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Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 16, 2016

Murakami is right about jazz and the brain

"Music brings a warm glow to my vision, thawing mind and muscle from their endless wintering."
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 16, 2016

Key facts about Taiwan's relationship with China

Taiwan went to the polls on Saturday to elect a new president and parliament. China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, will be watching the outcome closely.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2016

Don't believe all the myths about North Korea

Before figuring out what can be done about North Korea and its seemingly crazy dictatorship, we mustn't fall prey to four common myths about the hermit kingdom.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2016

Nagisa Oshima: 'You have to tell the truth about your country, whatever it is'

Jan. 15 marks the third anniversary of the renowned film director's death. Roger Pulvers, who knew him for more than 30 years and was his assistant on “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” discusses the man and his work
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 9, 2016

Iran complains to U.N. about Saudi "provocations"

Iran's foreign minister has complained to the United Nations about Saudi Arabia's "provocations" towards Tehran, as a diplomatic crisis between the region's two major powers entered its second week.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 3, 2016

Skyscraper blaze in Persian Gulf raises questions about safety

A blaze that engulfed a Dubai skyscraper on New Year's Eve — the emirate's third high-rise fire in three years — has raised fresh questions about the safety of materials used on the exteriors of tall buildings across the wealthy region.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Dec 30, 2015

Austria sends hundreds of migrants packing back to Slovenia for lying about nationality

Austria has sent hundreds of migrants back to neighboring Slovenia in the past three days for lying about their nationality in an apparent attempt to improve their chances of being granted asylum, a police spokesman said on Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Dec 23, 2015

Much jaw-jaw about war-war: the year 2015 in quotes

The past year has seen a number of tugs-of-war, as conservatives promoted past glories and preservation of the status quo while liberals lobbied for unprecedented levels of tolerance.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 21, 2015

Japan's married-name law isn't just about names

The Supreme Court's ruling on surnames raises a fascinating question: How much should a constitution reflect the distinctive values of a society and how much should it express universal rights?
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2015

Saitama assemblyman apologizes for remark about number of registered dogs, foreigners

An official in Saitama Prefecture apologizes after pointing out that the non-Japanese population of city of Kawaguchi is larger than the number of registered dogs.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 7, 2015

China tells military officers not to whine about reforms

High-ranking officers in the Chinese army must hold their tongues about concerns over military reform and lead from the front to ensure the rank and file are on board, the People's Liberation Army said on Monday.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Dec 1, 2015

Newton affair reveals ugly truth about discourse in U.S.

Sports, MAS has often heard it said, are a metaphor for life.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 30, 2015

City assembly member in hot water over discriminatory tweets about same-sex marriage

Municipal assembly leaders in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, issue a warning to a 71-year-old assemblyman over discriminatory remarks about gay marriage.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 17, 2015

Few clues about radicalization in hunt for 'ghostlike' alleged mastermind of Paris attacks

French investigators think they know who masterminded the deadliest terrorist assault in peacetime France: Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a 20-something Belgian who joined the ranks of the Islamic State group a few years ago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 11, 2015

Ryosuke Hashiguchi's inspired drama about love and loss

Watching recent Japanese films, I often have the feeling that their makers need an imagination injection, or simply need to get out more. It's not just that few, especially at the commercial end of the spectrum, work from original scripts. Plenty of great movies are adapted from other media.
Reader Mail
Nov 6, 2015

The refugee crisis: What about Japan?

Regarding the article "UNICEF chief urges Japan to open its doors to more refugees" in the Oct. 19 edition, if the Japanese are truly "very good global citizens," as UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake says, surely my fellow countrymen would agree with Lake's appeal? After all, the refugee crisis...
WORLD / Politics
Nov 5, 2015

Malaysia government to tell assembly about funds, critics see dodge

Malaysia's government said on Thursday it would answer questions about millions of dollars found in the prime minister's bank accounts, but only on the last day of parliament next month, which critics decried as a tactic to dodge a grilling.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2015

Nothing harmless about Putin's new 'Moscowteers'

Across Europe, apologists for Russia and Russian policy have coalesced into what amounts to a fifth column.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Oct 26, 2015

Thinking about the difference between 'omou' and 'kangaeru'

Introduce the two verbs u304au3082u3046 and u304bu3093u304cu3048u308b, which mean 'to think.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 17, 2015

Fired up about Gifu's pottery industry

Toki, a small town in Gifu Prefecture, 37 km from Nagoya, sits above a huge clay basin. Pottery has been made here since ancient times.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 16, 2015

In an about face, JCP says it would support Japan-U.S. military pact in some scenarios

The Japanese Communist Party, which has long regarded the United States as its sworn enemy, has made what appears to be a historic change of its policy stance — at least for now.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 16, 2015

Grand jury charges Fox News guest terror analyst with lying about working for CIA

A Fox News guest terrorism analyst was arrested on Thursday after a grand jury indicted him on charges of falsely claiming to have been a CIA agent for decades, U.S. prosecutors said.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Oct 3, 2015

Don't be green about the charm of tatami

When we were thinking of buying a condominium, we visited several old danchi — apartments built by Japan's former public housing corporation — because they were cheap and, we thought, easy to renovate. One of the units we inspected had bedroom floors made of tatami mats, and we wondered if we could...
CULTURE / Music
Oct 2, 2015

m-flo's Taku Takahashi talks about Japan's music scene, K-pop and that controversial tweet

Taku Takahashi wants you to know, he's a positive person.

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