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JAPAN
Apr 5, 2014

Host clubs: a hotbed of human trafficking

The Japanese host. You can see them on the streets of Tokyo's Kabukicho: the dapper thin men with colored, blown-dry hair, fake suntans, snazzy suits and charming smiles, chatting up passing females and trying to get them to come and have drinks. They've been the subject of documentaries, television...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 24, 2014

Consumption tax hike projected to increase appeal of electronic money

Your stash of u00a51 coins is about to get much bigger.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Mar 21, 2014

Is bitcoin start of a financial revolution?

Bitcoin may not be the messiah of a new currency its hard-core fans yearn for, but it may herald the deeper financial revolution the Internet has been waiting for.
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2014

Sony pares suppliers to speed output

Sony Corp. will focus its supply chain on 250 strategic partners as it seeks to lower costs and accelerate production.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2014

'Tank girls' lead the charge

Being a soldier in Japan after World War II was seen as a job for failed police recruits and unemployed youths from depressed rural towns.
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Mar 17, 2014

Techie ways to document life and have a little fun

Japanese video-equipment manufacturer Elmo has released QBiC MS-1, a tiny super-wide-angle video camera that can be easily connected to your smartphone over Wi-Fi.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 17, 2014

Automation set to affect our job prospects

Who needs an army of lawyers when you have a computer?
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 14, 2014

U.S. joins France in anti-terrorism fight across Sahel

On a dusty training ground in Niger, U.S. Special Forces officers teach local troops to deal with suspects who resist arrest. "Speed, aggression, surprise!" an instructor barks as two Nigeriens wrestle a U.S. adviser out of a car.
LIFE / Digital
Mar 13, 2014

Write off bitcoin if you like, but digital currency is here to stay

If I had a bitcoin for every person I've met in the past six months who told me that bitcoin is a scam, I'd be a rich man. Or a poor one, depending in which day of the week we're talking about.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 11, 2014

Diplomacy over Crimea at standstill; pro-Russian forces open fire at base

A pro-Russian force opened fire in seizing a Ukrainian military base in Crimea on Monday and NATO announced reconnaissance flights along its eastern frontiers as confrontation around the Black Sea peninsula showed no signs of easing.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Mar 9, 2014

Clarify your role, prepare before a disaster strikes

When she first arrived in Japan from Ireland in 2008, Sarah Hickey was mostly concerned with adjusting to her new life in Fukushima Prefecture. The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme placed her in Iwaki, which is itself a large city, but she found herself near the coast in less metropolitan...
Japan Times
JAPAN / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Mar 9, 2014

Honda's robotics tech headed for homes of the future

As technology evolves, every household is predicted to have at least one robot in the future, just as many of today's consumers feel incomplete without Internet access or a mobile phone.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Mar 8, 2014

Noisy bulbuls change with the seasons

On cold winter mornings the bulbuls come squawking their full-throated calls as they swoop onto bird-feeders, their white-tipped gray breast feathers appearing frosted by the chill.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 8, 2014

Rabid right foams at the mouth over Line's Korean connection

Internet entrepreneurism has spawned all kinds of free services and applications. Some — with names such as Yahoo, Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter — have emerged as wild successes and earned sizable fortunes for their founders.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 7, 2014

Docomo's earnings may be derailed by price wars

NTT Docomo Inc., the nation's largest wireless operator, said a price war with other carriers and discounts on the latest iPhones may threaten its full-year forecast after adding the Apple Inc. devices to lure customers.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 1, 2014

Japan's reactionaries waging culture war

The contemporary culture wars that have erupted over Japanese identity and history are undermining the country's national interests and damaging its reputation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2014

H.K. fund to Nintendo: Let smartphones tap games

Nintendo Co. is ignoring "compelling evidence" that "Super Mario" and its other video games would sell on smartphones and tablets, according to a Hong Kong hedge fund manager who urged the company to shift gears.
COMMENTARY
Feb 25, 2014

Breaking the United Auto Workers union's grip

The most important U.S. election this year will not be in November, when more than 90 million votes will be cast for governors and national legislators. The most important one occurred in Tennessee last week when factory workers' rejected representation by the United Auto Workers union.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2014

Bogus game apps new woe for Nintendo

Nintendo Co. isn't offering Super Mario games on smartphones. Other people are.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2014

Sony sells 5.3 million PlayStation 4 consoles

Sony Corp. has sold more than 5.3 million PlayStation 4s globally, beating its forecast, as it prepares to release the console in Japan this Saturday.
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Feb 17, 2014

Personal devices to keep you fit and calm, plus Fujitsu's latest 'convertible' ultrabook

Earbuds that's aren't earbuds; a laptop that's not just a laptop; a mouse that's not really a mouse; and a wristband that's not for telling the time.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Feb 16, 2014

Son's rags-to-riches career impresses by the numbers

Although alive and well, Masayoshi Son has already attained legendary status in Japan for rising from his poverty-stricken childhood to become the chief SoftBank.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 16, 2014

Playing the Japanese name game

Once, when telephoning the international PR office of a major electronics manufacturer, I got lucky. Without my even asking, the young woman who picked up the phone volunteered her name, saying 私は青木と申します (Watashi wa Aoki to mōshimasu, My name is Aoki). Actually it sounded more like...
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 15, 2014

Rakuten acquires Viber web phone/messaging service for $900 million

Rakuten Inc., the Japanese online retailer controlled by billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani, is buying the Viber Internet messaging and calling service for $900 million as it moves into social networking.

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