attack.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 9, 2013

Sounds that stem from quietude — when a tree falls down

Perhaps the best thing about living on a small island in Japan of just 583 people (258 men and 325 women) is that you can walk out your door and kiss the online world goodbye. Here, most people don't walk around glued to their cellphones, the majority don't even have smartphones, and very few take pictures...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Aug 9, 2013

Suarez not worth trouble for Arsenal

It is difficult to decide which to dislike most about Luis Suarez.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Aug 9, 2013

Sex addiction? Sorry, chaps, it's just plain old lust

Candidate Anthony Weiner is unlikely ever to trouble British voters, that is not to say Weiner can be filed away, with complete confidence, under the category "U.S. politicians who have incautiously disseminated images of their private parts, using the alter ego Carlos Danger." For one thing, given the...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 9, 2013

Declaring war on sugar-loaded 'healthy' drinks

The tin of 7UP rolls to a stop at my feet. I pick it up, scowling at the kid on a bike who'd tossed it and missed the litter bin. The can is green and shiny: "Put some play into your every day," it says. "Escape to a carefree world ... Don't grow up. 7UP." And underneath, in tiny print, the real info...
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 9, 2013

The Central African Republic abandoned to its violent fate

It was dusk when armed Seleka rebels dragged the teenager from the road leading north toward Kobe. They pulled her into the jungle and raped her for several hours. Her friend, Lisa Moussa, 17, was more fortunate. As soon as she saw the rebels, she began running. They tried to kill her, shooting until...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 8, 2013

Marr's new message

"What I've done is revert to type. I've gone back to my nature." It has taken 26 years, but Johnny Marr is finally ready to embrace his past. It is a legacy of immense weight: The five years he spent as guitarist and co-songwriter with The Smiths, the most influential and enduring British indie band...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Aug 8, 2013

Shinshu signs former MVP Parmer; Aomori adds three

The Shinshu Brave Warriors endured back-to-back losing seasons in 2011-12 and 2012-13 as the franchise got established.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2013

Tokyo beach reopens after five-decade effort

The seawater by Tokyo's Kasai Rinkai Park is only slightly cooler than body temperature, and its beach contains a mix of tiny gravel and seashell fragments instead of fine white sand.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 7, 2013

Norwegian, Japanese musicians team up for show inspired by A-bomb anime

Norway is exporting more than just salmon this summer. A group of some 60 musicians, led by composer Magnar Am, have arrived in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 7, 2013

Will the GOP blow it again in 2014 Senate races?

Based on the way the matchups look now, a Republican takeover of the U.S. Senate in 2014 is unlikely. Too much would have to go just right for it to happen.
Reader Mail
Aug 7, 2013

The 'blackface' political shtick

Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso's recent suggestion that Japan's politicians take a play from the National Socialist German Workers' Party and quietly try to slip constitutional revisions under the public radar have sparked a storm of international indignation.
Reader Mail
Aug 7, 2013

Keeping dolphins and whales

Regarding Rob Gilhooly's July 26 article, "Japan bucks trend: Captive dolphin biz big": I cannot agree with the opinion of Sakae Hemmi of the Elsa Nature Conservancy that the reduction of dolphins in captivity is the international trend. This trend is a current fashion of Western culture only. We must...
Reader Mail
Aug 7, 2013

Current behavior is the problem

In his Aug. 1 letter, "Current behavior is what counts," Peter Parisi says that "Japan has made more than adequate amends for its behavior." This is true to the extent — beginning with the late Emperor Hirohito and followed by successive prime ministers, notably Kiichi Miyazawa, and Tomiichi Murayama...
Reader Mail
Aug 7, 2013

Time for collective self-defense

Hisahiko Okazaki's well-reasoned July 30 article "Japan could soften U.S. cuts" should stimulate discussion on the rights or wrongs of amending Article 9 of Japan's Constitution.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2013

Can a battery jolt economy?

In a windy town in Hokkaido, an experiment is about to begin with a battery designed to transform the way electricity is supplied and at the same time boost Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic rescue plan.
WORLD
Aug 7, 2013

Iran ready for 'serious negotiations' on nuclear program, says new president Rouhani

In his first news conference since taking office, Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, the man known as the 'diplomat sheik,' reiterated his willingness to participate in nuclear negotiations with the international community but stopped short of saying he would welcome direct talks with the United States.

Longform

A mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing on Hiroshima taken from a U.S. military aircraft on Aug. 6, 1945. Copying the photo without permission is prohibited.
80 years on, a Japanese American hibakusha recalls the day the bomb dropped