Search - world

 
 
Reader Mail
Oct 1, 2014

Recalling a quiet Afghanistan

Gwynne Dyer might have mentioned in his Oct. 1 article, "An imperfect Afghanistan," that before the intervention of major world powers, Afghanistan was not a perfect country but, as I and thousands of other visitors in the 1960s and the '70s can vouch for, it was peaceful and quiet — no land mines,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 1, 2014

Rice is nice when the price is right

Is the big drop in rice prices a good thing or a bad thing?
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 30, 2014

Chinese receive limited coverage of 'illegal' Hong Kong protests

On a day when front pages of newspapers in Hong Kong and around the world carried stories on prodemocracy protesters confronting riot police in the city, the lead article in China's official People's Daily focused on a new book of President's Xi Jinping's speeches.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Sep 30, 2014

Wild card Ito stuns top-seeded Wawrinka at Japan Open

Wild card Tatsuma Ito shocked top seed Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-5, 6-2 in their first-round match at the Rakuten Japan Open on Tuesday afternoon.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2014

An imperfect Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a strikingly imperfect society in almost every respect: politics, economy, security and human rights. Nor does the two-headed potential monster of a government now being created in Kabul make it an entirely lost cause.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 30, 2014

Turtle Island's bringing the whole gang to Asagiri Jam

Organized each fall by Fuji Rock promoter Smash, Asagiri Jam is a much more laidback affair than its famed older sister. It features two stages and the music wraps up early each night. And while Fuji Rock has some 200 plus bands, Asagiri Jam only invites two dozen, which means a lot less running around...
EDITORIALS
Sep 30, 2014

The Mount Ontake eruption

The weekend eruption of Mount Ontake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures, is a reminder of how violent Japan can be when it comes to volcanoes.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2014

Storytelling in the future will be transforming

A new form of analysis is emerging for the future of storytelling that will let us better understand why some tales grip us. If it succeeds, it will fuel new creative forms and make less vulnerable to manipulation by governments and companies.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Sep 30, 2014

Quebecoise shines as 'minyo' singer

Learning to play the three-stringed Japanese traditional instrument shamisen topped Canadian Maud Archambault's list of things to do while in Japan. She arrived here in 2001 to explore one of her fields of study: Japanese culture.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 30, 2014

Abe likely to visit Yasukuni Shrine again while in office, aide says

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to visit war-linked Yasukuni Shrine again while in office, although he may wait until after a visit to China in November to avoid jeopardizing the chances of a summit with President Xi Jinping, according to one of his aides.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 30, 2014

Output unexpectedly falls as retail sales gain

Japan's output unexpectedly fell while stronger retail sales and an improving job market showed resilience, government statistics showed Tuesday as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe weighs another consumption tax increase.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 30, 2014

Accused admits to killing, pleads not guilty, in Canada dismemberment trial

A Canadian man accused of killing and dismembering a Chinese student in Montreal in 2012 admitted on Monday to committing the acts he is accused of, but his lawyer said he is schizophrenic and therefore not criminally responsible.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Sep 30, 2014

[VIDEO] World Robot Olympiad Japan 2014

COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2014

New anti-Semitism in Germany isn't the same

It's not the old-style, neo-Nazi anti-Semites who are trying to burn down synagogues or calling the Jews out to fight these days, as they have a problem with the currently dominant strain of anti-Semitism — its carriers have darker skin.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AMBASSADOR VISIT
Sep 29, 2014

Arab ambassadors say Japan's media covers region poorly

Members of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Tokyo said Monday they plan to help Japanese media give a more accurate picture of the region, with a special focus on life in the Arab world and on Arab nations' exchanges with Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Sep 29, 2014

'Nihon danshi’ continue to look on as stockings get stronger

Just so you know, it's a bad time to be male in Japan. Even my brothers say the supermacho, sports-obsessed, chauvinist faux-samurai kanchigai (勘違い, have it all wrong). They say that society is so hard on men that if they were given the choice between a man or woman's life, "onna-no hōga ii (女の方がいい,...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2014

The next nasty economic surprise for the U.S.

Without an expanding economy as a shock absorber, will racial, ethnic, religious, generational and ideological conflicts worsen in the U.S.?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 29, 2014

Daiichi Sankyo to buy Ambit to strengthen cancer product line

Daiichi Sankyo Co. has agreed to buy U.S.-based Ambit Biosciences Corp. for as much as $410 million to bolster its pipeline of cancer treatments.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Sep 28, 2014

Europe takes control of Ryder Cup

Captain Fantastic Paul McGinley hailed "a great team performance" after Europe crushed the United States in the Ryder Cup foursomes for the second day running to gallop into a commanding 10-6 lead on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2014

Europe could jump-start a sustained recovery

Europe has a real chance to conclude a bargain if member countries implement fiscal and structural reforms in exchange for short-run relaxation of fiscal constraints focusing on growth-oriented investments.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Sep 27, 2014

Yumenoshima: Tokyo's past trash packed into pleasure

Yumenoshima (literally, "Dream Island") in Tokyo's Koto Ward is aptly named because as in real dreams, the island's narrative encompasses both bucolic and nightmarish elements.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person