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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 15, 2016

The joy of eating Japan's traditional clay-pot cuisine

It's the autumn of 2013, and dusk falls over the historic Nagatani-en pottery works in the hills above the city of Iga, Mie Prefecture. As the employees finish their shifts and head home, the squat buildings fall quiet and dark — all except the 200-year-old residence at the heart of this artisan complex,...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 13, 2016

Abe's global contradictions

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talks big about Japan playing a greater role on the global stage, but the reality has been disappointing.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 13, 2016

As Okinawa confronts dioxin, Vietnam offers lessons

Health monitoring and safety measures are urged as U.S. military denials fly in the face of mounting evidence of contamination on the island.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2016

Can the Republican Party survive its civil war?

The clash of values and policies among Republicans goes beyond Donald Trump.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2016

Saudi Arabia has bigger problems than Iran

While Saudi Arabia is hardly fertile ground for revolution, the government faces unprecedented challenges both within and outside the country.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2016

Germany catches the North African disease

News that scores of women were sexually assaulted by young men of Middle Eastern appearance in Cologne, Germany, on New Year's Eve will come as no surprise to women in North Africa.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2016

Saudi Arabia's perilous divides

Saudi Arabia's execution of Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr has exposed the dangerous political, religious and socioeconomic fault lines that run through the kingdom and the Gulf.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jan 4, 2016

When it really means a lot, say it with 'sekkaku'

Introducing the adverb u305bu3063u304bu304f, which is used in a variety of ways to express the speaker's feelings about things.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 30, 2015

'Timbuktu' reflects on Malian lives touched by radical Islam

It's common for local distributors to resort to some dubious tactics when promoting foreign films in Japan: Worthy arthouse flicks are routinely saddled with tawdry Japanese titles, or slushy trailers more befitting of a Nicholas Sparks adaptation. Yet there's something particularly unfortunate about...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 26, 2015

Flipping back through the good reads of 2015

Before we turn the page on the year, here's a selection of our reviewers' favorite books.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 25, 2015

What happens when professional baseballers get fired; CM of the week: Reebok

For every professional athlete who makes a long career out of his or her pastime, there are probably another 10 whose moment in the spotlight is painfully brief. That is the concept behind the occasional documentary series "Puro Yakyu Senryokugai Tsukoku Kubi wo Senkoku Sareta Otokotachi" ("Men Given...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 21, 2015

Action at grass-roots level vital to success of COP21

Shared concern and empathetic openness to the suffering of others holds the key to fighting climate change.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Dec 19, 2015

The Karma Of Words

Subtitled "Buddhism and the Literary Arts in Medieval Japan," William R. LaFleur's book surveys an expanse of Japanese literary history ranging from the "Nihon Ryoiki" of the early ninth century to Basho's posthumous "Narrow Road to the Deep North" (1702). This is a more generous definition of "medieval"...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 16, 2015

Japan's top court upholds same-name rule for married couples, overturns remarriage moratorium for women

The Supreme Court confirms the constitutionality of a controversial law requiring married couples to use the same surname in official matters.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 16, 2015

Abe flubs great opportunity to be a green global leader

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could have stood forward at the Paris climate talks as a world leader in the fight against climate change. Instead, he offered nothing new.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 14, 2015

Avoid offense by heeding these nengajō do's and don'ts

A recent survey revealed quite a few inconvenient truths about what people like and don't like when it comes to New Year's cards.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 12, 2015

Gerald Curtis, the ultimate insider in Japanese politics, retires

Gerald Curtis will retire this month from Columbia University, where he has been teaching since 1968.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 10, 2015

Trump bigotry relies on legal, historical precedent

When it comes to core values, you can never make an exception. Donald Trump's call for a ban against Muslims to enter the U.S. shows why.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 9, 2015

Abe's dubious 'new arrows'

Abenomics has shifted from economic growth driven by the private sector to relying on government spending, and is even moving toward state capitalism.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 8, 2015

Real beauty lies in rustic reality

French society and culture has always had a fascination with the exotic, going back to the Chinoiserie of the rococo period, the Orientalist fascination with the harems and slave markets of the Middle East, and the Japonisme of the 19th century. One might even suspect that this trait could represent...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 8, 2015

Osaka Ishin's rise could impact security debate

The rise of Osaka Ishin may lead to a more substantive debate about national security, potentially changing the direction of Japanese security policy in the long run.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 8, 2015

George's amazing comeback may be best story of season

Consider this story: A star professional athlete suffers a gruesome injury, a broken leg so horrific that bystanders — including me — couldn't even bear to look at the damage, the bone literally sticking out, piercing the covering skin.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 7, 2015

Brokerage encourages staff to eat, drink less and rest more to work longer

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. has a message for its staff this holiday season: Go easy on the sushi and sake.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 5, 2015

FBI investigating California massacre as 'act of terrorism'

The FBI is investigating the fatal shooting of 14 people in California by a married couple as an "act of terrorism," officials said Friday, noting the wife was believed to have pledged allegiance to a leader of the militant Islamic State group.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 3, 2015

Review: X Japan at Yokohama Arena

X Japan kicked off its Japan tour on Tuesday night in front of a packed crowd at Yokohama Arena. And the show was a welcome return to form.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2015

Don't feel sad when George H.W. Bush dies

George H.W. Bush is a very elderly man and likely won't be with us much longer. When he dies, do not believe the soon-to-be-everywhere hype. Dubya's dad is and was a very bad man.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami