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ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 26, 2015

Two women hanging at Kim's side compete for influence

One sports a Christian Dior handbag and favors Western clothes. The other carries a notebook and wears dark uniforms. These fashion opposites are the two most influential women in North Korea.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jan 25, 2015

Latest video a wake-up call to oil-dependent Japanese

Analysts say the gruesome video released by the Islamic State group has shocked the public about how the complex politics of the Middle East can affect the lives of fellow Japanese.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 25, 2015

It's OK to film people in public in Japan, if the conditions justify it

A reader asks, 'In Japan, is it OK to film other people in public?'
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 25, 2015

Abe says likelihood of video being real is 'high'

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the static video purportedly showing a photo of Japanese hostage Hau00adruu00adna Yuu00adkau00adwa is probably authentic.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2015

Purported Islamic State video shows hostage Goto claiming Yukawa has been executed

A video posted online shows journalist Kenji Goto holding a picture of what appears to be the body of slain fellow hostage Haruna Yukawa.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 23, 2015

Euro falls toward 11-year low as ECB targets government bonds

The euro slid toward an 11-year low against the dollar as the European Central Bank expanded its bond-buying program to include government bonds, a policy that tends to debase the currency.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 21, 2015

Sayonara Kabukicho: Life and love in Shinjuku's red-light district

Ryuichi Hiroki has become a victim of his own success, though his studio employers probably don't see it that way. This one-time maker of so-called pink films (i.e., soft pornography), who became internationally celebrated for intimate indie dramas like "Vibrator" from 2003 and "Yawarakai Seikatsu (It's...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 21, 2015

Abe could ease doubts by apologizing over WWII, says former leader Fukuda

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could help remove international doubts about Japan's stance toward its wartime past by apologizing over World War II in a statement he is planning to help mark the 70th anniversary of the war's end, said Yasuo Fukuda, one of Abe's predecessors.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2015

Islamic State threatens to kill two Japanese hostages

In an online video, the Islamic State group threatens to kill two Japanese citizens unless Tokyo pays a ransom of $200 million within 72 hours.
COMMENTARY
Jan 20, 2015

Building community resilience to disasters: legacy of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake ushered in a new era of volunteerism in Japan, and highlighted many lessons on how to prepare for disasters.
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2015

Okada has his work cut out

Katsuya Okada, the new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, had better set a clear policy direction for Japan's largest opposition party if he hopes to have it come back from its 2012 fall from power.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY
Jan 19, 2015

Russia's European home

If Western sanctions are to be an effective tool in countering Vladimir Putin's ambitions, they must combine a firm hand toward Russia's president with an open one toward its people.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 19, 2015

Indian spy's role alleged in Sri Lankan president's election defeat

Sri Lanka expelled the Colombo station chief of India's spy agency in the run-up to this month's presidential election, political and intelligence sources said, accusing him of helping the opposition oust President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
EDITORIALS
Jan 18, 2015

Rajapaksa's surprise

While the new president of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena, says he wants to build a nation based on Buddhist principles of nonviolence and compassion, it is not clear if he is prepared to investigate charges that war crimes were committed during the 26-year-long civil war with the Tamil Tigers.
Japan Times
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 16, 2015

USOC gets Olympic bid wrong again

"Once you become predictable, no one's interested anymore."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2015

Daihatsu dismantling 'Toyota Way' as market changes

When Daihatsu Motor Co. launched the Mira e:S minicar in 2011, the Toyota affiliate thought it had found a model for emerging markets. The Mira e:S — e for eco, S for smart — was capable of going 30 kilometers on a liter of gasoline (72 mpg) for a sticker price of just ¥795,000, or $6,637. And indeed,...
EDITORIALS
Jan 15, 2015

Deplorable rejection of a retrial

A Nagoya court uses a depolorable rationale to reject the eighth request for retrial of an 88-year-old death row inmate convicted of fatally poisoning five women in 1961.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 15, 2015

BOJ says minimum 1% gain in base wage needed for recovery: sources

Bank of Japan officials figure that average base wage gains of 1 percent are needed in the coming fiscal year to sustain the economy's emergence from two decades of stagnation, say sources familiar with central bank's discussions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 14, 2015

Rising stars of kabuki run new-year Asakusa gauntlet

One of the major sightseeing spots in Tokyo, and indeed in Japan, is the city's oldest temple, Sensoji, which was founded in 645 in the Asakusa district of present-day Taito Ward. Though perpetually thronged with people, its beautiful precincts attract staggering numbers at New Year's, when this is invariably...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 14, 2015

Ichiyanagi opera aims to be 'total work of art'

As part of its 40th-anniversary celebrations, Kanagawa Kenmin Hall in Yokohama will stage a world-premier version of "Legend of the Water Flame," an opera by the renowned composer Toshi Ichiyanagi that's scored around a libretto by a fellow octogenarian, the poet Makoto Ooka.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 12, 2015

South Korea's Park ready to meet North's Kim without conditions

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said she is willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and the country's nuclear weapons program wouldn't be an obstacle to holding the first Korean summit since 2007.
EDITORIALS
Jan 10, 2015

Proactive emissions plan needed

Although Japan is the world's fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, there doesn't seem to be the prospect that Tokyo will submit its COP20 emissions cut plan before the March 31 deadline.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight