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Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 25, 2016

Cultural differences over suicide made for an interesting creative process in 'Eternal Chikamatsu'

In 2014, rising playwright and director Kenichi Tani translated Harold Pinter's "Old Times" for an all-Japanese production by top English director David Leveaux staged that year in Tokyo and Osaka. After that, Leveaux asked Tani, 33, to write a new contemporary play for him based on "Shinju Ten no Amijima"...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2016

Petulance: the English way

British Prime Minister Cameron has dropped the ball on the 'Brexit' issue, and the consequences for both Britain and Europe may be quite serious.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 24, 2016

Why Sony Music can't easily cancel Kesha's contract

After a New York judge refused to release pop star Kesha Sebert from a recording contract with producer Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, a quarter-million fans signed a petition calling for a boycott of Sony Music Entertainment Inc. And while the ruling last week was a setback for the singer, it wasn't that...
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 23, 2016

DPJ, Ishin no To to merge ahead of Upper House election

The Democratic Party of Japan will merge with Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party) in a bold move aimed at preparing for the key Upper House election in summer.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2016

Rubio gets boost from Republican endorsements, Cruz missteps

Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio received boosts Monday in his drive to become the mainstream Republican alternative to front-runner Donald Trump, with a string of high-profile endorsements and missteps by rival Ted Cruz's campaign.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 22, 2016

Nanami preaches caution in Jubilo's return to top flight

Jubilo Iwata might be back among the J. League elite, but manager Hiroshi Nanami is not expecting instant miracles.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Feb 21, 2016

As residents and reactors age, Fukui's fortunes fade

On a gray winter day late last month alternating between rain and sleet, many in the Sea of Japan town of Takahama, Fukui Prefecture, were feeling sunny. For the restart of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Takahama plant No. 3 reactor means not only a return to nuclear power, but a return of the money stream...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 20, 2016

Deja vu as Shukan Shincho turns back the clock

The title of the Japanese government's White Paper on the Economy for the 31st year of Showa (1956) was "The 'postwar' era is over." That same year, a delegation from the World Bank headed by Alfred Watkins spent five months studying the feasibility of extending a loan for an expressway linking the cities...
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2016

Polls show Abe is riding out storm of bad news

The opposition camp is failing to gain any traction with the public by lashing out at Abenomics or the scandals that have beset the Abe administration.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 15, 2016

The art of the spin in U.S. presidential primaries

Presidential primary 'winners' are usually determined not just by the electorate but by what the political journalist Hendrik Hertzberg dubbed the 'expectorate.'
EDITORIALS
Feb 13, 2016

Teens stepping up to the plate

Japanese teens are increasingly taking an active interest in politics.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 11, 2016

Is microcephaly caused by Zika or pesticides?

Microcephaly in children may have a multicausal origin.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 10, 2016

Japan and its birth rate: the beginning of the end or just a new beginning?

Despite demographic doomsayers, Japan could be ripe for a gender revolution that boosts its birth rate.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2016

The eight deadly nuclear sins

Nearly 46 years after the Non-Proliferation Treaty went into effect, the international community is no closer to the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 10, 2016

'Carol' shows women trapped in the moral confines of 1950's America

'Carol" is a wondrously beautiful piece of filmmaking by American director Todd Haynes. Set in New York during the 1950s — when homosexuality was viewed as a disease on par with leprosy — the film reminds us of the incredible freedom allowed in romantic relationships these days.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2016

Palestinian attacks wound Israel's reputation

The latest round of Palestinian violence with is costing Israel far more than the human toll.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Feb 7, 2016

What's in a surname? A court divorced from reality

Here at Law of the Land, I try to share "the Japanese law experience" with general readers. Today's experience is called "The Frustration of Reading Supreme Court Decisions" and takes as examples two of the most significant decisions of 2015: one on a law requiring spouses to have the same surname, the...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2016

Stop ignoring North Korea

The lesson of Pyongyang's latest nuclear test is that talking to North Korea offers a better hope of success than ignoring it.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 7, 2016

Fall of Aleppo in Syria would hand Putin a symbolic prize he craves

Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks Russian airstrikes in Syria have helped turn the war's tide, but the pace of the Syrian Army's advance has frustrated him, some sources say. If Aleppo falls, he could get the military and symbolic prize he has been craving.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 6, 2016

Imperial couple take stand for remembrance

In recent years, the Imperial couple have made an effort to leave behind a meaningful legacy by visiting World War II battlefields. The idea is to ensure that future generations of Japanese do not forget the war and its bitter lessons.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 4, 2016

Lucchino says MLB not an easy move for Japanese players

Larry Lucchino is very comfortable in Japan and it's no wonder why. Lucchino presided over one of the most successful periods in the history of the Boston Red Sox franchise, as the team's president and CEO from 2002-2015, and many of the Japanese players he helped bring on board played a role during...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 3, 2016

Why the 'comfort women' statues should stay — and continue to disturb

On holiday in Hanoi, I found myself trying to explain 'comfort women' to my 13-year-old son.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Feb 1, 2016

BOJ market magician Kuroda pulls another rabbit from his hat

The Bank of Japan continues to push the boundaries of monetary policy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2016

Free trade with China wasn't a great idea for U.S.

Free trade with China has caused severe and permanent harm to many American workers.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 28, 2016

Lackluster polls, maneuvering by LDP may give DPJ a drubbing in July election

The Democratic Party of Japan is in the throes of an identity crisis, a fact not lost on delegates meeting for the party's annual convention Saturday in Tokyo.

Longform

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