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COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2015

ASEAN captain Malaysia prepares to set sail into maritime disputes, 'democratic recession'

As Malaysia takes over the ASEAN chairmanship for 2015, it faces the challenges of intractable territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the 'democratic recession' in the region.
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Jan 25, 2015

Kansai spearheads campaign against hate speech

On Feb. 24, 2013, Osaka's Tsuruhashi district, home to one of Japan's largest concentrations of ethnic Koreans and in recent years a major tourist destination, was the scene of a shocking incident.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 25, 2015

Potential Republican presidential candidates compete for support in Iowa

For Republicans, the long road to the 2016 presidential election began in earnest on Saturday in Iowa when a group of potential candidates jockeyed for support among conservatives in the state that will hold the country's first nominating contest.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jan 24, 2015

Monkeying around in Sarugakucho

Sarugakucho — which loosely translates as "monkey fun town" — is a hot spot near Daikanyama Station in Shibuya, Tokyo. As a place to hang out, this area sets the bar pretty high: Its backstreets are a zoo of uber-cute boutiques offering exclusive jeans, aromatic drip coffee made with gourmet beans,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 24, 2015

Amid French crisis, Japan frets over virgins

Still in its infancy, the new year has already spawned a theme: diversity. Is it possible? Is it desirable? Is there any common ground, besides mutual, irreconcilable loathing, between those who declare "I am Charlie" and those who riposte "I am Mohammad"?
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 24, 2015

Words from the wise on our energy future

Another year has dawned, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been at the helm for more than two years and nearly four years have passed since the Fukushima disaster brought Japan to its knees. And still we wait for a realistic blueprint from the government for clean and safe energy independence, a plan offering...
EDITORIALS
Jan 24, 2015

Kepler still studying the skies

NASA's Kepler spacecraft, launched in 2009, continues to troll for planets in the Milky Way galaxy. Early this month, scientists announced it had made its 1,000th find.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2015

U.S. wages lagging and no one knows why

The U.S. unemployment rate has dropped from a peak of 10 percent in October 2009 to 5.6 percent at the end of 2014. Yet, hourly wage gains haven't accelerated. Economists are baffled.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 24, 2015

New heir to Saudi throne is said to be relatively liberal outsider

Saudi Arabia's new Crown Prince Muqrin represents the biggest break from the kingdom's tradition of any of his predecessors in the role — both because of his lowly maternal birth and his foreign education.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 24, 2015

New Saudi deputy crown prince marks generational shift for ruling family

Saudi Arabia's interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a close friend of the United States and a scourge of Islamist militants, will be the country's first king from the third generation of its ruling dynasty.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2015

Quirky in-flight magazine files for bankruptcy

AP —Apparently, airline passengers aren't buying enough garden gnomes, superhero pajamas and heated cat shelters. SkyMall has filed for bankruptcy.
WORLD
Jan 24, 2015

Some counterterrorism efforts in Yemen frozen

The United States has halted some counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida militants in Yemen following a takeover of the country by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, U.S. officials said Friday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 23, 2015

Former catcher Furuta voted into Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame

When bespectacled catcher Atsuya Furuta was ready to set out on a professional baseball career, he was told by many that pro ballplayers don't wear glasses.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2015

Journalists criticize Abe's response to hostage crisis

As the hostage drama continues over two Japanese held by the Islamic State group, journalists versed in Middle Eastern affairs are questioning how the Abe administration is handling the crisis.
EDITORIALS
Jan 23, 2015

A wake-up call for Japan

The hostage crisis with the Islamic State group should not deter Japan from contributing to the global fight against terrorism in its own, nonmilitary ways.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2015

Democrats fine-tune gaffes with homemakers

American Democrats have a knack for saying stupid things about full-time homemakers. And two of President Barack Obama's recent proposals with regard to tax credits reflect this weakness.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2015

Obama tries to out-Putin Putin

In his State of the Union address earlier this week, U.S. President Barack Obama showed that he's either blind to the dangers of the deteriorating relationship between Moscow and the West or is faking pride in a victory that is not even on the horizon.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2015

Erdogan's reinvention of Turkey isn't funny

As Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reminds Turkey of its roots through cosplay, the continued purging of judicial institutions as well as the jailing and intimidation of journalists in that country make the debates in France over free speech look quaint by comparison.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2015

Damping the hysteria fanning Islamic alienation in the West

Much of the American reaction to the Charlie Hebdo episode has been fixed on launching an even larger military intervention in the Middle East, as if that could do any good addressing a problem inside the Western countries themselves.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2015

Managing North Korea's collapse

Regardless of whether the North Korean regime collapses with a bang or a whimper, ensuring that the country's nuclear weapons are not used, moved or exported is a task that will require the capabilities of the U.S. armed forces.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 23, 2015

There's an etiquette to dealing with bouts of flu

If you think that etiquette is limited to which fork to use, think again. Etiquette is simply kindness with a heavy helping of common sense. That's why etiquette helps get things done, and it responds to what's going on in the world at any given time.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 23, 2015

Activist says Uganda documentary may aid LGBT cause

Japan has developed a more favorable view of sexual minorities in recent years, but activist Mameta Endo wants to raise awareness of the issue further by encouraging people to take in a documentary that captures the hatred, harassment, and risk of prison time such people face in Uganda.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 23, 2015

Putin said to shrink inner circle as Ukraine hawks trump tycoons

Russian President Vladimir Putin isn't just angering leaders from Berlin to Washington. He's irking some of his richest friends, too, by snubbing their pleas to end the conflict in Ukraine and ostracizing all but a handful of hard-liners.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2015

Hostage's mother pleads for his release as Islamic State ransom deadline looms

The distraught mother of a Japanese journalist held captive by the Islamic State group made an eleventh-hour plea for her son's safe release Friday morning.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2015

Chinese buy up overseas real estate

What do New York's most famous hotel, the Lloyd's of London building and the headquarters of the U.K.'s top law firm have in common? They are all owned by Chinese insurers.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 23, 2015

Sri Lanka to probe hidden foreign assets after Rajapaksa defeat

Sri Lanka's new government is to investigate "black money" transferred overseas by powerful figures in the administration of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, a Cabinet spokesman said on Thursday.

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