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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 1, 2017

North Korea sentences South Korean reporters to death in absentia over review of book on hermit state

A North Korean court sentenced two South Korean journalists and their publishers to death for "seriously insulting the dignity" of the country by reviewing and interviewing the British authors of a book about life in the North, its state media said on Thursday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 31, 2017

Time for Abe to put some eggs in the China basket

As Shinzo Abe's government bets it all on Donald Trump's America, there's new evidence that Xi Jinping's China holds far more promise.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / OBITUARY
Aug 30, 2017

Hillel Wright: poet, writer and catalyst for Tokyo's literary community

Remembering Hillel Wright, who died on Aug. 1 at the age of 73.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 29, 2017

Trump's planned HIV aid cuts could spell 9 million life years lost in South Africa, Cote d'Ivoire: UNAIDS

U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to cut foreign aid supporting HIV/AIDS treatment could cost 9 million years of lost life in South Africa and Cote d'Ivoire, according to a global study released on Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 26, 2017

Definition of happiness in Japan remains a mystery

Try defining "happiness." "A state of well-being and contentment," says Merriam-Webster's dictionary, unhelpfully. It's like saying happiness is happiness.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 26, 2017

New honor for Olympic legend Mills

Legendary distance runner Billy Mills, whose performance at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics catapulted him to global fame, is receiving a special honor close to home.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 24, 2017

Urban trees save megacities millions through cleaner air, cooler buildings: study

Trees in cities reduce air pollution, absorb carbon and protect people during heat waves, saving megacities more than $500 million a year in health care, energy costs and environmental protection, according to new research.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Aug 23, 2017

Trump or decency? Every American, whether in Japan or elsewhere, must choose a side

Trump made his choice. Now it is time for every American, including those of us living in Japan, to choose between hate and tolerance, ignorance and knowledge, revisionism and truth.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 22, 2017

Tokyo needs distance from Trump train wreck

It's time for those in Trump's orbit — including Prime Minister Abe — to assess how much they'll be diminished by association and do some crisis management.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2017

Why Steve Bannon had to go

Without any defined responsibilities, Trump's chief strategist intruded wherever he wished — and ended up with a lot of enemies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 21, 2017

Japan's quality bubble explains its flat-lined GDP

Recognizing Japan's quality bubble is the first step to appreciating and assessing its significant value.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2017

The risks of a Himalayan war are rising

Only an India fully prepared to counter and defeat aggression can deter China from initiating a military conflict on the Sino-Indian border.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 19, 2017

Gachapon: Tracing the evolution of Japan's colorful toy capsules

Where else but Japan could you buy a miniature version of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" figure crouching over a squat toilet, horror-struck? It's one of thousands of ingeniously designed trinkets you can buy for a pittance from toy machines across the nation. They're subversive, beautifully crafted and...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Aug 19, 2017

Wabi lies at the heart of Japanese history

You could spend your entire life in modern Japan without ever hearing the term wabi, though no overview of Japanese history or art is complete without it. It's a beautiful word, hard to define like most beautiful words. Poverty is the heart of it, which sounds dispiriting, but there's the Zen phrase...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2017

The tragedy of India's partition, 70 years on

The India-Pakistan border is a 70-year-old scar that will not heal.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Aug 16, 2017

Dentsu may not escape with summary justice

Last month, a Tokyo summary court judge ruled that advertising giant Dentsu would not get away with just paying a fine for violating the Labor Standards Act attributable to a culture of excessive overtime blamed for the death of several employees. The company will have to endure scrutiny of its employment...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 15, 2017

The Democratic Party's existential crisis

To retake the reins of power, the DP must be ready to offer voters a genuine alternative of the kind Japan hasn't seen in decades.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2017

Time to dial down tensions on the Korean Peninsula

Despite the heightened tentions on the Korean Peninsula, the window for a political solution through dialogue has not been closed entirely.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2017

China's 'double-freeze' con

By raising the double-freeze solution, China put the ball in America's court, and placed the onus for resolving the crisis squarely on Trump's shoulders.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 13, 2017

Taking minimalism to the next level

Ever since the release of Marie Kondo's 2011 bible on the Japanese art of decluttering, much of the developed world has been somewhat fixated on tidying up.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 12, 2017

Long a hit in Kyoto, hearty 'hamo' eel finds home in Tokyo restaurant

The Gion Matsuri came to a close at the end of July, but there's still time to enjoy one of the dishes most closely associated with that famous festival. Hamo, called dagger-tooth pike eel in English, has long been one of the Kansai region's summer specialities, especially in Kyoto, where the city's...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 12, 2017

The role of rules in a 'moral education'

Human beings are born amoral. Infants know no rules, and obey none. They learn a few at home, then go to school and learn more. Everyone agrees rules are necessary. On what the rules should be there is less agreement; less still on the degree of obedience rules call for. There are times and places where...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 12, 2017

'Inheritance From Mother': Tackling the taboo of caring for elderly parents

"Mother, when are you ever going to die?"
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 11, 2017

Iceland could give Google a lesson on gender policy

The valid points in the fired Google worker's gender diversity manifesto shouldn't be drowned out by a chorus of condemnation.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Aug 9, 2017

Of guns and cutlery: Memories of the war, from the Netherlands to Japan

A chance rediscovery leads an author to reflect on the lessons to be learned from the devastation of two continents.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 8, 2017

Asia's evolving security order

Along with closer economic cooperation in recent years, Japan and Vietnam have been strengthening their strategic ties.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2017

The LDP's tobacco addiction tells a much bigger story

If Prime Minister Abe and his party were less beholden to vested interests, his efforts to defeat deflation would gain more traction.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 5, 2017

Parsing gender stereotypes in Japan's media landscape

Tomomi Inada's resignation as defense minister ended a tenure that often made reporters wonder if her transgressions had more to do with ignorance than with incompetence. It would be wrong to associate her failures with her sex, though there were some in the media who harped on her fashion sense or supposed...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2017

Give Los Angeles the Olympics for good

Rotating the Olympic Games between a few select cities would be better than risking having none at all due to spiraling costs.

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