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Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / OKINAWA BEAT
Jan 13, 2017

Okinawa prepares for new effort to block Henoko base by rallying local opposition

Okinawa Prefecture is scrambling to plot its next move in the wake of a recent Supreme Court ruling siding with the central government's effort to relocate the operations of a U.S. military base within the prefecture despite fierce local opposition.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jan 10, 2017

From Iceland to Maldives, Chinese seek 'lung-cleansing' trips

Toxic haze that settled over much of China during the last three weeks has triggered a flight reflex among residents, leading to the rising popularity of smog avoidance travel packages to far-flung locations such as Iceland and Antarctica.
LIFE / Language
Jan 9, 2017

Feel young again with the 'yokozuna' products of last year

Back in 1971, a newly launched newspaper covering retailing and distribution, named the 日経流通新聞 (Nikkei Ryūtsū Shimbun, subsequently named Nikkei Marketing Journal), was looking for a promotional idea. It came up with a real winner by mimicking a 相撲番付 (sumō banzuke, a stylized hierarchical...
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jan 9, 2017

Amazon testing cashier-free retail store

Amazon on Dec. 5 unveiled a new kind of retail store, with no cashiers. In the concept store in Seattle, customers start by scanning an app on their smartphones when entering the store, and then they can fill their shopping carts and walk out —- with the costs tallied up and billed on their accounts with the U.S. online giant.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 9, 2017

Gifu college to restore Nagoya's treasured 1935 Benz fire engine

Nagoya has contracted Nakanihon Automotive College in Sakahogi, Gifu Prefecture, to repair a Mercedes-Benz firetruck from 1935 in its possession.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 8, 2017

East Asia in the Trump era

What might happen to U.S. foreign policy, in particular its alliance in East Asia, under the leadership of incoming President Donald Trump? Japan faces an increasingly complex security landscape in East Asia. The Trump presidency could make it more uncertain and more unpredictable.
Reader Mail
Jan 6, 2017

Perseverance pays off on the ice and in life

The article "Release and renewal: Ando's life full of joy, challenges" in the Jan. 4 edition made me proud that I learned to skate in Nagoya (when I was a student there), on the same ice rinks that the champion frequented.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2017

The perils of excessive moralism in foreign policy

The liberal moralistic approach to foreign affairs can be welcome, but there is also an obligation to find the causes of the seemingly immoral behavior of the other side.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2017

Israel throws a U.N. tantrum

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had only himself to blame for the U.S. decision to not veto a U.N. resolution criticising Israel's settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jan 2, 2017

Nintendo teams up with Universal Studios

Universal Parks & Resorts and Nintendo are joining forces to add Nintendo-themed areas to Universal parks in Orlando, Los Angeles and Osaka, the companies announced on Nov. 29.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 31, 2016

Japan and the world enter a long night of 'post-truth'

In an essay titled "The Future of Mankind," British philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) laid out three possibilities: "The end of human life," "a reversion to barbarism" or "unification of the world under a single government." He saw the third as the only alternative to either of the first two....
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 30, 2016

The top tech stories of 2016

The Japan Times newsroom selected these tech and digital stories as the most important of 2016.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 29, 2016

Japan-U.S. ties under Trump

Japan's lack of strong connections with the Trump team could leave it at a loss as it faces the unpredictable new U.S. administration.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 29, 2016

In China, calls for end to aggressive child custody tactics

Dai Xiaolei last saw her son in 2014 when he was 17 months old and living with her Chinese in-laws outside Beijing.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Dec 26, 2016

UNESCO heritage list adds 33 festivals

Thirty-three traditional Japanese festivals have been added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2016

Yes, 2016 was bad — and 2017 could be worse

This has been a complicated year. Don't count on 2017 being any easier.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 26, 2016

Japan's weak cyberdefense

Japan is ill-prepared for the cybersecurity challenges facing the nation.
JAPAN / History
Dec 26, 2016

Abe's Pearl Harbor visit will do little to dispel theories persisting over the 1941 attack

The die-hard conspiracy theories on Pearl Harbor will continue to stir interest on both sides of the Pacific regardless of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 26, 2016

Aichi holds dubious distinction as nation's burglar capital

Aichi Prefecture is once again ranked at the top of a dubious category, but this time it isn't related to traffic fatalities.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Dec 25, 2016

Worrying times for job security in Japan

The year 2016 was no walk in the park for workers nationwide. At one extreme, we have Matsuri Takahashi, a 24-year-old worker who felt she had no other choice but to take her life as a result of overwork.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 24, 2016

Japan reconsiders and reinterprets the Pearl Harbor attack

In May, U.S. President Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to make a historic visit to Hiroshima, the city that became the birthplace of the age of nuclear warfare. It should come as no surprise that Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is scheduled to make a reciprocal gesture of reconciliation...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 21, 2016

Philippine government files criminal charges against Duterte critic for alleged involvement in drug trade

The Philippine government filed a criminal case in court on Wednesday against a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, accusing her of trying to sabotage a congressional investigation into her alleged involvement in the drug trade.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2016

Should South Korea be worried?

South Korea's domestic political turmoil is a bigger threat to its national security than U.S. foreign policy under a Trump presidency,
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Dec 19, 2016

Museum dedicated to Hokusai opens

A museum honoring Katsushika Hokusai, a ukiyo-e artist in the Edo Period, has opened in Tokyo's Sumida Ward.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 19, 2016

Aichi volunteers carve wooden tribute to first Toyota Corolla

A group of volunteers in Aichi Prefecture has made a life-sized replica of the first-generation Toyota Corolla using thinned wood sourced from Toyota Motor Corp.'s namesake city.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Dec 18, 2016

Namie's high recovery hopes haunted by dwindling coffers, fears of losing vital state dole

A robot testing facility, a robotics research center, a base for renewable energy and a memorial park — these are some of the plans the irradiated town of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, has in mind for rebuilding after the triple reactor meltdown at the nearby Fukushima No. 1 power plant in March 2011....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 17, 2016

Charity in Japan begins at home

Domestic nonprofit organizations face a number of obstacles in their attempts to make a difference in people's lives.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past