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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2015

Specter of fascist past haunts Europe's growing nationalism

The real aim of today's would-be authoritarians such as French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is to present themselves as legitimate leaders who are saying what the public really thinks but is afraid to say.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2015

Charlie Hebdo horror revives fears in Israel

The Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris and the hostage scene in the kosher market — the image of frightened European Jews hiding in a freezer — were for many Israelis a haunting reminder of Jews hiding from Nazis.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2015

The worldwide reality of religious persecution

While good judgment tells us not to express every thought we have, as moral agents responsible for our actions, we must be free to assess the world and express ourselves in vibrant public debate. Attacks on this freedom is spreading from Third World dictatorships to First World democracies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2015

Shaping China's influence

It is in the best interests of Japan, the U.S., South Korea and Australia to become members of the China-established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, to join China in shaping the future.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 15, 2015

Documentary festival delivers an encore to Tokyo audiences

Last November, Japan Times film critic Kaori Shoji predicted that the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival's (YIDFF) program of screenings would slant toward sociopolitical analysis, focusing on substance over style. Audiences must have welcomed this weighty exposition of the documentary...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Jan 14, 2015

African-American community gets a voice in Tokyo

The African American Youth Travel Program NPO, which organized a recent demonstration in Tokyo in response to the Ferguson case, brings black U.S. youths to Japan to broaden their horizons.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 14, 2015

More Japanese children being prescribed psychotropic drugs

A growing number of Japanese children are being prescribed psychotropic drugs to treat depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) and schizophrenia, according to a study by government-funded medical institutes.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2015

Reagan played key role in U.S. war on inflation

There is common agreement that the decline of double-digit inflation in the U.S. was the big economic event of the 1980s. But to say that President Ronald Reagan had almost nothing to do with that is wrong.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 13, 2015

Lantis looks to woo a dedicated fan base with anisong tour

Fans breach the language barrier at overseas expos of Japanese pop culture as soon as the music starts. Legions of non-Japanese, most of whose knowledge of the language is limited to basic greetings and exclamations, burst into karaoke-style singalongs, mimicking dance moves and waving glow sticks. This...
BUSINESS / NOTEBOOK
Jan 13, 2015

Nuclear-free world; train experience for kids; scream your love

SEMINARS
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2015

Europe's unending crisis

The European economic crisis refuses to go gently into the night because of the danger that Greece and its creditors can't agree and because of meager economic growth in the eurozone.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 10, 2015

The Iris Fan

With "The Iris Fan," Laura Joh Rowland draws to a close her long-running saga of righteous Edo Period lawman Sano Ichiro. From "Shinju" (1994), the saga has partially overlapped with the reign of fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi — a superstitious eccentric who ruled Japan from 1680.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 10, 2015

Yoshitaka Amano: The World Beyond Your Imagination

LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 9, 2015

Pediatrics study finds children who sleep near smartphones and tablets get less shut-eye

Gave your kids smartphones for the holidays? You might want to reconsider their bedtime.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 8, 2015

Jordan's epic playoff effort against Celtics still resonates nearly 30 years later

This is the fourth installment from Hall of Fame writer Sam Smith's new book "There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan."
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 8, 2015

Snowy owls becoming more common outside Arctic

The elusive snowy owl, rarely seen outside the Arctic, is turning up more frequently in the skies of North America than it does in the pages of a Harry Potter book, data from the National Audubon Society suggested on Wednesday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 8, 2015

Testosterone surprisingly stymies some prostate cancer

The hormone testosterone, which fuels the growth of prostate cancer, unexpectedly stymies the disease in certain cases, according to researchers who found it made tumors more vulnerable to treatment in some patients.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 7, 2015

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For: 'seedy, hardboiled cliches turned up to 11'

In the realm of comic book movies, director Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City" (2005) was a notable exception. Where most such movies think the idea is to make comic books look less like the printed page and more like the "real world," Rodriguez pivoted hard in the other direction, trying as much as possible...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2015

Hate flying? You have only yourself to blame

Ultimately, the reason airlines cram us into tiny seats and upcharge for everything is that we're online shopping on exactly one dimension: the price of the flight.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2015

Palestinian Authority still doesn't want a state

Last week's failed attempt by the Palestinian Authority to obtain recognition from the U.N. Security Council has mostly disappeared from the world's front pages. Indications are that PA President Mahmoud Abbas did not want the resolution to pass.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 5, 2015

Think tank gives Japan-U.S. diplomacy an Okinawan voice

Shocked by indifference in Japanese and U.S. government circles toward the island's interests, a lawyer has taken matters into her own hands.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2015

Saying goodbye to steel production in China

As China's domestic economy slows and competition increases amid widespread disgust with air pollution, one surprisingly popular option for the massive, state-owned steel mills is to bid China goodbye.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2015

China needs to embrace 'creative destruction'

As 2015 starts, China's leaders should learn from the experience of Japan in 2014. The travails of 'Abenomics' should be a warning to Chinese President Xi JInping.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2015

If Obama won't bring U.S. torturers to justice, why not compensate torture victims for life?

If President Barack Obama won't bring U.S. torturers to justice, why not compensate torture victims for lost wages, medical expenses, counseling and other costs of their detention?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 2, 2015

Still no insurance for mental illness

The U.S. remains a country in its infancy when it comes to mental health care, despite the undeniable turning point marked by the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2013.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 2, 2015

From president to dictator

President Vladimir Putin's regime is on the verge of transitioning from mild authoritarianism to outright dictatorship. The country's newly amended military doctrine is an especially ominous sign.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 2, 2015

This round of low-cost oil differs from before

The world is experiencing much more than a temporary dip in oil prices. A change in the supply model marks a fundamental shift that will likely have long-lasting effects.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jan 1, 2015

Most read Culture stories of 2014

OK Go's Japanese-inspired music video and Sailor Moon's special birthday were some of the most read and shared Culture articles of 2014.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 1, 2015

Readers' letters: Roppongi, Ferguson, 'Massan,' Julien Blanc and more

Some emails received in response to Community articles at the tail end of 2014.

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