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JAPAN
Jan 25, 2015

Families, acquaintances dismayed by latest video of Japanese hostage

Shock and confusion overwhelms the families and friends of the two Japanese men held captive in Syria by the Islamic State group.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 24, 2015

Smoke signals: Can Tokyo ever go smoke-free?

Japan has long held a reputation of being something of a paradise for smokers. Tobacco is, at least by Western standards, relatively cheap and people can still light up in many of the country's restaurants and bars. In fact, before the turn of the century smokers could pretty much puff away on a cigarette...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2015

Tourists tempted by paid, free Wi-Fi access campaigns

As tourists visit Japan in increasing numbers, mobile phone operators are moving to tap the market by providing better Wi-Fi services.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 23, 2015

Sri Lanka to probe hidden foreign assets after Rajapaksa defeat

Sri Lanka's new government is to investigate "black money" transferred overseas by powerful figures in the administration of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, a Cabinet spokesman said on Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 22, 2015

Musicians, two screens and a poet recapture Stravinsky's spirit in 'Sanka's Winter Ritual'

The avant-garde scene in Kyoto has a unique challenge, being based in a city where tradition is synonymous with local identity.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2015

Japanese officials silent as hostage clock ticks

As Tokyo insists it has not 'received any contact' from the Islamic State group, the nation wonders what will happen to the two men it has taken hostage.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2015

Islamic State threatens to kill two Japanese hostages

In an online video, the Islamic State group threatens to kill two Japanese citizens unless Tokyo pays a ransom of $200 million within 72 hours.
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2015

Google sticks to EU-only application of 'right to be forgotten'

Google is only removing search results from European websites when individuals invoke their "right to be forgotten," contrary to regulators' guidelines, but will review that approach soon, the company's chief legal officer said on Monday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society / FOCUS
Jan 18, 2015

Paris killings leave France troubled by 30 years of failure with immigrants

Latifa Ibn Ziaten knows a thing or two about terrorism.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 16, 2015

Taiwan lodges protest over China's new air routes

Taiwan filed an objection with the United Nations aviation agency over new commercial flight routes off China's southeastern coast that it said poses a safety risk to its planes.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 16, 2015

Malaysian contractor pleads guilty in U.S. Navy corruption case

A Malaysian businessman accused of bribing high-ranking United States Navy officers to steer millions of dollars of contract services to his company pleaded guilty to corruption charges in federal court in San Diego on Thursday.
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jan 15, 2015

Relaxing chocolate massage; waffle Wednesday comes to Tokyo; renowned chef at Imperial Hotel

Relaxing chocolate massage
Reader Mail
Jan 14, 2015

Politics and women overseas

The Dec. 14 national election was personally significant for me because, for the first time in my life, I voted. A bittersweet experience it was. I happened to be on a short-term sabbatical in Japan when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for the snap election. During the weeks leading up to it, I collected...
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jan 14, 2015

In Twitter hack, Pentagon sees perils of social media

If so-called cyberjihadis want to launch another social media attack on America's military, they will have plenty of targets: the U.S. Army alone lists more than 2,000 links to feeds on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other accounts.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 10, 2015

Modern technology aids whale research

In my last column of 2014, "Twelve ways to spend 2015 with nature," I mentioned the possibility of taking a whale-watching trip to the Ogasawara Islands. Ignore the international media hype about the country's pelagic whaling industry — it's a dying custom; instead, focus on the fact that Japan has...
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2015

Honda to pay $70 million to U.S. for failure to report deaths, injuries

Honda Motor agrees to pay $70 million in penalties to the U.S. government for failing to report hundreds of injuries, deaths and other consumer claims involving its cars.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2015

Tokyo to set up free call center for Olympic interpretation services

Tokyo plans to set up a 24-hour call center this year so tourism-related businesses can obtain free interpretation in three languages ahead of the 2020 Olympics.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 5, 2015

Ebola survivors in West Africa to share stories via mobile app, to help fight stigma

Ebola survivors in the three West African countries worst hit by the epidemic will share their stories through a mobile application to be launched on Monday, in a UNICEF-backed campaign to inform and fight stigma around the disease.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 30, 2014

Doubts over ambitious Nicaragua canal project grow as work gets underway

When one of the poorest countries in the Americas and a little-known Chinese businessman said they planned to undertake one of the biggest engineering projects in history, few people took them seriously.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2014

Exploited working students starting to fight 'burakku arubaito' system

The 22-year-old university student was in his fifth day working part time at a Sukiya beef bowl outlet in Tokyo when his boss suddenly told him to run the shop from midnight to 9 a.m. all by himself.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 27, 2014

Abe isn't impressed with media criticism

The most talked-about media moment from the Lower House election on Dec. 14 was the victory interview Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave to Nippon TV.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 27, 2014

Business as usual or an energy revolution?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party won a snap election two weeks ago that caught opposition parties and the public off guard. The result was a record low turnout in which the LDP lost several seats, but kept a two-thirds majority in the Lower House.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2014

Work begins in Japan to shield infrastructure against cyberattacks

Japan, fearing it could be a soft target for possible North Korean cyberattacks in the escalating row over the Sony Pictures hack, has begun working to ensure its basic infrastructure will remain safe and to formulate its diplomatic response, officials said.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan