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JAPAN
May 18, 2015

'War orphans' from China to be surveyed this fall

The government will conduct a comprehensive survey this fall on the latest living conditions of war-displaced Japanese orphans repatriated from China and their descendants, with the aim of easing their educational and financial difficulties, a welfare ministry official said Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 17, 2015

Hashimoto announces exit from politics after Osaka rejects merger plan in referendum

Osaka voters rejected a referendum proposal Sunday to merge the city into five semi-autonomous wards, dealing a crippling blow to Mayor Toru Hashimoto.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2015

Why self-driving cars will always need oversight

Self-driving cars are incapable of making moral decisions so they will always need human oversight.
WORLD
May 17, 2015

Raid on Islamic State group illustrates reach, limits of U.S. power

President Barack Obama's order for U.S. commandos to target an Islamic State commander in Syria was part of an evolving strategy to disrupt the militant group, which has proven resilient to airstrikes intended to break its grip on parts of the Middle East.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 16, 2015

JCP gains ground, but not column inches

Years ago a Japanese acquaintance applied for a green card when her American husband decided to move back to the United States. Someone told her she should not say she once voted for the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) during her interview, otherwise U.S. Immigration would reject it. As far as I know,...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 16, 2015

Are forces of darkness gathering in Japan?

Certainly it's worse in China, South Korean security recently beat demonstrators and Spain faces a blanket gag rule, but are concerns about the anti-democratic forces of darkness in Japan unduly alarmist? How bad can it be if protestors in Hibiya Park can carry placards depicting Prime Minister Shinzo...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
May 16, 2015

Anime oasis of the Midwest flourishes

The 18th annual Anime Central (ACen), North America’s third largest anime convention, is underway this weekend in Rosemont, near Chicago. Last year's event drew a record 29,000 unique attendees, tallying 81,000 in total over its three full days. Organizers expect to breach those figures again in 2015....
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
May 16, 2015

Weighing the human cost of industrialization

In the year the West knows as 604 A.D., one of Japan's most revered statesmen, Shotoku Taishi, issued a "constitution," the first of whose 17 articles states, "Harmony is to be valued."
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 16, 2015

Sliding into first base not worth the risk

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters outfielder Daikon Yoh is out of action for probably six weeks after breaking his left thumb in a game against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on May 4 in Sapporo. He sustained the injury while attempting to perform one of the stupidest and unnecessary plays in baseball....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 15, 2015

Peace or war? Diet plays security bill name game

The government says two safely named security bills endorsed by the Cabinet are for “peace,” but the titles aren't flying with everyone.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 15, 2015

The 3-D world of NHK yx Koyxen's abstract techno

Kohei Matsunaga does not see things like you and I see things. Take the 3-D glasses that he is rarely photographed without, for instance. Throwaway red-and-blue anaglyph paper frames from cinema's distant past, they have become an apt visual trademark for the Osaka-based artist, who delights in operating...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 15, 2015

Abe Cabinet OKs bills to relax limits on SDF operations abroad

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet adopted two security bills on Thursday that would, if passed by the Diet, greatly expand the scope of the Self-Defense Forces' joint operations with foreign forces overseas.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EMBASSY AVENUE
May 14, 2015

Ex-New Guinea PM recognized

The embassy of Papua New Guinea held a reception to celebrate former Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare receiving an honorary award from Japan; the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, at the Hotel New Otani Tokyo on May 7.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 14, 2015

Abe: Japan won't slide into U.S. war despite collective defense loophole

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tried to brush off concerns Thursday that Japan could be dragged into a war involving the United States, saying the government's security legislation allows the Self-Defense Forces to address every situation in a seamless manner to protect Japanese citizens.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2015

Sharp to cut 3,500 jobs after latest loss

The troubled electronics maker said it will act to create new profit-driving ventures, but that its LCD business is likely to continue to weigh heavily on the company.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2015

Intensive parenting producing infantilized youths

Children in American these days are cosseted by intensive parenting that encourages passivity and dependency.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 13, 2015

As Geki×Cine raises its game, Amami goes into battle for her man

Geki×Cine isn't really film and it isn't theater, but rather an intriguing blend of the two. With geki meaning "stage," and "cine" representing film, the finished productions are shown on the big screen. So are they stage-to-screen adaptations? Most certainly not. More accurately, they are stage plays...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 13, 2015

All about AV, but no sex in 'Makeup Room'

Films that take the audience inside Japan's huge and diverse porn industry have been appearing for decades. In the 1991 "Skinless Night," Rokuro Mochizuki told a semi-autobiographical story about a porn director's desperation to escape the business (an aim that the widely praised film helped Mochizuki...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 13, 2015

U.S. may dispatch planes, ships near disputed South China Sea islands

The Pentagon is considering sending U.S. military aircraft and ships to assert freedom of navigation around rapidly growing Chinese-made artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea, a U.S. official said Tuesday.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo