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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Nov 16, 2015

And now for something completely unconstitutional

When did the Abe-verse become an alternate reality where past violations of the nation's basic law can, with a straight face, be used to justify further violations of the same type?
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2015

The decline and fall of America's working class

Why are mortality rates rising for American working-class whites?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 14, 2015

Chinese media crucial in public diplomacy effort

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently had a cameo in the animated adult cartoon "South Park." In the episode, Xi (not the real Xi) revealed that Japan decides "who is gay or not" in Asia. The character also said the Japanese "are dogs who refuse not apologize to the Chinese Republic" and then kissed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Nov 14, 2015

Get the goods on manga and anime

Back in the Stone Age of streaming media, the most notorious and popular of pirate anime websites suddenly went legit. In January 2009, after securing distribution agreements with Japanese studios, and a licensing deal with TV Tokyo that included episodes of the global hit series Naruto Shippuden, the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 14, 2015

But is it art? Anime in the 'post-cinematic' age

The past 15 years have seen a boom in academic studies of anime, ranging from thematic and cultural analysis such as Susan J. Napier's "Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle" to formal theory based on technical processes and the nature of two-dimensional images such as Thomas Lamarre's "The Anime...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2015

Subway worker's ticket chad masterpiece goes viral

Japan's rail service, known for its punctuality and reliability, has not only been appealing to rail fans but is also the subject of great pride among its employees — so much so that one of them has created an artwork depicting a train with 153,600 fragments from passenger tickets.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 12, 2015

U.S. cops and their unions are out of control

Every police department in America should be disbanded and replaced with civilian-run organizations designed to protect citizens instead of abuse them.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 12, 2015

Putin's daughter and Russia's second-generation elite

Since Vladimir Putin began cementing his grip on Russia in the 1990s, many of his friends have grown famously rich.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 11, 2015

Let women and the world into kabuki and watch it flourish

Kabuki has the ability to enrich the imagination of the world; it should not be held back by insular vision and outmoded conservatism.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 11, 2015

Director Koji Fukada explores nuanced human-robot divide in 'Sayonara'

Whether it's the anthropomorphic cyborg cat Doraemon, Sony's artificially intelligent canine pet Aibo or even baby harp seals created to assist dementia patients, robots have long been recognized in Japan as capable of providing therapeutic and emotional assistance for their human owners.
SPORTS
Nov 10, 2015

Whiting launches weekly podcast

Best-selling author Robert Whiting, who first came to Japan in 1962 and is regarded as one of the foremost experts on the social, political, economic and sporting landscapes of the country, has launched a weekly podcast.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Nov 10, 2015

Pressure on Donovan from outset in Oklahoma City

Billy Donovan qualifies as the luckiest, unluckiest rookie coach in the NBA. He also, by the way, has to save a franchise.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2015

Big science now faces big problems in China

Under the government's heavy hand, the Chinese scientific establishment has long suffered from cronyism, corruption and pervasive fraud.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 7, 2015

Aomori's moving castle and other architectural tales

Once every century, Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture experiences an unusual event — the Hirosaki Moving Castle Project — when the city relocates an entire castle using manpower only.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 6, 2015

Beijing needs to start talking about sex now

With China ending its one-child policy, the government needs to prepare for broad public health consequences.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2015

A pay wall has no place in democratic politics

Putting politics behind a paywall serves as an unintentional signifier — that the system is not of, by or for you, the people.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 5, 2015

Power from human waste could light millions of homes: U.N. University

Biogas from human waste has the potential to generate electricity for millions of homes while improving health and protecting the environment, a United Nations University institute has said.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Nov 3, 2015

Visit to Cooperstown brings back memories of youth

Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2015

China's freshwater grab

China is in the midst of a dam-building frenzy that will appropriate internationally shared water resources.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 2, 2015

North Korean author of 'The Girl with Seven Names' memoir still feels hunted

The girl with seven names is finding it hard these days to contact relatives in Stalinist North Korea on the underground mobile phone link defectors like her have used for years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 31, 2015

'Allegiance' depicts the isolation and struggles of Japanese-Americans during WWII

Caswell "Cash" Harrison, the protagonist in this legal thriller set during World War II, is a fortunate young man. Fresh out of Columbia Law School, his family ties to the network of Philadelphia patricians promises him a cozy legal career. But having failed his military physical on a technicality, Harrison...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 31, 2015

Cary Joji Fukunaga's 'Beasts of No Nation' challenges audience perceptions in both content and delivery

There was a time when the term "straight-to-video" conjured up images of cheap, low-quality sequels and B-movie knock-offs, inevitably featuring the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal, and destined to line the shelves of video rental stores without ever making it to the vaunted window display....
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2015

China's two-child policy is too little, too late

Rather than worrying about the birthrate to meet its future labor needs, China should be focusing on bringing in migrant workers, especially from South Asia.
Reader Mail
Oct 30, 2015

Thailand still on democratic path

Regarding the article "Chomsky's take on the state of Thai democracy" by Pavin Chachavalpongpan in the Oct. 8 edition, the author fails to address the root causes of the political crisis in Thailand that brought the current administration to power. Thailand was heading toward more political instability...
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 28, 2015

'Tractor beam' using sound created, with possible uses in medicine and space

The tractor beam, a science-fiction staple that can pull in spaceships and other things remotely, is entering the realm of reality.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 27, 2015

The war over the periodic table

Increasingly today, national economic security and the fate of many businesses are beholden to a handful of rare metals that are often produced only in China.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Oct 27, 2015

Spurs hope Aldridge will continue cycle of greatness

It seems like the last time San Antonio was a destination was about 180 years ago when an adventurer and one-time United States congressman named Davy Crockett tried to help local settlers protect an old mission called the Alamo against the Mexican army.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 23, 2015

Rejuvenate Japan's industrial might with the humanities

Japanese manufacturers are failing to keep up with the global competition, and the narrow education their employees receive is a primary cause.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 22, 2015

Climate change slams economy: Stanford-Berkeley study

Climate change could cause 10 times more damage to the global economy than previously estimated, slashing output by as much as 23 percent by the end of the century, a new research paper from Stanford and Berkeley finds.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2015

Are sanctions making Russia stronger?

The West's sanctions against Russia may not only fail to change the Ukraine situation; they may well spur the country's long-awaited structural transformation.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes