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Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 18, 2015

Indonesia executes six for drugs; envoys exit

Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in Indonesia after the Southeast Asian nation ignored their pleas for clemency and executed six prisoners for drug offenses on Sunday — the first executions under President Joko Widodo.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2015

Even with a change of regime in Colombo, China's sway will continue to grow in Sri Lanka

Indian policymakers are mistaken if they think the change of presidents in Colombo will dampen ties between China and Sri Lanka.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 18, 2015

Putin's focus on military buildup deepens Russia's budget problems

President Vladimir Putin's insistence on huge defense spending makes it hard to see how a government plan to make deep budget cuts will see Russia through a deepening economic crisis.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 18, 2015

EU security agencies face uphill battle in quest for broader access to communications

From allowing spies greater access to communications and extending phone taps to collating databases of air passengers, European governments are looking to expand the powers of their security agencies after this month's Paris attacks.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 17, 2015

Tottori's golden sandbox and fog-shrouded mountains

The region north of the Chugoku mountains in western Honshu is known as San'in — "the shadow of the mountain." In Tottori Prefecture, these craggy mountains give way to stretches of fertile farmland that butt up against the icy Sea of Japan. The erratic weather and severe terrain here conspire to create...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 17, 2015

Snark levels were on full blast for 'Kohaku'

The 2014 edition of NHK's venerated song contest, "Kohaku Uta Gassen," broadcast on Dec. 31, was remarkable for several reasons, though the performance that generated the most remarks was the one by the equally venerated pop-rock group Southern All Stars, their first on the show in 31 years.
COMMENTARY / World / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 17, 2015

Sri Lanka votes against fear and kleptocracy

The stunning ouster of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Jan. 8 was good news for that island nation of 20 million, and further evidence of a universal yearning for good governance.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 17, 2015

Lingering outside the way station for the dead

It's a hardy soul who braves Osorezan (Mount Osore), a volcano in Aomori Prefecture known as the Japanese way station for the dead. For most, the name conjures up images of the supernatural and the unknown, but for Marie Mutsuki Mockett, it is a place of healing and beauty.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Jan 17, 2015

Abe leaves big shoes to fill at catcher's spot in lineup

A few seasons ago, in 2012, the Yomiuri Giants won the Japan Series just a few days after the San Francisco Giants clinched the World Series title. While the two teams already shared a nickname and color scheme, it was the first time they'd reached the pinnacle of their respective leagues in the same...
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Jan 17, 2015

Reflections on the Kobe quake two decades on

This year, thousands of Japanese around the country celebrated Coming-of-Age Day. In Kobe, however, the occasion was especially poignant, as those who will turn 20 this year were just days old or, most likely, born after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of Jan. 17, 1995. The first generation of adults...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 17, 2015

2014 was hottest year ever recorded, U.S. scientists say

Last year was Earth's hottest on record, two U.S. government agencies said Friday — new evidence that people are disrupting the climate by burning fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 16, 2015

Aussie Open draw looks good for Nole, Serena

Novak Djokovic's chances of winning a fifth Australian Open title have been boosted by a kind draw in the opening week, while women's top seed Serena Williams kicks off her campaign here against 106th-ranked Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck.
Japan Times
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 16, 2015

Manchester United's high-priced squad fails to inspire

It is only Louis van Gaal's cv that is preventing him from receiving the sort of merciless criticism directed at David Moyes last season.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 16, 2015

Mt. Gox chief was thought by U.S. to be Silk Road mastermind

The former head of the bankrupt Mt. Gox Co. bitcoin exchange was originally believed by U.S. investigators to be the secret mastermind behind the Silk Road online drug marketplace, an agent who infiltrated the website told jurors at the trial of the man prosecutors now accuse of running it.
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2015

Car costs to rise as deadly flaws lead to greater safety demands

Auto-parts suppliers are feeling the pressure as car manufacturers move to raise quality standards after last year saw a record number of vehicles recalled in the U.S.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 16, 2015

Macau sex ring bust shows China expanding crackdown on graft

The arrest of a prominent Macau executive in the largest prostitution bust in the city's history shows Chinese President Xi Jinping is broadening his crackdown on corruption to restrict even long-tolerated vices.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 15, 2015

Revolving door with coaches damaging growth of Japanese game

A troubling trend is one of the hallmarks of the 2014-15 Japan men's pro basketball season.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 15, 2015

DPJ presidential candidates vow to increase female ranks in Diet

The Democratic Party of Japan's three presidential candidates vow to add more female lawmakers to make the opposition leader strong enough to challenge the Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 15, 2015

Documentary festival delivers an encore to Tokyo audiences

Last November, Japan Times film critic Kaori Shoji predicted that the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival's (YIDFF) program of screenings would slant toward sociopolitical analysis, focusing on substance over style. Audiences must have welcomed this weighty exposition of the documentary...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 15, 2015

Neeson is taken on another adventure

It's hard to believe that, a decade ago, Liam Neeson was better known for prestige Oscar dramas than high-octane action blockbusters. The Academy Award nominee spent the first 30 years of his career making his name in films such as "Kinsey" (2004), "Rob Roy" (1995) and Steven Spielberg's celebrated "Schindler's...
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2015

Trial classes for 2020 Games volunteers planned in Hachioji, Koganei

Tokyo will launch training seminars on a trial basis next month for volunteers interested in providing linguistic help to visitors at the 2020 Olympics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 15, 2015

'Jules Pascin Exhibition'

Traveling was a major source of inspiration for Jules Pascin (1885-1930), a painter who was of Italian-Serbian and Spanish heritage and born in Bulgaria. Educated in Vienna and then in Munich, he later moved to France, where in the 1920s he became a significant figure of the Modern School of Paris. This...

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers