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COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2014

CIA torture: time to move on?

Even Sen. John McCain, who knows more about the subject of 'torture' than any other American politician since he was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, confines himself to saying that torture is not a useful instrument for yielding credible information. He avoids mentioning it is also a grave crime under international law.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2014

West versus Islamic State: the ransom dilemma

The refusal to pay ransoms to terrorists can seem callous, but in truth it is the only ethical policy. Governments that pay ransoms to save some of their citizens' lives put the remainder of their citizens — and others — at greater risk.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2014

A rude awakening for America

The American pivot to Asia was the product of people in Washington who only think in terms of military power — as in trying to annex Ukraine and Georgia to NATO and the EU. There are new ways of thinking in China and even Russia.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 12, 2014

Takayama mobilizes to protect voters from bear attacks

Polling stations in one mountain city are bracing for an unusual kind of disruption on election day: bear attacks.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 12, 2014

With vice-presidential pick, Mugabe charts nationalist course

When veteran Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe sacked his vice-president in front of 12,000 baying party members last week, Emmerson Mnangagwa sat quietly in the crowd, a green baseball cap pulled low over his eyes.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Dec 12, 2014

Hunting for pictures, and crocodiles, in remote Aboriginal country

We are deep in a forest crowded by Australian paperback trees, the air thick with humidity but eerily silent save for the screeching of tropical birds, when Marcus shouts: "Look, crocodiles!"
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 11, 2014

Sony PlayStation to make China debut next month as ban ends

Sony Corp. will release its PlayStation 4 console in China next month, following Microsoft Corp. into the world's biggest game market after the government eased restrictions.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 11, 2014

On the campaign trail, ex-minister Obuchi says sorry for scandal

An apologetic Yuko Obuchi reels in her stumping for the Lower House election after being stung by a fundraising scandal that abruptly ended her stint as trade minister.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2014

Free Wi-Fi is trialed for tourists

Wire and Wireless will begin trials of a 'free' Wi-Fi service that will cater to foreign tourists and mine their GPS data.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2014

Ecology product confab at Big Sight kicks off with higher youth turnout

In the face of pressing environmental challenges, the nation's biggest event on eco-friendly products kicked off Thursday in Tokyo, giving everyone from elementary school kids to businesspeople an opportunity to think about what's good for future generations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 11, 2014

Taking flight with Arata Isozaki

I once almost got to interview the architect Arata Isozaki, but it was canceled due to his ill health at the time. No doubt a consideration in the cancelation was the fact that interviews with him can go to extreme lengths, as Isozaki has much to tell, having collaborated with almost every big name in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 11, 2014

Still photography that will always remain moving

In the late 1950s, after having studied law and while pursuing a masters degree in art history, Ikko Narahara took two series of images that depicted groups of people at the extreme edges of society. One was of a woman's prison in Wakayama Prefecture and the other a Trappist monastery in Hokkaido. These...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Dec 11, 2014

J-blip: Doraemon hard boiled eggs soften your heart

Doraemon, everybody's favorite blue robot cat, could be coming to a salad near you in the not-too-distant future.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 11, 2014

South Korean wealthy no longer above law

The uproar that forced a Korean Air Lines executive to resign after delaying a flight because she was unhappy with the way nuts were served points to growing intolerance of corporate bad behavior in a country dominated by family conglomerates.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Dec 11, 2014

Suicides rise among young as Indian society modernizes; mental health problems go untreated

Pinki Chauhan, a straight-A Indian physics and math student, arrived at her university campus shortly after breakfast, poured gasoline over her wispy frame and lit a match.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 11, 2014

London's Cereal Killer Cafe serves up breakfast from around the world

Identical twin brothers hope they have ticked the right boxes and bought the right flavors for their new Cereal Killer Cafe in London, serving only cereal.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 11, 2014

California braces for high winds, heavy surf ahead of storm

A major winter storm moved across the Pacific Ocean into Northern California on Wednesday and was expected to pummel the state with torrential rainfall, high winds and dangerous heavy surf over the next few days, the National Weather Service said.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 11, 2014

Uzbek president asks Putin to help fight radical Islam in Central Asia

Uzbekistan urged Russia on Wednesday to help protect Central Asia against what it said would be a rising threat from militant Islam as U.S. forces draw down their numbers in Afghanistan.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2014

Airbus hints it may ditch A380 after finding no takers for superjumbo this year

Airbus Group NV raised the prospect of discontinuing its A380 superjumbo as soon as 2018, the first admission that it may have misjudged the market for the double-decker after failing to find a single airline buyer this year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 10, 2014

Gone Girl: 'Misogynistic or a pointed satire of the illusions underlying some marriages?'

The Bible tells us that Elijah came unto the people and asked, "How long halt ye between two opinions?" David Fincher came forth and spake: "One hour and five minutes." Which is precisely how long he keeps us guessing in his new murder mystery "Gone Girl." Is Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) a disgruntled husband...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 10, 2014

In rare move, Sony CEO Hirai personally cleared scenes in film on North Korea, emails show

The company's top executive approved a scene depicting the death of Kim Jong Un in a satirical film that may have prompted a cyberattack on Sony Pictures.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 10, 2014

DPJ faces uphill battle for swing voters

While the ruling coalition commands a higher number of core supporters, opposition parties are vying for swing voters in an election that is expected to see a low turnout.
EDITORIALS
Dec 10, 2014

Abe takes aim at labor regulations

Changes that the Abe administration wants to make to labor laws will likely increase the number of lower paid irregular workers in the nation's workforce.
Reader Mail
Dec 10, 2014

Advances without atonement

I read with interest William Pesek's Dec. 6 opinion piece, "Japan's media needs to act as a watchdog, not a lapdog."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / DECISION 2014
Dec 10, 2014

Japan's persisting gender gap leaves many single moms in poverty

Yuka Suzuki, 47, has virtually no savings, earns about half the average national wage and cannot see where the money will come from to retire one day.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 10, 2014

Prosecutions for CIA torture still seem unlikely after Senate report

Minutes after a U.S. Senate intelligence panel released details of the CIA's torture of terrorism suspects, President Barack Obama suggested the country should move on.

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