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Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 2, 2014

Southeast Asia fears fallout of Mideast chaos

Four gun-wielding rebel fighters sit relaxing on a wall, their faces concealed by scarves and ski masks. All are Indonesians who came to Syria to join the Islamist insurgency, the cameraman says, speaking Indonesian peppered with Arabic phrases.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 24, 2014

Getting past the stigma of dementia

Last April, the Nagoya High Court ordered a 91-year-old woman in Obu, Aichi Prefecture, to pay ¥3 million in compensation to JR Tokai for disruption of service after her husband was struck and killed by one of the company's trains. The man, who was 85 at the time of the accident in December 1997, suffered...
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
May 23, 2014

More and more smartphone users in Japan look to news curation

Curation isn't just for museums anymore. There has been a recent uptick in the popularity of smartphone apps that customize news for users in Japan, and this customization is called kyurēshon.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 26, 2014

A journalist who gets climate change right

Dr. Heather Goldstone is a rare breed. She's a journalist who insists on getting the science right, and she loves sharing it with the public.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 3, 2014

Independent NHK chained to Diet leash

NHK, which is often compared with the BBC in the U.K., has been a focus of public attention and intense criticism in recent weeks. Many people are taking a closer look at the public broadcaster, including its history and whether it has been politically influenced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's right-leaning...
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Mar 2, 2014

Composer Shibuya tests limits of music

One November evening in Paris, Theatre du Chatelet was packed with people who came to see the French premiere of a new opera by a Japanese composer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 18, 2014

Akie Abe opines but knows her place in his story

It's no secret that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's most valuable public relations resource at the moment is his wife, Akie, whose candor contrasts vividly with the demure demeanor of most Japanese leaders' wives. The weekly magazine Aera has suggested that Akie's press ubiquity has been strategic in nature,...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2013

Challenges highlight need for better government

U.S. President Ronald Reagan famously insisted that 'government is not the solution to our problem.' Today we know better: If government is not part of the solution, our problems will only get bigger.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 9, 2013

'Specialness' shrouds stories of minorities

As predicted four months ago in this column, in September the Supreme Court ruled discriminatory and unconstitutional the Civil Code stipulation that says children born out of wedlock are entitled to only half the inheritance of legitimate offspring. The government is expected to revise the law accordingly,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2013

The face of journalism's savior?

By the time Pierre Omidyar was 31, he was, in his own words, not just regular rich but "ridiculous rich." With enough money to make an impact in pretty much any sphere he chooses, the eBay billionaire last week made a splash in an area that is increasingly attracting the attention of tech titans: news....
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Oct 15, 2013

Pitched battle of perception surrounds Guantanamo prison

Weeds now grow where nearly two dozen kneeling and blindfolded men in orange jumpsuits were photographed as guards in fatigues looked on.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 4, 2013

Beatlemania: 'The screamers' and other tales of fandom

The first time Scottish concert promoter Andi Lothian booked the Beatles, in the frozen January of 1963, only 15 people showed up. The next time he brought them north of the border, to Glasgow Odeon on Oct. 5, they had scored a No. 1 album and three No. 1 singles, and it was as if a hurricane had blown...
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 27, 2013

Slew of arrests in China show Xi is consolidating his power

The trial of Bo Xilai may have divided the Chinese Communist Party and hogged the media spotlight, but, outside the courtroom, President Xi Jinping is continuing his steady efforts to consolidate control, clean up the party and sideline opponents, with a series of detentions and arrests.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / GAME OF NUMBERS
Jul 9, 2013

Tech-savvy candidates hope to reach young voters via online campaigns

For Kan Suzuki, a tech-savvy Upper House member, the Internet is a powerful campaign tool that he can use to help him win a third term at a time when his party is facing so much adversity.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 25, 2013

Cole not fit for England captaincy

He is seen as the type of player who gives footballers a bad name. Someone who typifies all the perceived negatives about the modern-day player.
COMMENTARY / World / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Apr 29, 2013

Photos of carnage would check war sentiment

Would most Americans remain indifferent to the wars their government wages in far-off lands if their media broadcast videos each day of the shattered bodies?
WORLD
Apr 22, 2013

How the Boston bombing investigation unfolded

Within hours of the Boston Marathon bombing, investigators were already overwhelmed. Bloody clothing, bags, shoes and other evidence from victims and witnesses was piling up. Videos and still images, thousands of them, were pouring in by email and Twitter.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 17, 2013

Kobe's greatness won't let him quit

Well, at least we know Kobe Bryant isn't retiring.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FORUM ON AFRICA-JAPAN RELATIONS
Mar 30, 2013

Regional challenges: what Japan can do to help

The second session dealt with Africa's regional challenges and development in the overall African economy. Ambassadors Ito, Comberbach and Arrour were joined by Ambassador Wasswa Biriggwa of Uganda, chairman of the ADC TICAD Committee; Ambassador Godwin N. Agbo of Nigeria, vice chairman of the ADC Trade...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2013

Who is the real John McCain?

John McCain was excited. It was late January, and the following day, he and a group of bipartisan senators were set to announce their framework for comprehensive immigration reform. He picked up the phone and called an old friend in Arizona.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 20, 2012

'Fans' fawn over 'Pingping'

Are vocal online fans of Communist Party leader Xi Jinping the real thing, or part of an elaborate and complex Potemkin village
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 16, 2012

An aging country learning to adapt

Occasionally in this space I refer to a financial writer called "Gucci-san" who contributes a weekly column to Aera. Apparently, he works for an investment consulting firm that does a lot of work in mergers and acquisitions. In a recent piece he said that some of his clients are involved in importing...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 21, 2012

Enka scandal keeps star in the news

The conflict between Japan and South Korea over Takeshima/Dokdo has spilled over into the entertainment realm. Some Korean actors and K-pop stars have stated publicly that the group of islets belongs to Korea, causing Masayuki Matsumoto, the president of NHK, to express concern. Last month he hinted...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 7, 2012

Gruff Ochiai needs to change if return is in cards

The Pacific League's Orix Buffaloes announced on Sept. 25 manager Akinobu Okada will not return to run the club next season, and speculation about his replacement indicates Japanese baseball Hall of Famer and former Chunichi Dragons skipper Hiromitsu Ochiai is one of the candidates who might be appointed...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 30, 2012

Senkaku issue falls hard from the shelf

Tanaage, which means to put something on the shelf, is a term that pops up often in the coverage of the current imbroglio over the islands that Japan calls the Senkakus. There is disagreement over when China, which calls the islands Diaoyu, started insisting they were its territory, but in any case the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 18, 2012

Shilling for our side over the Senkakus

Akihiro Suzuki does not think war will come, but if it does, he believes Japan will prevail.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Jul 8, 2012

Keeping an eye on TV news coverage of the nuke crisis

In the week immediately after March 11, 2011 — when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami hit Tohoku and crippled the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant — most Japanese were closely watching TV news programs — amazed that a nuclear crisis was now threatening their lives.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 12, 2012

'Flyjin' feel vindicated, worry for those left in Japan

Although more than a year has passed since the magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami struck Tohoku on March 11, 2011, Ivan Stout's memory of the moment when the Shinmarunouchi building in Tokyo's Chou Ward began to tremble is as vivid as ever.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 2, 2012

Japan's great outdoors becomes Oregonian's office-cum-playground

Gliding through powder across Mount Hakkoda in Aomori Prefecture or scanning the surfers at Shonan Beach in Kanagawa Prefecture, Gardner Robinson's life and work merge so completely that on the clock and on the slopes are one and the same.
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2012

Beijing tightens the screws on foreign journalists

In 2001, when it made a successful bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing promised there would be complete freedom for the foreign media to report in China. While this did not occur, more liberal rules were introduced, such as not requiring official permission before conducting interviews.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb