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BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
May 19, 2014

No time to rest as Cepeda hits ground running in Japan

Frederich Cepeda has had quite the week.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 19, 2014

Indonesia front-runner picks ex-VP

Indonesian presidential front-runner Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Monday named popular former Vice President Jusuf Kalla as his running mate in July's election, boosting his chances of becoming the next leader of the world's third-largest democracy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
May 18, 2014

Questions arise in wake of NYT, Le Monde editorial housecleaning

Last Tuesday morning, two brilliant female journalists commanded two of the world's greatest newspapers. By Wednesday evening, they were both history. Natalie Nougayrede, overthrown by a senior staff revolt, left the editor's chair at Le Monde. And Jill Abramson, executive editor of The New York Times,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
May 18, 2014

Japan home electronics makers play dumb on smart TVs

One company dominates Japan's smart TV market, and it isn't Japanese.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 17, 2014

Tiananmen's silver year: from protest to massacre

Twenty-five years ago on June 4 the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) turned on Chinese citizens in a ruthless display of violence, not for the first time, slaughtering many in the streets of Beijing to crush a pro-democracy movement lead by university students.
Reader Mail
May 14, 2014

The overall desire to conform

Regarding Getironic's May 11 letter, "Ego therapy, collectivism or something else": It's equally as tempting to psychoanalyze the desire to conform, wear polo shirts and listen to Kenny G [as it is to psychoanalyze the desire for a tattoo].
JAPAN
May 12, 2014

Journalist now stands by Nanjing book

In a reversal, journalist Henry S. Stokes stands by the revisionist conclusion of his Japanese book that the Nanjing Massacre never occurred, after accusing his translator of right-wing sabotage.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / SYMPOSIUM ON SOUTH KOREA
May 11, 2014

S. Korea's economy and the elderly

The South Korean economy has shown positive signs recently, but prospects may not be so bright due to the increasing costs of handling an aging society, five South Korean think tank researchers met at a recent symposium in Tokyo to discuss issues facing South Korea.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
May 11, 2014

Kinō, Aria-to-iu resutoran-ni itta-n-da.

Today, we will introduce the proper use of Xu3068u3044u3046Y and Xu3068u304bu3044u3046Y. X(noun)u3068u3044u3046 Y (noun) means that Y is known as X, and is used when the speaker thinks that the listener doesn't know about X or when both the speaker and the listener don't know it very well. X is the topic word, and Y is the category of X.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 10, 2014

Convenience stores give our nation pride

Japan's prime minister is an unabashed patriot, as outspoken in his love for his country as in his desire to instill that love in his compatriots. Are his compatriots receptive? Opinion polls on attitudes toward pending revisions of long-standing interpretations of the pacifist Constitution, prologue...
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 9, 2014

Japan should treat test scores with discretion

Although the education ministry's decision to allow local boards of education in Japan to make public the results of achievement tests for individual schools appeals to those who are frustrated by what they perceive as a lowering of standards, the tests are far too unstable to be considered reliable or fair.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2014

Ukraine rebels ignore Putin call to delay self-rule vote

Pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine ignored a public call by Russian President Vladimir Putin to postpone a referendum on self-rule, declaring they would go ahead on Sunday with a vote that could lead to war.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 8, 2014

'My Little Princess (Violetta)'

When we talk about revenge flicks, they're usually violent and involve someone like Charles Bronson, or Uma Thurman with a samurai sword. But there is another type of revenge flick: the autobiographical one, in which the whole raison d'etre of the film is the director's desire to settle an old score....
JAPAN / Politics
May 3, 2014

Constitution Day feted, fought over

Japan's pacifist Constitution is at a crossroads as the 67th anniversary of its taking effect is celebrated around the nation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
May 3, 2014

Empress-Dowager Shoken laid to rest; crackdown in Shanghai's foreign quarters; Olympic preparations; Lebanese businessman Japan's top tax-payer

One of the notable landmarks in the modern history of Japan was the funeral ceremony held Saturday night for Her Majesty, the late Empress-Dowager (Shoken, empress consort of Emperor Meiji), who passed away on April 9.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 30, 2014

In win for Obama, U.S. top court revives cross-state air pollution rule

The U.S. Supreme Court handed President Barack Obama a victory on Tuesday by upholding a federal environmental regulation requiring some states to limit pollution that contributes to unhealthy air in neighboring states.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2014

Security bid too drastic: Komeito chief

The leader of the ruling party's smaller coalition partner said Friday that he does not agree with the defense policy changes that would allow Japanese forces to fight overseas to help allies, despite U.S. support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's review of the stance.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Apr 23, 2014

In a world of pretense, are Japanese just more honest about lying?

The net sum of lying may be similar in Japan and America, but in their acceptance of life exigencies, the Japanese may be more realistic, more charitable and forgiving about the role that deception plays in our social relations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 22, 2014

'Jazz mecca' Osaka to host star-studded global concert

What comes to mind when you think of Osaka? Maybe takoyaki (octopus dumplings), the Hanshin Tigers, Universal Studios Japan, wacky comedy and down-to-earth, unpretentious people.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 22, 2014

Court orders U.S. to release memo on drones, killing of Americans

A federal appeals court ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to turn over key portions of a memorandum justifying the government's targeted killing of people linked to terrorism, including Americans.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2014

Military risks China's wrath with first step west in 40 years

Japan on Saturday began its first military expansion at the western end of its island chain in more than 40 years, breaking ground on a radar station on a tropical island off Taiwan.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 20, 2014

A collection of contradictions, east Ukraine's pro-Russian militants dig in

It is part Soviet theme park, part wacky anti-Western wonderland. Stuck to the barricades outside the "Donetsk People's Republic" are several caricatures of U.S. President Barack Obama.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 20, 2014

Why not teach students what's going on now?

Who do textbook publishers think it's smart to start a fourth-grade history textbook with prehistoric humans who lived 10,000 years ago? Why not begin by teaching students what's going on now?
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 20, 2014

Shimekiri-ni maniau yō-ni, minna-de ganbarimashō

Today we introduce some uses of the verb u304cu3093u3070u308b that can be used in various situations.
Reader Mail
Apr 19, 2014

Cultural rhetoric clouds policies

Regarding the April 16 article "Diet members dine on whale meat in defiance of ICJ ruling": Symbolizing the blatant bare-faced aggressiveness of the government, the report that Liberal Democratic Party members fed on their own hostility leaves a bitter aftertaste in the mouth.
Reader Mail
Apr 19, 2014

Does Japan think it has 'friends'?

It's small wonder that in the family of nations there are few countries today that would sincerely call Japan a "friend." Trade partner maybe, friend never.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2014

GSDF to militarize remote Yonaguni

The government is sending 100 Ground Self-Defense Force members and radar to its western-most outpost, a tropical island off Taiwan, in a deployment that risks angering China with ties between Asia's biggest economies already hurt by a dispute over nearby islets they both claim.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?