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Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 1, 2013

U.S. evaluates blowback from revelations it spied on allies

Weeks before he was sworn in, President-elect Barack Obama was given an extensive briefing on the secret operations of U.S. spy agencies, as well as a warning: "You need to give up your BlackBerry," Obama was told, according to former officials familiar with the meeting. "If you use that phone, you are...
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2013

Japan Times appoints advisers to improve coverage

The Japan Times announced Thursday that it has established The Japan Times Media Advisory Board, appointing four distinguished individuals living in Japan to improve the quality of the newspaper and its reportage.
EDITORIALS
Oct 30, 2013

Death row inmate deserves retrial

Japan's top court rejects a request for retrial from an 87-year-old man on death row — after taking its time doing so — despite chemical evidence that might clear the defendant.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2013

Kinki University fish lab opening Ginza eatery

A fisheries research lab at Kinki University in Wakayama Prefecture is poised to make a smashing debut in the heart of Japan's gourmet capital: Ginza.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 30, 2013

Rescues of South Koreans abducted by North come with controversy

In divided Korea, even the homecomings can be bitter.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 27, 2013

Rajapaksa: Sri Lanka's affable authoritarian?

Down in the deep south of Sri Lanka, where life usually moves at a leisurely pace, there is one small town that is less tranquil. Hambantota — population 20,000 — is expanding fast. There is a vast new deepwater port, built with $360 million of borrowed Chinese cash; a new 35,000-seat cricket stadium;...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 23, 2013

Honda betting on fun with mini sports car as drivers look to cut costs

Honda Motor Co., which expects half of the vehicles it sells in Japan this year to be minicars, will unveil its first mini sports car since 1996 amid booming demand for more fuel-efficient, cheaper autos.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 21, 2013

Mercury still threat, Abe assurances or not

Earlier this month, delegates from over 130 nations gathered in Kumamoto to launch the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The U.N.-brokered treaty aims to limit mercury use and emissions. It comes at a time when the U.N. Environmental Program warns half of all global anthropogenic mercury emissions come...
EDITORIALS
Oct 19, 2013

Remedies for rigged research

It still isn't clear who manipulated clinical research data in favor of Novartis Pharma's blood-pressure drug Diovan, casting a cloud on the credibility of Japan's medical universities.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 19, 2013

Abe ought to show a red card to hate speech now

Last week I ended this column by noting that Myanmar (also known as Burma) can ill afford bigotry and intolerance. Neither can Japan. The outpouring here of hate speech targeting ethnic Korean residents is a disturbing development even if it is not representative. And certainly, it is encouraging that...
EDITORIALS
Oct 18, 2013

Revitalizing the SDP

Under its newly elected leader, the Social Democratic Party must go beyond shouting 'Protect the pacifist Constitution!' if its mission is to build a more equitable Japanese society.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2013

TIFF's programming director explains the festival's direction

Since 2007, when he took over as programming director of the Tokyo International Film Festival's Competition section, Yoshihiko "Yoshi" Yatabe has been a point person in TIFF's drive to elevate its status in the region and the world. A former film distributor, publicist and producer, Yatabe joined the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2013

Exchange student who gave life hailed

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye praised exchange student Lee Su-hyon, who died 12 years ago Thursday attempting to save a Japanese man who had fallen off a Tokyo train platform onto the tracks.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Oct 15, 2013

Take the kids to the future at Miraikan

The National Museum for Emerging Science and Innovation stands prominently near the shore of Tokyo Bay, but it looks more like a space station on the edge of a far-off galaxy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 15, 2013

Abe defense posture welcome: U.S. intel expert

In contrast to neighboring countries, former U.S. National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair welcomes the efforts by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to reinterpret the pacifist Constitution and bolster the nation's defense capabilities, saying Japan needs to adapt itself to the changing security landscape...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 13, 2013

Potential rises with India's booming middle class

Japanese firms need to — and some are starting to — better understand the changing behavior of Indian consumers to succeed in the region's new economic powerhouse, journalists from Indian media organizations said at a recent symposium in Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 11, 2013

Strays become woman's calling

It's a typical evening in the Mercer-Tojo household. Susan Mercer, 37, has just settled down their 2-year-old for the night, tucking him in as he cuddles with five or six cats. Several dogs prowl restlessly, eager for a pat or a kind word. Scooping a kitten off the floor, Mercer settles down to wait...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 10, 2013

'Kids Return: Saikai no Toki (Kids Return: The Reunion)'

Released in 1996, "Kids Return" was a change of pace for director Takeshi Kitano, whose films to date had usually starred Kitano himself as a cop or a gangster, meting out violence with a brutal efficiency and a wry black humor. Critics mostly admired them and moviegoers mostly shunned them, despite...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 9, 2013

Kokubo introduced as new manager of Samurai Japan

The Japanese baseball national team has a new outlook and a new man in charge.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 9, 2013

BBQ Chickens keep new album 'Broken Bubbles' short and sweet

When making music, Tokyo punk/metal hybrid act BBQ Chickens like to keep things short. The quartet have yet to craft a song that lasts two minutes. A handful of their cuts don't even break the 10-second mark.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2013

Keep Asia in the forefront of U.S. foreign policy

U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to cancel his visits to the economic and political summits in Asia is a setback for the U.S. position in the region.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 7, 2013

New moms find new ways to exercise — with their strollers

The other women in class curled dumbbells as they lunged. But Lindsay Macaleer put down her weights and instead gently rocked her double stroller to soothe her 2-year-old and 10-week-old sons.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo