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EDITORIALS
Sep 12, 2014

Raise wages, not party donations

The Japan Business Federation's decision to resume urging roughly 1,300 member companies to make political donations is aimed at rebuilding the influence of the nation's largest business lobby on the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Critics of that tack say raising wages and boosting investments would work better in that regard.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Sep 12, 2014

Al-Qaida's shadowy new 'emir' in South Asia has a tough job ahead

Pakistani militant Asim Umar has been handed a very tough job.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / 'SUMMER DAVOS' SPECIAL 2014
Sep 10, 2014

Olympic Games expected to provide economic stimulus

Expectations are high for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
BUSINESS / Economy / 'SUMMER DAVOS' SPECIAL 2014
Sep 10, 2014

Young global leaders focus energy and knowledge on better future for all

The Forum of Young Global Leaders (YGLs), created in 2004, is a unique community formed by the most exceptional leaders from every region of the world and every stakeholder in society. These honorees have committed their energy and knowledge to the most critical issues facing humankind. Already successful...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2014

Japan, U.S. considering offensive military capability for Tokyo: officials

Tokyo and Washington are exploring the possibility of Japan acquiring offensive weapons that would allow it to project power far beyond its borders, Japanese officials said, a move likely to infuriate China.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 9, 2014

Sea of Japan's medieval islands of exile luring workers

The Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan are turning history on its head.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 8, 2014

Abe recasting Cabinet cuts risk to six-year low

The Cabinet overhaul has revived failing public support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policies and invigorated markets that have shown more confidence in him than his predecessors.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2014

The ethics of managing anti-Ebola treatments

As the Ebola virus grips an unprecedentedly wide swath of Africa, many are asking whether it is ethical to begin administering untested drugs and vaccines, and to decide who should receive them.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 6, 2014

Yoshio Taniguchi: thriving in the shadow of greatness

Architect Yoshio Taniguchi generally doesn't like having his photograph taken for use in the media. In a way, it's a logical extension of his approach to his work, which could be described as architecture by subtraction. Having painstakingly removed everything extraneous from a design, and having overseen...
EDITORIALS
Sep 6, 2014

Tuna catch limit, too little too late?

Japan's Fisheries Agency plans to call for a reduction in the annual catch of immature Pacific Bluefin tuna. The proposal is welcome, but it may be too little, too late.
BASKETBALL
Sep 4, 2014

Herb Brown returns to college ranks

Longtime NBA coach Herb Brown has been named a University of Portland men's basketball assistant coach, it was announced on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 4, 2014

Tohoku Electric to start coal swaps to hedge price swing risks from liberalization

Tohoku Electric Power Co., Japan's third-biggest coal user, will start trading coal swaps for the first time to manage price volatility risk as it prepares for liberalization of the electricity market.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 3, 2014

A quarter century of Japanese films in review

In 25 years of reviewing Japanese films and interviewing Japanese filmmakers for this newspaper, I've written 1 million words, give or take a few. This is clearly something no normal person would do, but for me it beats working.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / NFL NOTEBOOK
Sep 3, 2014

Seahawks striving for repeat championship

The NFL kicks off the 2014 season when the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks host the Green Bay Packers at CenturyLink Field on Thursday night. Many predict the Seahawks are ready for another Super Bowl run and there are a few reasons to share that belief.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Sep 3, 2014

Fan-favorite Inaba jumping into sunset

Atsunori Inaba may have been Japan's most popular player among foreign fans during the 2013 World Baseball Classic. The quadrennial competition doesn't just bring 16 nations together, it allows the baseball cultures of various nations to come together. Prominent among these is Japan's ouendan.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 2, 2014

Baltic states fear 'hybrid warfare' from former Russian masters

Nervously eyeing Russian naval maneuvers and military flights near their borders, the three ex-Soviet Baltic states fear they may emerge as the next geopolitical flash point after Ukraine in a confrontation that could test their cherished Western ties.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Sep 1, 2014

St. Mary's International School in Tokyo rocked by sexual abuse claims

After Catholic boys school responds to account from 1960s, other former pupils allege systematic abuse by another teacher during the 1970s
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 30, 2014

Kintaikyo: A bridge reincarnated over troubled waters

Below the bridge, flat-bottomed boats are ferrying people across the Nishiki River, just as they did centuries ago — back when commoners were not permitted to walk over its wooden arches, and even centuries before that, when there was no bridge at all. The long wooden craft glide with hypnotic languor...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Aug 29, 2014

Corrupt Chinese hiding in Western nations elude Beijing's 'fox hunt'

When Yang Xiuzhu got wind in 2003 that Chinese anti-corruption investigators were looking into her affairs, she boarded a flight to Singapore. A few days later Yang changed her name and flew to New York.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 27, 2014

Tokyo Ballet turns 50 with a glorious Gala of thanks

Ahead of The Tokyo Ballet's official 50th anniversary on Aug. 30, its website is already garlanded with tributes from international dancers and choreographers such as Sweden's Mats Ek and Britain's Akram Khan — and even from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Aug 27, 2014

Earthquake warning system for California is delayed by lack of funding

A system to provide early warnings of earthquakes such as the one that shook California's wine country this week is planned and ready to go, but two years after the scientific work finished, the funding is still being lined up.
EDITORIALS
Aug 25, 2014

Difficult time for pensioners

Pensioners' lives are likely to become even more severe in fiscal 2015 as scheduled increases in pension payments track lower than the rise in general prices.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2014

Next time, China might have to face the fire

China's leaders should take advantage of the recent respite from instability and low confidence to redouble their economic reform efforts. Otherwise, they can expect alarm bells to begin ringing again.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 21, 2014

Sukiyaki Meets the World ... and the world gets to meet Toyama

In June of 1963, Kyu Sakamoto's "Ue wo Muite Aruko" — better known as "Sukiyaki" overseas — became Japan's first, and only, No. 1 hit single in the United States.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Aug 20, 2014

A high price to pay for a little peace of mind

Sometimes it's hard to believe the American that emerged, naked and naive, from Narita International Airport back in 2004 and the person writing this column are one and the same. Life in Japan has made me, unmade me and remade me. I've unpacked and sorted through all sorts of koto (generally, things...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 20, 2014

Gala time for kabuki icon Sakata Tojuro IV

The eighth annual instalment of NHK Enterprises' Gei-no-Shinzui (Essence of Art) summer kabuki gala, to be staged August 22 at the National Theatre in Tokyo, will star Living National Treasure Sakata Tojuro IV, one of those rare actors as famed for his portrayals of men as for his prowess as an onnagata...

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?