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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Aug 26, 2013

Denials of defoliant at former U.S. base site in Okinawa fly in the face of science

The inescapable fact is that the U.S. military, on Kadena Air Base, disposed of materials in drums containing 2,4,5-T , a wartime defoliant, and TCDD, the most toxic component of the dioxin family, known to be associated with the manufacture of such herbicides.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 24, 2013

It only takes one 'Barefoot' step to cross the line into censorship

If you want people to pay attention to a point you're making, try to bring the subject of children into the debate. Right now, the media is discussing a decision made by the board of education of Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, to limit student access to the manga "Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen)," first published...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Aug 22, 2013

North Korean gulag survivors tell U.N. investigators of rights abuses

One by one they came, taking seats next to a United Nations flag and stating their names for the record. Some kept calm. Some wept. One, as he spoke, used his left hand to clamp his trembling right hand to the table.
WORLD
Aug 19, 2013

Efforts to close 'Second Guantanamo' in Afghanistan prove problematic

Of all the challenges the U.S. faces as it winds down the Afghanistan war, the most difficult might be closing the prison nicknamed "The Second Guantanamo."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 31, 2013

Aso's Nazi-inspired quip rubs Seoul the wrong way

Outspoken Finance Minister Taro Aso causes another international stir by urging Japanese politicians bent on revising the Constitution to learn from the way Germany under the Nazis amended the Weimar charter.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jul 25, 2013

Ishizaki planning to continue playing career in Europe

Contrary to some speculative chatter in recent days that guard Takumi Ishizaki is on the verge of retirement, the word out of Germany is that the Fukui Prefecture native has his sights set on extending his overseas career.
Reader Mail
Jul 20, 2013

'Cool Japan' meme a nonstarter

The Chubu Connection article published in The Japan Times on July 12, titled "Students dealt real-life problems to broaden outlook," describes Tatsuo Hirase, head of the business promotion office of the Chubu branch of Mitsui and Co., leading a two-day marketing seminar at Aichi Prefectural University....
WORLD / FOCUS
Jul 18, 2013

Germans direct NSA ire at Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel grew up in a society where the government kept a Big Brother eye on its citizens. Now, critics say, she has assented to similar practices — this time coming from the U.S., not East Germany's fearsome secret police.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 14, 2013

Imminent birth puts spotlight on monarch

Aging monarchs in the Netherlands and Belgium stepped down this year to make room for the next generation of Europe's crowned heads. But in Britain, the impending birth of a royal baby will have heirs stacking up like planes at London's super-clogged Heathrow Airport.
JAPAN / Politics / GAME OF NUMBERS
Jul 10, 2013

Pro-nuke LDP's candidate quiet on Ehime reactor restart bid

On the far western edge of Shikoku, Ehime's Sada Misaki Peninsula juts out into the Seto Inland Sea. It's a long sliver of land home to several species of hawk and several varieties of the prefecture's famous "mikan" oranges.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 27, 2013

Snowden's stay in H.K. filled with intrigue

The message was blunt and was delivered Friday night by a shadowy emissary who didn't identify himself but knew enough to locate Edward Snowden's secret caretaker: The 30-year-old American accused of leaking some of his country's most sensitive secrets should leave Hong Kong, the messenger said, and...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 23, 2013

Jellyfish carry the sting of human overcrowding

It may not be immediately apparent what jellyfish, human population growth and our protein diet have in common. Take a closer look, though, and all three offer warning signs that dramatic changes are on the horizon for us and our planet.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 17, 2013

Surveillance controversy illuminated by history

The American public at large is more accepting of the government's involvement in their lives than a 29-year-old former NSA contractor appears to believe.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2013

Syria bleeds as West watches

The only proper response to those who fret about 'where do you stop?' if the international community intervenes in the Syrian conflict is 'when do you start
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2013

Japan may announce humanitarian aid for Syrian rebels at G-8 summit

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could announce Tokyo's intention to provide humanitarian assistance to Syrian rebels at next week's Group of Eight summit in Britain, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Jun 7, 2013

Tweet Beat: #tof2013, #ビフォーアフター, #rubykaigi

Events with hashtags attract tweets from attendees and beyond. Plus: the pro-wrestling dorm episode of 'Daikaizou Gekiteki Before After'!
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 5, 2013

France 'certain' Syrian regime used sarin gas in civil war

The French government says it has confirmed the use of sarin gas by the Syrian government, and a U.N. panel reports that it has 'reasonable grounds' to believe chemical weapons have been used in the country's civil war.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 3, 2013

Liberal hawks mum on U.S. intervention in Syria

For interests on both sides of Syria's civil war, the past two weeks have been the time to increase the pressure. Hezbollah sent reinforcements to the troops of President Bashar Assad, and Russia reiterated its intention to furnish the regime with weapons. At the same time, Republican Sen. John McCain...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 2, 2013

Severe sports training methods became taibatsu in time

The martial arts were the inspiration for the famous baseball team at the First Higher School of Tokyo, a late 19th century powerhouse that helped make yakyu, as baseball came to be known, the national sport of Japan.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 2, 2013

Crony capitalism: corruption, disparities and stifled initiative

Crony capitalism is the scourge of contemporary Asia, lining pockets and diverting resources in ways that systematically undermine the public interest, accentuate disparities, sap innovative and entrepreneurial impulses — while also subverting governance.
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2013

Alcohol addiction could doom Putin's dreams

Russians' love for vodka has a long history. Legend holds that vodka arrived in Moscow in the 14th century, brought by Genovese merchants to Prince Dmitry Ivanovich.
Reader Mail
May 30, 2013

Jump-starting the use of English

Amy Chavez's May 25 column, "English education and English sheepdogs," gives a clear-cut reason why Japanese people usually have a lot of difficulties speaking English.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2013

Hold the false prophets of doom accountable

Apocalyptic prophecies and the raucous festivities accompanying them are indisputably alluring. But imaginary cataclysms have real-world consequences.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 26, 2013

Mr. Abe: Bag the nukes and heed the Keeling Curve

Dear Prime Minister Abe,
JAPAN
May 25, 2013

Ex-sex slaves won't meet Hashimoto

Two South Korean former 'comfort women' cancel their planned meeting with Nippon Ishin no Kai coleader Toru Hashimoto, saying via a representative that they don't want to be his political pawns.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2013

Substitute question marks for exclamation marks

A terrible tragedy is unfolding in (fill in the name of your favorite trouble spot). Something must be done. This (choose from sending troops, air strikes, enforcing a no fly zone, arming rebels) is something. Therefore it must be done.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers