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COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 30, 2015

A Korean woman recalls the tragedy of two wars

Seventy years have passed since the end of World War II, but memories of it and the Korean War that followed remain vivid in the mind of a 90-year-old Korean woman.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2015

Thousands protest Abe, security bills at Diet rally

In one of the strongest signs of public frustration over controversial security bills likely to be passed by lawmakers next month, thousands of people surrounded the Diet building Sunday afternoon to protest their enactment and call for the resignation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2015

12 Osaka-based Ishin no To Diet members expected to join Toru Hashimoto's new national party

Other Diet members will be asked to follow and join by Oct. 20, reports quoting unnamed party sources said.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 29, 2015

Mishima, Murakami and the elusive Nobel Prize

Will he or won't he? It's about the time of year when the Japanese media descends into a frenzy of speculation about whether Haruki Murakami will land the Nobel Prize in literature, becoming the first Japanese literary laureate since Kenzaburo Oe in 1994.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 29, 2015

SEALDs student group reinvigorates Japan's anti-war protest movement

Wearing shorts and a baggy T-shirt and clutching a microphone, Aki Okuda stands before a crowd, the pyramid-shaped roof of the Diet building lit up against the night sky behind him.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2015

Students launch hunger strike to protest security bills

Sitting upright across from the Diet building, the protesters say they know their fight against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is going to take a heavy toll on them. But they say they have to do it nonetheless.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 26, 2015

Lawmaker Takaya Muto denies involvement in stock fraud, says he won't resign

Embattled Lower House lawmaker Takaya Muto on Wednesday dismissed an allegation that he was involved in investment fraud and said he had no plans to resign from the Diet.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 26, 2015

Anti-Abe feeling grows in SDF

Sentiment against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is rising in the SDF over fears that his pending security legislation will increase the risk of going to war.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 26, 2015

Want more heroes? Bring back the military draft

If the French train incident tells us anything useful about defending against terrorism, it is that ordinary people will sometimes be the only defense.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 24, 2015

'Nagara' comes into its own in the age of multitasking

Although it must be quite some task for the brain to multitask, coordinating two concurring activities in Japanese is no problem at all. The suffix 'nagara' does this job, and it does it pretty well.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Aug 24, 2015

One in 4 foreign tourists visit national parks

About 25 percent of the approximately 10 million foreigners who traveled to Japan in 2013 visited national parks to experience the nation's areas of outstanding natural beauty.
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 24, 2015

Aichi meets challenge of surge in non-Japanese students

Schools in Japan are struggling to meet the needs of children with non-Japanese parents who come from a diverse range of countries.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 22, 2015

Scans reveal how poverty hurts children's brains

Growing up poor has long been linked to lower academic test scores. And there's now mounting evidence that it's partly because kids can suffer real physical consequences from low family incomes, including brains that are less equipped to learn.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 21, 2015

Don't take my life, please, as Pakistan's comics roast nation's woes, try not to bomb, blaspheme

The crowd exploded into laughter as Pakistani comedian Shehzad Ghias Shaikh threw them his final punchline, gripping the microphone as he roasted the dating app Tindr and traditional South Asian family matchmaking.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 21, 2015

Trump's 'traitor' remark condemned by accused deserter Bergdahl's lawyer

The lawyer for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the former Taliban prisoner in Afghanistan charged with desertion, on Thursday chastised U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for calling his client a "traitor."
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 20, 2015

Limits of Abe's leadership

Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has been and continues to be a thorn in Shinzo Abe's side, as evidenced by the National Stadium brouhaha.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 20, 2015

Shiga residents slam lawmaker who resigned from LDP amid money scandal

Lower House member Takaya Muto, who quit the Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday over allegations of a financial scandal, has come under fire among his constituents in Shiga Prefecture for betraying their trust, and faces an uncertain future as an independent politician.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 19, 2015

Russia wants to be understood

Russia's image today remains tained by the image of Soviet days, which is why its case over Ukraine, Crimea and flight MH17 still get little attention in the West, even when it is deserved.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Aug 19, 2015

Trail of failed ventures involving American in murder probe leads from New York to Tokyo

The record of dubious projects leads from Peter Gatien-era New York clubland to Singapore and Japan
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Aug 17, 2015

Robots launch operations in bank, hotel

Humanoid robots start work in a bank in Tokyo and a hotel in Kyushu amid concerns over a labor shortage in Japan's aging society.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Aug 17, 2015

NPO backs global certification for Minamiaizu's sustainable forests

In the town of Minamiaizu in southwestern Fukushima Prefecture, local efforts are gathering steam to promote its rich forestry resources to the world by obtaining global certification for quality woodlands.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 17, 2015

Perceived dangers posed by selfie sticks prompt bans at some tourist venues

As selfie sticks become popular among young people and foreign visitors, more tourist facilities in the Chubu region are banning them over the apparent dangers they can pose.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 15, 2015

Growing influence of Japan Conference reflects resentment at Tokyo's postwar settlement with Washington

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in April delivered a speech to the U.S. Congress — the first by a Japanese leader — that lauded deepening trade ties and the military alliance with the United States.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 15, 2015

Add looming poverty to list of seniors' woes

What a sad country this is. Granted, Spa! magazine paints in primary colors. Maybe it's missing a nuance or two? Maybe things aren't really so bad? Maybe. Hopefully.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 14, 2015

Conte thinks WADA testing system a complete joke

Fourth in a four-part series
JAPAN / History
Aug 14, 2015

Emperor's WWII surrender aired amid turmoil in wartime regime

It was a hot day in Tokyo with a daytime high of 32.3 degrees Celsius 70 years ago when Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, declared Japan's surrender in World War II.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 14, 2015

How smuggled workers power 'Made in China'

On a quiet river bend on the China-Vietnam border, a group of people clambered up a muddy bank. They had just glided across the river from the Vietnamese side in a longboat, guided by men on both banks signaling with flashlights.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 13, 2015

Wolf Alice's Summer Sonic stop is another step on the way to the top

When London indie-rock foursome Wolf Alice makes its Japan debut at the Summer Sonic festival this weekend, it will be three years, two EPs, one debut album and countless incendiary live gigs since it first sent alternative music blogs into a frenzy with a single track uploaded to SoundCloud, that most...
Reader Mail
Aug 13, 2015

Nuclear waste disposal woes not going away

Regarding the article "Resumption of Sendai reactor highlights absence of waste sites" in the Aug. 12 issue, the idea that Japan can store its nuclear waste in an underground facility long term is just more pie-in-the-sky thinking.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Aug 12, 2015

Director attacks critics who claim Japanese films fall short of Hollywood standards

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Shinji Higuchi, the director picked by Toho to revive its dormant "Godzilla" franchise, promised that his version of the iconic monster would be larger and more terrifying than its predecessors. However, the most hair-raising comment in the article was...

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