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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Nov 9, 2015

Taxi firm hopes to have driverless cabs on the road by 2020

By the time Tokyo hosts the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2020, self-driving cars may be a feature on Japan's roads as local automakers work to develop the technology in the next five years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 7, 2015

A guide to disaster survival and good design

'The medium is the message" — with that famous 1964 phrase, communication theorist Marshall McLuhan emphasized that societies are influenced just as much by a medium as the content it carries. Three years later, McLuhan and graphic designer Quentin Fiore teamed up to create the book "The Medium is...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2015

Takata braces for exodus of air bag customers after losing Honda

Takata Corp. is bracing for further defections after Honda Motor Co., its top customer, began turning its back on the distressed Japanese air bag maker.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Nov 4, 2015

Different strokes: navigating the Japanese school system with a learning difficulty

Japan's schools can be ill-prepared for dealing with bicultural children with learning problems.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 3, 2015

Beijing found to be covertly operating global public radio network

In August, foreign ministers from 10 nations blasted China for building artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea. As media around the world covered the diplomatic clash, a radio station that serves the most powerful city in America had a distinctive take on the news.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 1, 2015

Schabowski, man who accidentally spilled news of Berlin Wall opening, dies

Guenther Schabowski, the former senior East German Communist Party official who accidentally announced the opening of the Berlin Wall, has died at the age of 86, German media reported Sunday.
WORLD
Oct 31, 2015

U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency hires first Briton as liaison officer

The Pentagon's principal spy agency is appointing a British air force officer as its first deputy director in charge of improving "integration" between U.S. intelligence units and spy agencies of other English-speaking countries.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NATURE'S PANTRY
Oct 30, 2015

The island making Japan's best olive oil

When I first married, I stocked the pantry with a can of affordable Spanish olive oil sourced through a friend. But as time meandered along and finances became more secure, I began to buy better quality oil, until I was using an organic variety procured at our local flea market. Somewhere along the line,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Oct 29, 2015

Resort offers escape from city stress; celebrating the taste of 'Tapa-tizers'; combining pampering and fine food

Resort offers escape from city stress
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 28, 2015

Family confirms first Russian military fatality in Syria, disputes 'suicide'

The body of the first Russian serviceman confirmed dead in four weeks of air strikes in Syria was delivered on Tuesday to his parents, who said they were not convinced by the military's account that their 19-year-old son had hanged himself.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2015

Shiga, Saga offering 24/7 multilingual phone help for tourists

Can I get a discount on this vase? How do I get to the ABC Hotel? Where can I find a Chinese-speaking doctor?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 23, 2015

Toshiba unveils trilingual robot in Odaiba

Toshiba Corp. unveiled a new multilingual android Friday who introduces herself and gives out information in three languages to tourists visiting Tokyo's popular Odaiba waterfront district.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Oct 23, 2015

Kodo-kai still raking in funds despite tougher yakuza laws

The Kodokai is emerging as Japan's strongest yakuza group, thanks to its prodigious money-making skills.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 22, 2015

Tokyo film festival ups its domestic fare

The 28th edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival, which began yesterday, is the biggest event on the Japanese film calendar. And like any such event, TIFF has had its share of critics over the years.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 21, 2015

Opposition bloc slams scandal-hit government for shying away from extra Diet session

The opposition camp asks the Lower House speaker for an extraordinary Diet session to hear information about TPP and the policies of new Cabinet members.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2015

Asahi Kasei vows independent probe over tilting condo building

Top executives of Asahi Kasei Corp., parent of the company that handled the piling work for a tilting Yokohama condominium building, apologize and say the company will do its best to discover the facts surrounding the case.
EDITORIALS
Oct 19, 2015

Weapons development and exports

Japan is well on its way to become a weapons developer and exporter following a decision last year by the Abe administration to discard a long-standing arms export ban.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Oct 18, 2015

Residents upset over condominium overhaul

It is a common sight in Japan to see houses or condominiums undergoing a spruce up. Covered in tarpaulins and wrapped in a steel cage of scaffolding, this state of affairs can last from just a few weeks to several months, depending on the scale of the renovations.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Oct 17, 2015

Kirin invites customers to smile — and have a drink or two

Smile — and have a drink or two
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 9, 2015

When the 'febezzle' comes home to roost

In any case of embezzlement, there is a period when the embezzler has his gain and the victim feels no loss — a period of increased psychic wealth that John Kenneth Galbraith called 'the bezzle.'
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 8, 2015

U.S. chief knew VW could be breaking emissions rules 18 months ago

Volkswagen's top U.S. executive knew the carmaker might be breaking U.S. emissions rules as long as 18 months before it admitted cheating diesel tests to regulators, he will tell a panel of U.S. lawmakers on Thursday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 8, 2015

China uses intimidation tactics at U.N. to silence critics

In a cafe lounge at the United Nations complex in Geneva, a Tibetan fugitive was waiting his turn earlier this year to tell diplomats his story of being imprisoned and tortured back home in China.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Oct 7, 2015

Red flags and exit strategies: advice for English teachers in Japan

It's important for new instructors in Japan to know when they are being exploited, and, if so, how to improve their lot or extricate themselves from the situation as painlessly as possible.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2015

Snooping worries lead top EU court to ditch U.S. data transfer deal used by thousands of firms

The EU's highest court struck down a deal that allows thousands of companies to easily transfer personal data from Europe to the United States, in a landmark ruling on Tuesday that follows revelations of mass U.S. government snooping.
EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2015

Legislation Bureau misconduct

The Cabinet Legislation Bureau's failure to keep records of its internal discussions leading up to the Abe administration's reinterpretation of Article 9 only deepens suspicions about the legal legitimacy of the Cabinet decision and the subsequent security legislation.
WORLD
Oct 6, 2015

One-third of U.S. reactors to shut down for refueling as demand ebbs

About one-third of U.S. nuclear power plants will close this fall for refueling, the most in nine years, as operators take advantage of a drop in electricity demand to carry out maintenance.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 5, 2015

Shortcomings identified in new reporting system into hospital deaths

On Thursday, the government launched a new reporting system for deaths resulting from medical care. The iryojiko chosa seido (medical accidents investigation system), created based on last year's revisions to the Medical Care Law, is aimed at preventing recurrences of medical accidents and ensuring patient...

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes