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Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2014

Yemeni journalist devoted to bringing democracy, women's rights to her country

Japan is an ideal model for countries racked by conflict and poverty because of how it resurrected itself from the devastation of war and achieved peace, the first Arab woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize says.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 13, 2014

Three get death sentence for China train station attack

A Chinese court sentenced three people to death and one to life in prison on Friday for an attack at a train station that triggered a sweeping crackdown on what Beijing calls militant violence.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 12, 2014

Playboy model, cheap seats lure youth to Royal Opera House's opener of 'Anna Nicole' in London

The Royal Opera House rolled out the red carpet for young people on Thursday for season opener "Anna Nicole," based on the life of the late American stripper and Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith whose voluptuous surgically enhanced cleavage attracted a billionaire.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 11, 2014

Dreams made in a galaxy far, far away

Is Chris Pratt on his way to becoming Hollywood's next big action hero? The guy whose face you may recognize from various romcoms, but more likely know as Andy Dwyer from the U.S. sitcom "Parks and Recreation," has been raking in the praise for his latest film, "Guardians of the Galaxy."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 10, 2014

Little Forest: Natsu/Aki (Little Forest: Summer/Autumn)

Japanese food culture might be ancient, but Japan's obsession with food in pop culture is relatively recent. The "gourmet boom" of the bubble-era 1980s — when Japanese had more money and leisure to dine in style, rather than simply fill their stomachs — was a big spur. The accompanying proliferation...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2014

City rankings out of touch with 21st century reality

These days there are so many news stories about disease, disaster, doom and death that some media apparently want to lighten the gloom by reporting silly surveys on the most pleasant city to live in.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / ADOPT ME!
Sep 7, 2014

A cat named Tore: It's about balance

Tore was in poor shape all-around when she arrived at the ARK shelter, but she cleaned up very nicely. She's now a lady you could take anywhere.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Aug 29, 2014

Corrupt Chinese hiding in Western nations elude Beijing's 'fox hunt'

When Yang Xiuzhu got wind in 2003 that Chinese anti-corruption investigators were looking into her affairs, she boarded a flight to Singapore. A few days later Yang changed her name and flew to New York.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 28, 2014

Nearly 50 years on, Bradley recalls 1964 Tokyo Games

As Bill Bradley remembers an unforgettable time in a life filled with extraordinary accomplishments, national pride as a collective experience remains a cherished memory from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 27, 2014

Farewell to Taiwanese cinema, but not to love

If Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang threw a dinner party, it's easy to guess who would be invited. Tsai has staunchly and consistently worked with the same small cluster of actors from his 1992 debut film "Rebels of the Neon God" through to "Stray Dogs," which will open in Tokyo on Sept. 6, under the...
EDITORIALS
Aug 25, 2014

Difficult time for pensioners

Pensioners' lives are likely to become even more severe in fiscal 2015 as scheduled increases in pension payments track lower than the rise in general prices.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 23, 2014

The well-off families who are feeling unwell

We're not living right. It's obvious, though whose fault it is may not be, and what to do about it is certainly not.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2014

Harasser of manga author draws maximum sentence

The unrepentant man driven by jealousy to repeatedly threaten the author of a popular basketball manga gets a 4 1/2-year prison term, the longest allowed.
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Aug 16, 2014

The awakening of a nation permanently at peace

There's something to be said for national isolation. Peace, for example. The very few foreigners allowed into Japan during its 250-odd years of almost total seclusion, from the early 17th century to the mid-19th, were awed by the spectacle of a nation permanently at peace.
JAPAN / ASHIDA'S WAR DIARY
Aug 15, 2014

Former PM Ashida had many faces, grandson says

Hitoshi Ashida was born to a wealthy Kyoto farming family, spoke three languages and had a doctorate in international law, but also had many faces, his grandson recalls.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 9, 2014

Ah, vaginas! In defense of taboos

Two words have been let loose on society by an artist who, for better or worse, may find the rest of her life and career inextricably bound up with them, "vagina" being one and "taboo" the other. The artist herself needs no introduction. She is (or briefly was) the most famous woman in Japan, thanks...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 8, 2014

Center in Tokai helps foreigners

A new group has been established in the Tokai region to help foreign residents get educational, medical and welfare services in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2014

No letup in the inhumanity

Where are the peacemakers hiding? In China, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, Russia and the Middle East, leaders have dug in and are picking at old sores and animosities, even trying to celebrate them.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jul 28, 2014

A trip around the Yushukan, Japan's font of discord

Often overlooked in discussions about Yasukuni is the divisive role played by the Yushukan, the war museum built within the shrine grounds to promote the 'Yasukuni doctrine.'
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 28, 2014

Massachusetts monks tap ancient brewing tradition to sustain aging members

Tucked off a two-lane highway in a hilly, wooded section of central Massachusetts, a group of Roman Catholic monks has embraced a centuries-old tradition they hope can sustain their aging members in a world of rapidly rising health costs.
EDITORIALS
Jul 26, 2014

Safety net is for all taxpayers

A recent Supreme Court ruling sends an unfortunate message to foreign workers that while their contributions to Japan's economy might be welcome, the government in turn is not obliged to take care of them when they are in need.
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jul 19, 2014

'Leaving the world' to gain freedom

A challenge: Scan Japanese history in search of freedom fighters. You won't find many. Not freedom but submission was the proud Japanese ideal.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 16, 2014

The man who lives for the art of dying

Interviewing Seizo Fukumoto, the star of Ken Ochiai's backstage drama "Uzumasa Limelight," I wished I had brought a video camera, instead of my voice recorder and notepad. As he talks, this veteran kirare-yaku — an actor whose forte is being cut down with a sword in jidaigeki (samurai period dramas)...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Jul 14, 2014

In Japan, the 'collapse of the family' is old news

One of the things the Japanese media love to discuss is kazoku no hōkai (家族の崩壊, collapse of the family) — an evergreen topic that's been around since the late 1960s, a time when most urban Japanese families could first afford a television. Academics and tarento (TV personality) commentators...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 5, 2014

Fiery Shinjuku protest goes global without NHK

Until the Great East Japan Earthquake, social media didn't have much purchase on Japanese social life. But disasters are transformative, and in a country where the mass media is cautious about its role vis-a-vis the authorities, social media came into its own after the tsunami and meltdown.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?