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Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 16, 2015

Who benefits from the new overtime pay system?

On Feb. 13, a Labor Policy Council sub-committee submitted to the labor ministry a report with suggestions for a bill to revise the labor standards law. The revision, which the ministry plans to submit to the next regular Diet session, applies to the work of skilled white collar professionals and will allow them to 'work in a manner that demonstrates their achievements' more effectively, which is another way of saying that employers will no longer be required to pay these workers overtime for extra hours on the job, which in turn means that employers cannot be accused of pressuring them to work overtime for no pay, a system popularly known as saabisu zangyo, or 'free overtime.'
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 16, 2015

With first regulations, skies open for U.S. drone flights

President Barack Obama's administration took the first step to opening the skies above the U.S. to widespread civilian drone flights while proposing strict limits on commercial operations and privacy rules for those flown by government agencies.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Feb 15, 2015

Iwate's Oketani earns 300th career victory

When the bj-league tipped off in the fall of 2005, Dai Oketani was working as an assistant under Oita HeatDevils head coach Jawann Oldham, a former NBA big man.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Feb 12, 2015

Shimane showing surprising improvement

Despite a disastrous start this season, the Shimane Susanoo Magic won't challenge the Takamatsu Five Arrows' league record of 50 losses.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 12, 2015

Australia seeks last-ditch deal to save pair from execution in Indonesia

Australia is pursuing a last-ditch deal with Indonesia to save two of its citizens from imminent execution on drugs charges, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Thursday, in a case that threatens to strain already fragile relations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 11, 2015

Misono Universe: Screaming from the gutter to the stars

Amnesia is one of those medical conditions that might have been invented for the movies. For scriptwriters, it's a godsend — one bump on the hero's head and the story is rolling.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 11, 2015

The U.S.-India nuclear breakthrough that wasn't

Nuclear power faces an uncertain future, with few new reactors under construction in the West. Yet India has continued to place the nuclear deal at the hub of its relationship with America.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 10, 2015

Egyptology asks Japan: Can you spare a synth?

For many visiting musicians, a Japanese tour consists of a brief, meticulously coordinated onslaught of gigs, interviews and in-store appearances, possibly capped by a karaoke session with the record label's PR team. Few get to spend six weeks schlepping around the country on an old city bus, as Egyptology's...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Feb 10, 2015

Danish cherry wine leaves no sour taste at Cella Masumi

It's difficult to leave Cella Masumi, the tasting room and specialty shop adjacent to Miyasaka Brewing Company in Nagano Prefecture, without a bag full of treats.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2015

Global accord on climate won't be enough

As a new global agreement on reducing carbon emissions won't come into effect until 2020, a global stand must be bolstered by country initiatives to help address the socioeconomic effects of climate change that are already being felt.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Feb 9, 2015

Injuries to Okinawa anti-base protesters 'laughable,' says U.S. military spokesman

In an email, a top marine official likens protesters hurt in demonstrations to diving soccer players.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2015

Growth concerns loom for Daiichi Sankyo on drug warning

Daiichi Sankyo Co. risks losing a slice of revenue to generic-medicine competition next year. Now, the drugmaker's plans to fill the gap have hit a roadblock and investors worry that growth may flounder.
BASKETBALL
Feb 8, 2015

Cinq Reves slump to 17th straight loss

The Tokyo Cinq Reves won three of their first five games this season. It appeared to be a positive sign for the third-year franchise, which went 18-34 in 2012-13 and 13-39 last season.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 8, 2015

Is Australia ready to import Japan’s revolving-door-style politics?

Australian politics has worked itself into a frenzy. Prime Minister Tony Abbott, after ridiculing the previous Labor government for its public infighting, faces a leadership challenge from inside his own Liberal Party.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 8, 2015

Atsugiri Jason: 'Don't worry about what other people think of you'

Comedian Jason Danielson on bad puns, hidden cameras and thick-sliced bacon
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Feb 6, 2015

Revival in Sony shares credited to ascent of CFO Yoshida

Investors' newfound enthusiasm for bloated Sony owes much to ascendant CFO Kenichiro Yoshida's ability to cut jobs, exit money-losing businesses and rein in its outsized ambitions.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / TYSON-DOUGLAS SHOCKER REVISITED
Feb 6, 2015

Lampley remembers historic fight in Tokyo

Second in a series
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 6, 2015

One-child policy didn't give China too many boys

Research suggests that it was China's liberalizing economic reforms of the 1970s and 1980s that might have been responsible for today's heavily skewed gender ratio in favor of boys.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 6, 2015

Limiting the Security Council's veto power

In the lead-up to the commemoration of this year's 70th anniversary of the U.N., the French government is again pursuing the idea of getting the five permanent members of the Security Council to agree to refrain from using their veto power when dealing with mass-atrocity crimes.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Feb 4, 2015

Fans want NFL return

It was a Monday night, not a Super Sunday, but an estimated 100 people had assembled for a viewing party for Super Bowl XLIX between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks on massive screens at a public viewing event in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2015

Growing younger in a super-aged society

Old age. It used to be a subject people tried to avoid, but now, as Japan hurtles toward a super-aged society where almost 15 percent of the populace is over 75 years old, the general feeling is that we had better deal with it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2015

Present For You: Baffling but pioneering stop-motion film

Stop-motion animation, in which objects are photographed frame by frame to achieve the illusion of motion, is nearly as old as the movies.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 4, 2015

Hacker who framed computer users with cyberthreats jailed for eight years

Yusuke Katayama, a former information technology professional, used his expertise to make online threats 'while dodging arrest himself,' the presiding judge said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2015

Abe condemns Islamic State's slaying of Jordanian pilot

The apparent execution of Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh, a Jordanian air force pilot captured by the Islamic State, is “inhumane” and “despicable,” the prime minister said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 4, 2015

Ninagawa still exploring in eighth take on 'Hamlet'

Yukio Ninagawa's "cherry-blossom" staging of "Macbeth" at the Edinburgh Festival in 1985, with actors in that famously Scottish play sporting kimono rather than kilts, was a sensation due to its radical reimagining of so revered a work.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Jan 30, 2015

NBA has a different look as All-Star break nears

Up is down and down is up in the NBA these days.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2015

Goto gets sunset deadline extension

A new audio message purportedly from hostage Kenji Goto on Thursday morning declared that Jordan must present female prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi at the Turkish border by sunset on Thursday, or Jordanian air force pilot Mu’ath al-Kaseasbeh would be executed immediately.

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