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JAPAN
Jan 22, 2013

Cut state funding to terminal patients so they "can die quickly": Aso

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso caused a stir Monday in talks on social security reforms when he said the medical system should be changed so that the many terminal patients now using "government money" for expensive treatment "can quickly pass away."
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 22, 2013

Fixing the much-admired, reviled Constitution — by breaking it

With Shinzo Abe having called Japan's current Constitution "pathetic" (mittomonai) just a few days before taking charge of a government established under it, constitutional amendment seems likely to be on the agenda of his second go as prime minister. This should not surprise anyone, since "fixing" the...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 21, 2013

U.S. set to close another source of cash for Iran

Ever since European seaports closed their gates to Iranian oil tankers last summer, Iran has looked to the East to keep its economy afloat. Countries such as China, India and South Korea — some of them critics of Western sanctions — have offered Iran a lifeline of reliable markets and much-needed...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2013

Obama officially sworn in at quiet White House ceremony

Barack Hussein Obama officially began his second term as the 44th president Sunday, setting the stage for him to lay out his vision in an inaugural address on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr., Day.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2013

Algeria confirms Japanese hostages killed

An unknown number of Japanese taken hostage at a gas drilling complex were killed or are missing, Algeria tells Tokyo after terminating the Islamic attackers.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jan 21, 2013

Parker shines as West wins All-Star Game

Recognized as a dynamic playmaker since entering the bj-league in the 2007-08 season as a member of the run-and-gun Rizing Fukuoka, Michael Parker hauled in four straight regular-season scoring titles into the fledgling circuit's eighth season.
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2013

Violation of criminal procedure

The Tokyo District Court ruled Tuesday in favor of the religious group Aleph, formerly known as Aum Shinrikyo, in a lawsuit Aleph had filed against the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and a former head of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 19, 2013

Fukushima's powder paradise

I seem to have the whole mountain to myself. The vast majesty of Fukushima Prefecture spreads out below me, all around. Up here, skiing on powdery snow, zigzagging through challenging moguls, it's easy to forget about the nuclear reactors 120 km away.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 19, 2013

Epiphanies for characters, readers

WE, THE CHILDREN OF CATS, by Tomoyuki Hoshino, edited and translated by Brian Bergstrom with an additional translation by Lucy Fraser. PM Press, 2012, 266 pages, $20 (paperback)
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2013

Agura Bokujo victims may sue Kaieda

Investors who were fleeced when the Agura Bokujo cattle farm business went under are threatening to sue Democratic Party of Japan President Banri Kaieda for damages over articles and books he wrote 20 years ago recommending investment in the ranch, according to their lawyers.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 19, 2013

Rape stirs debate on juvenile laws

The gang rape in India of a young woman and her resulting death last month sparked a national outcry and calls for harsh punishment of the five people charged with the crime.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jan 19, 2013

Lance Armstrong and the art of public confession

There are no free rides out of paradise. As a disgraced sporting legend, Lance Armstrong, who for the most part came clean to Oprah Winfrey on American television this week, could be forgiven for thinking he has trespassed in the Garden of Eden, or perhaps gone sunbathing on the rock usually occupied...
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 19, 2013

Democrats no longer gun-shy on restrictions

For the first time in more than a decade, Democratic presidential aspirants see a political advantage in championing far-reaching restrictions on guns.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jan 17, 2013

Fujiwara chases a scoop in news-themed thriller

There aren't many celebrities who would make good journalists, but something tells me Norika Fujiwara is one. She's well-traveled, socially active and not constrained by the mechanisms of public-relations strategies.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2013

Frenchwoman fired for leaving Japan during nuclear crisis sues NHK

A Frenchwoman dismissed by NHK filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the public broadcaster, claiming her radio announcer contract was unjustly terminated after she temporarily fled Japan at the start of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant in March 2011.
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 2013

Chinese media test their limits

Recent protest, including strikes by some reporters, against Chinese authorities' heavy censorship of new year articles by the Southern Weekly, a Guangdong newspaper known for its hard-hitting investigations, points to Chinese people's strong desire for freedom of speech and expression.
BASEBALL / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Jan 16, 2013

Plenty to keep the hot stove cooking

Back when all the MLB teams could be found east of the Mississippi River and north of Virginia, baseball junkies used to get their offseason fixes by sitting around yakking about downtime big league happenings — recent trades, news items, gossip and the like.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 16, 2013

Majority of Americans back new gun limits

Most Americans support tough new measures to combat gun violence, including a ban on assault weapons and posting armed guards at every school, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
EDITORIALS
Jan 15, 2013

Chinese media test their limits

Recent protest, including strikes by some reporters, against Chinese authorities' heavy censorship of new year articles by the Southern Weekly, a Guangdong newspaper known for its hard-hitting investigations, points to Chinese people's strong desire for freedom of speech and expression.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 15, 2013

Tokyo hopes this Olympics bid wins

Tokyo's quest to host the 2020 Olympics entered a new stage last week when it presented its candidature file to the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2013

The untamed health care monster

Is the United States finally controlling health spending?
Reader Mail
Jan 13, 2013

Some might find it shallow

In my opinion, Roger Pulvers' Dec. 30 Counterpoint article, "Is juggernaut Japan being driven to destruction (and no one's to blame)?," lacks the power to persuade because it comes off as another stereotyped view of social trends by a foreign journalist.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 13, 2013

How Japan's teens can avoid sleep demons

Have you ever woken up but been unable to move; felt a powerful pressure holding you down, gripping you tight? Haruki Murakami has, and he describes it like this: "I was having a repulsive dream — a dark, slimy dream. ... After I awoke, my breath came in painful gasps for a time. My arms and legs felt...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 13, 2013

Mascots bear cash for local authorities

In September 2007, after Shinzo Abe had abruptly quit his first stint as prime minister, sales of Shin-chan Manju, a bean-paste-filled bun named after Abe, spiked. The maker of the buns had tried to promote the product over the course of Abe's year as the Liberal Democratic Party leader, changing its...

Longform

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