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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 15, 2014

Portrait of the assassin as a young man

Sometime in the 1970s, as more Americans began to rally against the Vietnam War, an unknown cynic parodied the U.S. Army's promotional recruitment tagline with the slogan, "Join the Army! Travel to unusual places. Meet interesting people, and kill them."
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 14, 2014

U.S. joins France in anti-terrorism fight across Sahel

On a dusty training ground in Niger, U.S. Special Forces officers teach local troops to deal with suspects who resist arrest. "Speed, aggression, surprise!" an instructor barks as two Nigeriens wrestle a U.S. adviser out of a car.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 14, 2014

Symbolic Crimea vital to Putin legacy

When Russian President Vladimir Putin flew into the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol in Crimea last year, he made a pilgrimage to several sites associated with Russia's tumultuous history.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Mar 14, 2014

Murai deserves praise for taking bold action against Urawa

The J. League has not always been known for taking clear, decisive action, but Thursday's announcement that Urawa Reds must play one home game behind closed doors as punishment for a discriminatory banner was a bold decision that must be applauded.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2014

To achieve peace, the past must not be forgotten

The past must never be forgotten when trying to make peace between Ukraine and Russia. The U.S. risks war with Russia if it can't adjust the same reckless sentiments responsible in recent years for promoting NATO membership for Ukraine.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Mar 12, 2014

J. League and media must show red card to racism

On Saturday, during their J. League match against Sagan Tosu at Saitama Stadium, some Urawa Reds fans hung a 'Japanese only' banner over an entrance to the stands.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Mar 12, 2014

With love and Japan, what you get out depends on what you put in

Moving to Japan makes an infant of us all, regardless of race, sex or creed. A major conflict in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' comes from the fact that Prospero knew the language and Caliban the land, but when you first get to Japan, you know neither.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2014

Fresh uprisings erupt across Turkey

Protesters clashed with police in cities across Turkey on Tuesday after the death of a 15-year-old boy who was hit in the head by a tear-gas canister during anti-government demonstrations last summer.
LIFE / Japan Showcase / AOMORI PREFECTURE
Mar 12, 2014

Freshly grilled squid on a winter train: Taking a ride on the Tsugaru Railroad

A continuous bluster rips snow from the white ground all around us and keeps sending it flying into our faces, as we stand on the platform of Kanagi Station in Goshogawara. It is frigid weather and I am relieved when I finally spot our train emerge out of the bleached hazy distance. Two identical orange...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 11, 2014

Japanese jingoism won't help Fukushima's refugees

The Abe government's inability to handle its crisis at home belies its global ambitions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 11, 2014

Mothercoat sees tour as a step in cultivating a global fanbase

Most bands in Japan come to Tokyo to reach for stardom. Indie rock act Mothercoat did the opposite, however, when its members all relocated to Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture, two years ago.
CULTURE / Music / JAZZ NOTES
Mar 11, 2014

New acts see good results off the beaten path

Jazz is a form of music that was born out of live performance, and fans in Japan are certainly spoiled for choice when it comes to places to see jazz gigs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2014

Life indoors exacts toll on Koriyama children

Some of the smallest children in Koriyama, a short drive from the ruined Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, barely know what it's like to play outside — fear of radiation has kept them indoors for much of their short lives.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2014

New map shines light on Tokyo air raid horrors

In an attempt to preserve people's fading memories of the World War II air raids on Tokyo, scholars and citizens have drawn up what is considered the most comprehensive map so far of their efforts to escape from U.S. bombs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Mar 9, 2014

Honda's robotics tech headed for homes of the future

As technology evolves, every household is predicted to have at least one robot in the future, just as many of today's consumers feel incomplete without Internet access or a mobile phone.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 7, 2014

Fukushima points the way for disaster readiness

As one travels across the region evacuated after the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant meltdown three years ago, it is obvious that the effects of the disaster vary from village to village, and are far more complicated than the hazard map, with its concentric circles of safety levels, indicates.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 7, 2014

Modi to take on Congress in polls

Street clashes erupted in India after this week's announcement that parliamentary elections will start April 7 in a race that pits Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi against the unpopular Nehru-Gandhi family's ruling party.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 7, 2014

Dazzling Chinese fossils offer portal into Jurassic

A spectacular array of beautifully preserved fossils unearthed in northeastern China over the past two decades provides a unique portal on life 160 million years ago in the Jurassic Period, an international team of scientists said this week.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 6, 2014

'Gloria'

All the lonely people, where do they all come from?" Lennon and McCartney posed the question, and "Gloria" provides an answer. Gloria, played by Paulina Garcia, is a 50-something divorcee whose children have grown up and moved out; she lives by herself in Santiago, Chile, with the occasional company...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2014

Osaka challenges Tokyo with tallest skyscraper

Japan's tallest building will open Friday in Osaka, as Asia's third-biggest metropolitan economy aims to lure tourists and stem businesses from moving to Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2014

University of Tokyo still Asia's top-ranked institution of learning: survey

The University of Tokyo remained the most prestigious Asian institution of higher education in an annual university reputation survey released Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Mar 4, 2014

Where German-sausage fans can find the best of the wurst

"After 11 years I finally found it," a German colleague told me over lunch the other day. He wasn't talking about the perfect job. He was talking about currywurst, sliced sausage smothered in ketchup and curry powder. It's a diner or street-food dish, most popular in Berlin. To understand the popularity...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO BAR ADVENTURE
Mar 4, 2014

Sober is the new drunk at juice-cocktail bar

In an izakaya or pub in Tokyo, a glass of orange juice can look out of place among a sea of beer mugs. For a nonalcoholic drinker who chooses to avoid pints for whatever reason, going out in Japan can be hard. While beer or wine lovers have a wide variety to choose from, those who can't drink are stuck...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 4, 2014

Owarikara takes its fans to the edge with 'Saihate Songs'

The band name Owarikara loosely translates into English as "starting from the end." However, singer and guitarist Hyouri Takahashi gives a much more specific interpretation.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Mar 1, 2014

Masako Shirasu: woman of the world

"If you use beautiful things every day, you will naturally cultivate an eye for beautiful things without giving it a second thought. In the end, you will be repelled when you encounter the ugly and the fake. If only all Japan would come to see this, how much more joyous our lives would be and how genial...
COMMENTARY
Mar 1, 2014

Handle moral education with extreme care

When Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura met with a ministry panel recently to discuss the inclusion of moral education for elementary and junior high school students beginning in 2015, he unwittingly stepped into a potential minefield.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 1, 2014

J. League seeks to widen scope in Asia

As two decades have now elapsed since its inception, the J. League is entering a new era.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan