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Japan Times
WORLD
May 6, 2013

Software program gives Gettysburg Address poor grade

"Imagine taking a college exam, and, instead of handing in a blue book and getting a grade from a professor a few weeks later, clicking the 'send' button when you are done and receiving a grade back instantly, your essay scored by a software program."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 2, 2013

The disconcerting unity of Raphael

Harmony can sometimes have a disconcerting side. This is one insight to emerge from the Raphael exhibition at the National Museum of Western Art, the centerpiece of which is one of the artist's acknowledged great works, the "Madonna del Granduca" (c. 1505).
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2013

Barren legal ground for U.S. airstrikes in Syria

Would the U.S. have any legal justification for launching airstrikes against Syrian government radars, antiaircraft sites and air bases — and killing civilians?
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
May 1, 2013

Bargain sales aren't always what they appear to be

'Sale prices' are all in the mind of the consumer.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 29, 2013

Bilingual beauty, straight and permed

Beauty must be a bilingual thing. At least that's the impression one gets from looking at signs outside hairdressers, beauty parlors and similar types of businesses in Japan.
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Apr 28, 2013

Disaster long lurked amid Japan's isolation

"The evolution of political thought in this relatively isolated island nation during the period in question is unique to the point of being somewhat freakish."
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 28, 2013

Abe-history: Premier again seems set on stoking controversy and ire

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is no stranger to historical controversy. Back in 2001 he pressured national broadcaster NHK to revise a documentary about the judgment of an international people's tribunal regarding the war responsibility of Emperor Hirohito (posthumously known as Emperor Showa). And in 2007...
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 27, 2013

What will allow the last Briton in Guantanamo to come home?

Shaker Aamer remembers the frantic knocking on the door, the voices screaming for him to get out. Outside, in the dark streets of Jalalabad, eastern Afghanistan, the soldiers stripped him of his belongings at gunpoint and marched away their latest prisoner.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 25, 2013

In front and behind closed temple doors

While largely beneath the contemporary-art radar, painting for Japanese temples by the stars of the postwar art world is a relatively common activity, though largely restricted to nihonga.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 21, 2013

Views of Japan through Western films

Most readers encountering a book called 'Under Foreign Eyes: Western Cinematic Adaptations of Postwar Japan' will expect it to contain an interesting claim or claims about these Western representations of Japan, and that the claim or claims will be buttressed by sophisticated analysis of the films.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2013

Blame Western 'demonists' for Pyongyang's belligerence

Demonists never sleep. They concoct fantasies almost daily over a North Korea that almost certainly only wants to protect itself from the threat of U.S. attack.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 14, 2013

Iran's presidential hopefuls take aim at Ahmadinejad

Iran's political landscape has become increasingly divided during controversial President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's second and final term. But as a diverse array of candidates to replace him takes shape, nearly all the contenders seem united on one thing: attacking the president's legacy.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 7, 2013

The unholy trinity of junk food redux

New York Times journalist Michael Moss spent 3u00bd years working out how big food companies get away with churning out products that undermine the health of those who eat them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 5, 2013

Audiard's method: as slow and steady as the waves

My first impression of director Jacques Audiard is that he's almost as wired as the street-punk hero of his film "The Beat That My Heart Skipped," fidgeting in his chair, desperate for a smoke, jumping in mid-translation to clarify a point. Entering his sixth decade, Audiard shows no signs of slowing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 4, 2013

Exploring India's rapid urbanization, alienation

The art space now known as Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo was originally part of the luxury brand's store, designed by Jun Aoki and opened in 2002 in the fashionable Tokyo shopping district of Omotesando. It was reimagined in 2011 as a space for the company to showcase contemporary art, and is now holding...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 4, 2013

U.K. immigration critical to success of anti-EU party

For the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), defeat has never looked this much like victory.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 2, 2013

A tale of two knives, a Kiwi legend, a gang and a girl

The story reads like a New Zealand news editor's wish list: Celebrity, dangerous weapons, bizarre behavior, death threats, Brazilian street gangs and a mysterious love interest.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 1, 2013

Historian seeks to have Jefferson speak for himself

Thomas Jefferson died 186 years ago. But J. Jefferson Looney still wants the nation's third president to speak for himself.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 31, 2013

Bollywood bigwigs hope Japan fans are in it for keeps

In the 1990s, one of the most popular foreign movie stars in Japan was an Indian actor named Rajinikanth, who appeared in films made for India's Tamil-speaking southern region.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 30, 2013

Nippon Ishin unveils new platform at convention

Nippon Ishin no Kai introduces candidates for the Upper House election and a new platform that calls for revising the 'Occupation Constitution' at its first-ever convention.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2013

Yen fall worrisome, Ford CEO says

Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said he is concerned that the depreciation of the yen is bolstering the competitiveness of Japanese carmakers.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2013

Is China a world-beating model of governance?

Is the Chinese Communist Party giving the world a glimpse of a superior post-democratic system of goverment
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2013

Trial translation faults irk lay judges

The conviction in Tokyo of a U.S. minor for the slaying of an Irish woman once again highlights Japan's lack of a national accreditation system for court interpreters, after the lay judges complained about misinterpretations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 21, 2013

Enjoy an art night out in Roppongi

Spring finally returns and with the change of weather comes a flurry of activity in and around Tokyo, as this year's Roppongi Art Night is welcomed back. Running from 10 a.m. on March 23 until 6 p.m. the next day, the festival hosts a diverse collection of new and established artists, some showing for...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2013

Stunned pope asks for prayers

Pope Francis understands that the Catholic Church is bleeding. In Latin America, it is losing members to evangelical Christianity and to secularism.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2013

Bangkok governor re-elected despite his failings

Incumbent Bangkok Gov. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, of the national opposition Democrat Party, is re-elected despite his failings the past four years.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji