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Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 30, 2013

Where the wild things are: the animal social network

Stumpy is a hulking fixture in seas around Ningaloo Reef off the coast of Western Australia. Photographed there often, he has a tranquil, inquisitive demeanor — despite his 10-ton heft.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 25, 2013

Tokyo, the city that's not as crazy as everyone thinks

As a Japanese friend of mine who has lived all over Japan once said, 'People from the Kansai area are like Latin people, but in Tokyo they're more like Germans.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Dec 16, 2013

Kyojima: Tokyo's epicenter of disaster risk?

Kyojima in eastern Tokyo is a perfect storm of natural-disaster risk, but while the metropolitan government is trying to get old people out, young people are moving in.
WORLD
Dec 15, 2013

Some Afrikaners unmoved by Mandela death

Dirk Smit's reaction to the death of Nelson Mandela, it would be fair to assume, puts him in the minority of South Africans.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2013

Nursing services under the knife

The health and welfare ministry plans to end some services under the nursing care insurance system for people whose conditions are not so severe, and have municipalities take them over.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 13, 2013

Bike-riding bureaucracy may threaten the classic 'obāchan dismount'

The new regulation decrees that bicycles must be ridden on the left side of the road, in the direction of the flow of traffic. Seems logical, doesn't it? But no one has said how this will prevent accidents or make anything safer; we're just presuming it will.
EDITORIALS
Dec 12, 2013

Repeal the state secrets law

Repeal of the recently enacted state secrets law appears indispensable for ensuring that Japan remains an open society with democratic principles fully upheld.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 10, 2013

Five myths about helping out the Philippines

Among common misconceptions about assistance to victims of communities shattered by storms or earthquakes are that locals wait for the international community to come save them and that goods and services are 'free' donations.
WORLD
Dec 10, 2013

Media overexposure to violence worse than being there

After the Boston Marathon bombings, people who spent six hours a day scouring media for updates were more traumatized than those who were there, a U.S. study suggested Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Dec 9, 2013

Ultracompacts zip into the future

In the near future, the nation's traffic scene may be characterized by the widespread use of ultracompact cars.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2013

Right renews its war on democracy in Thailand

In most democracies, government spending on free health care and anti-poverty programs would be seen as part of the normal political process, but in Thailand, it is regarded by many rich opponents of the current 'Thaksin' administration as a form of bribery.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 3, 2013

Alive wants to give music fans a say in who comes to Japan

You watched the video for their comeback single on YouTube, devoured the reviews and retweeted the hype. When the album came out, you bought it immediately and had it on repeat for weeks afterwards. And then you waited, waited ... but they never came.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Dec 2, 2013

Between dreams and discrimination, Japanese build new lives in the City by the Bay

How are modern-day Japanese immigrants experiencing life in America — and in particular, San Francisco? What are their dreams, their struggles and rewards? And how do they handle the need to belong, the ceaseless negotiation between assimilation and roots?
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 2, 2013

Should we put the sleep-aids debate to bed?

Every morning I am greeted by Facebook friends complaining of sleepless nights or awakenings. I know the feeling — as do many other people.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 27, 2013

Kichiemon Nakamura II : For the love of 'Chushingura'

As December draws near, the streets are decorated with Christmas ornaments and in Japan, concerts of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony are held all over the nation. In addition to these Western-inspired traditions, there is a made-in-Japan December tradition that has been held since the 18th century and is...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 26, 2013

If your baby needs a name, let the Internet decide

There's little doubt that Mei Xiang is a thoroughly modern mother, what with the fertility treatments and 24/7 video baby monitor and all. But if you need one more piece of evidence that the giant panda of the National Zoo in Washington is perfectly on trend, consider the process for naming her new cub:...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2013

Space industry faces choice for next direction

The air is so clear the mountains in the distance look almost fake, as if added digitally. The desert floor is runway-flat, with a few Joshua trees popping up randomly, like lost cowboys. The dominant feature is the sky, preposterously vast, beckoning test pilots, rocketeers and would-be space travelers....
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 22, 2013

Parliamentary democracy without a viable opposition

The lack of a viable opposition party is causing a serious crisis of democracy in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 21, 2013

Who says you're lonely just because you're alone?

When "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" was published in 1999, some schools in the United States banned it from their libraries and reading lists for its depictions of graphic sexual scenes, drugs, homosexuality and teen pregnancy — the usual suspects. Of course, this only increased its street cred....
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2013

Let's help the Philippines, just not like we helped Haiti

The international community must embrace the technology available to strengthen disaster preparedness, resilience and aid.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 19, 2013

Japan's juke scene gears up to go foot to foot with Chicago

I am at Battle Train Tokyo, the first official footwork dance tournament in Japan. It's being held at Kata, a gallery in the capital's Ebisu district. Sixteen dancers have signed up in the hope of becoming Japan's footwork champion, which comes with a ¥50,000 cash prize and a small championship belt...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 17, 2013

Teenagers deserting Facebook as mom and dad join social network

Facebook made a startling admission in its earnings announcement this month: it was seeing a "decrease in daily users, specifically among teens." In other words, teenagers are still on Facebook; they're just not using it as much as they did. It was a landmark statement, since teens are the demographic...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2013

Syrian conflict endangering aid groups

International Red Cross workers are suffering casualties as they cross the front lines of Syria to help millions of needy people amid escalating violence and worsening security conditions.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Nov 13, 2013

Tokyo: What does Japan do better than anywhere else?

Everyone here in Japan, or in Tokyo at least, is so disciplined and always punctual. The Japanese people I have met stick by their comments and the promises they make, and in my experience excuses are not accepted as much as they might be elsewhere.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 9, 2013

'Specialness' shrouds stories of minorities

As predicted four months ago in this column, in September the Supreme Court ruled discriminatory and unconstitutional the Civil Code stipulation that says children born out of wedlock are entitled to only half the inheritance of legitimate offspring. The government is expected to revise the law accordingly,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2013

Opponents derail Obama’s dream of high-speed trains, and jobs

The gleaming red-and-white trains sit motionless in a cavernous warehouse in Century City, an industrial neighborhood that cranked out 100 million car and truck frames in its heyday. The seats are draped in plastic; an electronic screen on one reads, "Quiet Car. 11:10 a.m. 000 MPH."
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2013

Anxiety replacing confidence for many Chinese

Billionaires as well as the new middle class are hedging their bets on China. Some joke that the president's slogan of 'a Chinese dream' refers to getting your kids into an American university.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 7, 2013

Franz Ferdinand gets it right on latest album

When I speak to Paul Thomson, drummer with Scottish art-poppers Franz Ferdinand, it is just over 36 hours since James Blake's second album, "Overgrown," was announced as the surprise winner of this year's Mercury Prize, the award for the best record to come out of the U.K. and Ireland in the past year....

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan