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Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2014

No biohazard facilities in Japan can handle Ebola

Despite government assurances that Japan can handle an Ebola outbreak, there are no biosafety facilities rated to handle the deadly virus and 400 SDF troops are stationed near Congo.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 16, 2014

China blocks BBC website as Hong Kong tensions rise

Chinese censors have blocked the website of Britain's national broadcaster, the BBC said in a statement late on Wednesday, as tensions rise in Hong Kong between pro-democracy protesters and police.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 10, 2014

Cabinet approves bills to halt money laundering under pressure from global watchdog

The Cabinet rubber stamps bills that tighten rules against money laundering and terrorist financing to avoid being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 7, 2014

Bianchi crash caused by ‘bad luck,’ claims Suzuka Circuit spokesman

The crash that left French Formula One driver Jules Bianchi in a critical condition with severe head injures was down to bad luck rather than poor judgement by Japanese Grand Prix race officials, a track spokesman said on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 4, 2014

Tourists may not warm to Japan's welcome

A former colleague of mine always made it a point to tell people coming to Japan for a visit to bring lots of handkerchiefs because the public restrooms didn't have towel dispensers. I always took a more positive view and emphasized that public restrooms in Japan were everywhere and open to everyone,...
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 4, 2014

Malaysia discovers 155 Uighurs crammed into two apartments

Malaysian authorities have detained 155 Uighurs, more than half of them children, who were found crammed into two apartments in Kuala Lumpur, immigration officials said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2014

Japan, South Korea can stop GMO testing, U.S. wheat official claims

Japan and South Korea are still testing the U.S. wheat they buy to make sure the grain is not contaminated with an experimental genetically modified version developed by Monsanto Co., but can stop the practice, the head of a U.S. wheat association said Thursday.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 29, 2014

Mount Fuji finds mixed success with tolls

As the Mount Fuji climbing season drew to a close earlier this month, authorities were assessing the success of a new ¥1,000 voluntary climbing fee, which almost half of hikers skipped paying. It was introduced this year following a trial in 2013.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 27, 2014

The tricky path abroad for Japanese games

On the website Change.org, there is a petition addressed to Bandai Namco Games signed by 711 people, as of Sept. 25, that reads simply, "Bring 'God Eater 2' to North America and EU."
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 27, 2014

India and its incredible pollution problem

Incredible India! is the Indian government's marketing slogan to attract tourism. And I agree. India is truly incredible in countless ways, both captivating and heartbreaking.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 27, 2014

More European nations embrace U.S.-led airstrikes on Islamic State

Fighters from the Islamic State group tightened their siege of a town on Syria's border with Turkey on Friday despite U.S.-led airstrikes aimed at defeating the militants in both Syria and Iraq, in a coalition that has now drawn widespread European support.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 22, 2014

North Korea dashes hopes of Japanese parents over abductees' fate

Three times a day, 88-year-old Kayoko Arimoto makes a ritual offering of food to the daughter she hasn't seen for 31 years. On her birthday, it's rice with red beans followed by cake.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 17, 2014

Pakistani militants allege India is deliberately opening its upstream dams as a 'water bomb' creating floods

Hafiz Saeed, widely considered one of South Asia's most dangerous militants, has no doubt who is to blame for devastating floods that have submerged swaths of Pakistani countryside and claimed hundreds of lives.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2014

Gov. Masuzoe outlines grand tourism plan for Tokyo

Tokyo Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe sketches out his 'long-term vision' for the capital and lays out some of the steps needed to turn it into a tourism magnet.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 11, 2014

Scotch whisky makers say single malt is best in a single country

At the Kilchoman Distillery Co. Ltd. on Islay, a windswept island two hours by ferry from the west coast of Scotland, a banner nailed to a weathered barn proclaims "Better Together," the rallying cry of the group opposing Scottish independence.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2014

New sanctions on Iran to hurt peace prospects

New U.S. sanctions recently announced against Iran are aimed at making life difficult for Mahan Air and other entities. But the limitations are unlikely to move Iran to freeze its nuclear program and will instead damage prospects for peace.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 5, 2014

IAEA sees signs North Korea reactor may be operating

The U.N. nuclear watchdog said it has seen releases of steam and water indicating that North Korea may be operating a reactor, in the latest update on a plant that experts say could make plutonium for atomic bombs.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Sep 3, 2014

Visible minorities are being caught in police dragnet

Around noon on Aug. 13, in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, a local apartment manager notified the police that a "suspicious foreigner" was hanging around the nearby JR train station.
COMMENTARY / World / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Sep 1, 2014

U.S. media coverage reveals a pro-Israel bias

Imagine Boston, including its coast, hemmed in by a relentlessly hostile superior power ready to attack it anytime from air, land and sea. Boston is about a third of the Gaza Strip in land area, but the same in population density.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 1, 2014

Zuma summons Lesotho leaders for emergency talks after army attempts coup

Lesotho's political leaders were summoned by South African President Jacob Zuma for emergency talks after the military in the landlocked kingdom carried out an attempted coup.
WORLD
Aug 28, 2014

Iran says it tested new nuclear enrichment machine

Iran has conducted "mechanical" tests on a new, advanced machine to refine uranium, a senior official was quoted as saying on Wednesday, a disclosure that may annoy Western states pushing Tehran to scale back its nuclear program.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2014

Japan to help fight Ebola outbreak if requested

If requested, the government will provide to the World Health Organization and other parties an unapproved medicine that might help combat the deadly Ebola virus, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 23, 2014

U.S. protests 'unprofessional,' 'unsafe' intercept of patrol jet by Chinese warplane

The United States charged on Friday that a Chinese fighter pilot conducted a dangerous intercept of a U.S. Navy patrol plane in international airspace on Tuesday, flying a few meters from the U.S. jet and performing acrobatic maneuvers around it.
WORLD
Aug 20, 2014

Scene of fighting, grandiose Mosul Dam always beset with problems, threat of collapse

The Mosul Dam was always meant to be a symbol of Iraq's grandiose ambition to escape poverty and underdevelopment.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 17, 2014

Ukraine rebels gearing up for eastern counterstrike

Pro-Russian separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine are receiving new armored vehicles and fighters trained in Russia, and plan to launch a major counteroffensive against government forces, a rebel leader said in a video released on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 15, 2014

Chinese police open fire on Tibetan protesters, rights group says

Chinese police have opened fire on Tibetan demonstrators in southwestern China, wounding 10 people, after the Tibetans protested against the detention of a respected village leader, a Tibetan rights group said.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji