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Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 12, 2014

Sharon's life shaped Israel, mirrored its turbulent times

The death of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who had been in a deep coma since suffering a stroke in January 2006, represents an extraordinary moment of rupture in his country's history. Of the generation of Israeli soldiers and politicians who fought in Israel's founding conflicts, only...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 12, 2014

'Tiger mom' author stokes controversy with latest trope

Almost exactly three years ago, the Wall Street Journal published an excerpt from a book that remains its most commented article of all time. Under the fiery title, "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior," Yale law professor Amy Chua set out a manifesto for motherhood in proudly recounting her ironfisted...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 11, 2014

Ariel Sharon, Israeli 'bulldozer' who vacated Gaza, dies at 85

Ariel Sharon, the Israeli general and former prime minister as famous for his ferocity in battling Arab foes as for his turnaround decision to evacuate settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip, has died. He was 85.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 11, 2014

A Cappella

"A Cappella" is the second novel by award-winning Japanese author Mariko Koike to be translated into English. Often referred to as part of her "love trilogy," the story deals with a young girl's intense, heartbreaking love and the tragedy it gives rise to.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 11, 2014

A new-year Asian reading list to savor and inspire

At this time of year, many newspapers publish such lengthy lists of must-read books that it's daunting to even imagine them all piled up gathering dust on the bedside table. So let me narrow the field by sharing some amazing titles about or from Asia that I have enjoyed over the past year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 11, 2014

Kitchen

When "Kitchen," the debut novel by Banana Yoshimoto, was first released in Japan in 1988, it caused such a stir that the media frenzy around her was dubbed "Bananamania."
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2014

Russian road to mediocrity

Only a few economists in Russia seem to stress the importance of understanding the impact of the current mass outflow of capital and the sharp deterioration of the situation in world commodity markets.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 8, 2014

'Jakuchu's Adorability and Shoen's Beauty: Kawaii in Japanese Art'

Appreciation in Japanese culture of that particular form of attractiveness now known as kawaii (cute) can be traced back in literature to the 10th-century collection of musings known as "Makura no Soshi" ("The Pillow Book"), in which author Sei Shonagan fetes the "beauty" of small children and sparrow...
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 8, 2014

Luminaries' statement slams Henoko base deal

Twenty-nine scholars, peace activists, writers, artists and a Nobel laureate issue a statement condemning the decision to relocate the Futenma base to Henoko and comparing opposition to the move with America's civil rights movement.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2014

China's anti-Kim campaign

The next target of China's autocrats, already waging an undeclared war over territory against multiple neighboring countries, is likely to be fellow communist state North Korea, now an estranged ally.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 7, 2014

Love of the game: Bynum never seemed to have it

There's considerable freedom in the United States these days.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2014

How South Korea rides out emerging-markets turmoil

With seven of every 10 high school graduates attending a university, there is a surplus of educated people in South Korea. Estimates are that 40 percent of college graduates are redundant.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 5, 2014

English fluency hopes rest on an education overhaul

Ringing in 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a dream: One nation that will actively re-engage with the global marketplace.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2014

Chinese gaming mecca attempts to shed its gaudy image

Walk into a casino in China's gambling mecca of Macau, and the first thing that strikes you is the silence. There's no blaring music, no sharp cries of victory; all you hear is the rustle of clothing, a hushed conversation, the occasional thump on a table — subtle signs of fortunes being made and lost....
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 4, 2014

Kenya Hara: the future of design

Sitting at a plain white table in a meeting room high up on the 12th floor of a narrow building in central Tokyo, product designer Kenya Hara asks me to picture a shallow plate in my mind. "Now imagine a slightly deeper plate," Hara says, "that gets deeper and deeper and eventually becomes a bowl."
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 4, 2014

Botchan

Written in 1906, Natsume Soseki's "Botchan" is based on the author's experience as a teacher in a "barbaric" country town at a time when modern, Western modes of thinking were slowly spreading across Japan from the rapidly modernizing metropolis of Tokyo. The clash between traditional Japanese values...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2014

Century engine starts now

The last two centuries (and possibly more) didn't 'start' with the turning of the calendar from 00 to 01. Each century began bending the arc of history, in essence, in its 14th year.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2014

Has the world hit the end of the end of history?

Almost 25 years after the intellectual and political collapse of communism, another — and by far grander — narrative of promised progress is unraveling: that of liberal capitalism.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2014

Cross-generational relations add to HIV cases

Studies show that the greater the age difference between sexual partners, the more frequent is the practice of unsafe sexual behavior that can lead to HIV infection.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2014

Lebanon signals a sordid new turn as it struggles to be heard politically

The assassination Dec. 27 of a technocrat and former finance minister by a car bomb in a swanky part of the city called into question the rules of the sordid political game that has come to dominate Lebanon's life.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 2, 2014

The conspicuous tendency to wish China well

If China fails and falls, the rest of the world will suffer more than a headache or a short-term setback. We need to be cautious about pessimism that might fuel self-fulfilling prophecy.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jan 2, 2014

Political power struggle behind South Sudan crisis

U.S. and African officials seeking to mediate an end to South Sudan's bloodshed are, in effect, trying to repair rifts in the very liberation movement that they supported for years.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2013

Pope Francis and the meteor

If, as researchers believe, a city-killer meteor arrives about once a century, then Earth is due. But we're not close to ready, and NASA lacks the money for a serious response system.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2013

Five lessons of 2013, guaranteed to be forgotten

One important lesson from 2013 is that we should beware political pronouncements posing as economic forecasts. The U.S. economy had its biggest increase in quarterly GDP in nearly two years despite the government 'shutdown effect.'
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 31, 2013

Failed predictions: President Romney, Pope Dolores

Humanity's faith in predictions was tested around this time a year ago when the floods, famines and other disasters predicted by the end of the ancient Maya calendar failed to materialize.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 28, 2013

A Day in the Life

"A Day in the Life" features 12 short stories told from the point of view of a man in his 60s. Each tale is essentially a reflection of aging, an examination of the moment in our lives when the confidence of our youth is replaced by the uncertainty of our physical and mental faculties.
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2013

All eyes on the new NHK chief

The governing board of NHK has appointed a supporter of the new state secrets protection law as the next president of Japan's public broadcaster. Katsuto Momii's three-year term starts Jan. 25.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2013

Christmas Grinch in China

The extension of Chinese President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption and anti-extravagance campaigns is blamed for creating a Grinch responsible for diminishing Chinese holiday cheer this year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2013

'Hunger Games' star continues to burn bright

Jennifer Lawrence says that first and foremost, she watches her latest film, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," as a fan. She was "stunned" when she saw the end result.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2013

'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'

The second installment to "The Hunger Games" is hot and fast but also pensive — not what you'd expect from an adaptation of a Young Adult novel series. I reckon author Suzanne Collins' work and the first "Hunger Games" should be on the syllabus for high schools everywhere, and the latest adaptation...

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