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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 29, 2016

Japanese media cautiously tackle the U.S. election

During the first half of this year, coverage by Japan's print and broadcast media of America's presidential primary campaigns and debates was heavier than usual. But as the two remaining contenders stagger toward the finish line, one gets the impression that Japanese are just as weary as their American...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 25, 2016

Outdated design-patent laws thwart progress

Unless modernized quickly, outmoded U.S. patent rules could empower a wave of opportunistic lawsuits that would suppress innovation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Oct 22, 2016

PlayStation adds more power to the PS4

More power to the PS4
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 18, 2016

Duterte praises China's 'good, sound policies' as pivotal visit begins

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was heading to China late Tuesday for a visit that was set to upend relations in the region and possibly throw a security challenge to Japan, which he is due to visit next.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2016

When to speak and when to shut up: the art of a Japanese 'benshi'

The silent films screened in Japan from the 1920s to '40s were never completely silent. Katsudo-shashin benshi, or benshi for short, delivered live narration that provided everything an audience might need to appreciate a film — from commentary to translation. Derived from Japan's many narrative art...
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 8, 2016

Unknown quantity: How the outcome of the presidential election in November could affect Japan-U.S. relations

"Jesus! Where will it end? How low do you have to stoop in this country to be president?" — Hunter S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72"
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 3, 2016

Britain's May to trigger EU divorce by end of March

Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday she would trigger the process to leave the EU by the end of March, offering the first glimpse of a timetable for a divorce that will redefine Britain's ties with its biggest trading partner.
EDITORIALS
Sep 28, 2016

An unnerving debate in the U.S.

Hillary Clinton has offered what the world expects from a U.S. president. We hope American voters appreciate that fact.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 25, 2016

Preventing China from changing the status quo

The world's attention has been focused on North Korea, but the greatest long-term threat to peace and security in the region is Chinese aggression in its maritime borders.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Sep 23, 2016

Barton cites early instruction as key to Japan's success

ISU announcer Ted Barton has seen it all during his long career in the sport.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 19, 2016

Chinese paper calls opposition to Myanmar dams 'extreme'

Opposition to Chinese-invested hydropower programs in Myanmar is being orchestrated by "extreme" groups in the country and has heavily damaged joint investment projects, an influential Chinese newspaper wrote on Monday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 18, 2016

Trump likened to dominant male chimp by famed primatologist Goodall

The brash antics of Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump have earned him a comparison to a male chimpanzee by renowned anthropologist Jane Goodall.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Sep 17, 2016

There must be a sense of deja vu in Osaka after Yuriko Koike's election

Wasteful bureaucratic spending. Local politicians who smell money as they make Olympics-related plans. An assembly dominated by a clique of good ol' boys in the Liberal Democratic Party who run local government as their fiefdom. All challenged by a hawkish outsider of a governor who is media-savvy and...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 9, 2016

China responds strongly to North Korean nuclear test but is unlikely to do much

China criticized North Korea's nuclear test on Friday, but Beijing is unlikely to follow up with strong action because its influence is limited and it believes the United States and South Korea share responsibility for growing tensions in the region.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 7, 2016

'Janis: Little Girl Blue': Basking in the limelight of the blues

Hollywood loves its messed-up, tragic rock stars, and a biopic of hippie icon and "white blues" singer Janis Joplin has been in the works for longer than anyone can remember, with everyone from Pink to Amy Adams slated for the lead role.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2016

U.S. economy sends mixed signals

The most reliable economic indicators are not enlightening, because they're telling opposite stories.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 1, 2016

Global warming exposes fossils in Greenland from time Earth was like Mars

The earliest fossil evidence of life on Earth has been found in rocks 3.7 billion years old in Greenland, raising chances of life on Mars aeons ago when both planets were similarly desolate, scientists said on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2016

Guantanamo remains a stain on U.S. policy

Insisting on maintaining a facility that has only brought shame and embarrassment to the U.S. is wrong.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Aug 28, 2016

Japan fumbles for the legal path to an 'Emprexit'

The obvious route to allowing Emperor Akihito's abdication would involve amending the Imperial Household Law, not constitutional change.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 26, 2016

Brown Rice Family brings reggae, ska-infused sounds to Windblow festival

Brown rice is a culinary staple that does a body good. It was a belief in this "vital food," especially among Rastafarians, that gave the eight-piece Brown Rice Family its name. In fact, when asked how his group tries to psyche up a crowd, percussionist Yuichi Iida simply says, "It's Brown Rice: high-fiber...
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Aug 22, 2016

Putin hints at war in Ukraine, but Russian leader likely seeking diplomatic edge

Ukraine says it thinks Vladimir Putin is planning a new invasion, and it's not hard to see why: the Russian leader has built up troops on its border and resumed the hostile rhetoric that preceded his annexation of Crimea two years ago.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Aug 20, 2016

Japan's architects are building a better future

Home-security AI cats; talking walls equipped with motion sensors; communal-living apartment blocks that promote harmonious relations; and outdoor living-room spaces powered by solar energy siphoned off hybrid cars — these previews of our future, currently on display at "House Vision 2," sound like...
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 12, 2016

Overseas trip to forestall annual visit to Yasukuni by new defense chief Inada

Despite much speculation, new defense chief Tomomi Inada probably won't visit problematic Yasukuni Shrine on Japan's surrender anniversary and will instead catch a flight to Djibouti.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 9, 2016

Beijing ridicules Trump over 'China-bashing'

China responded Tuesday to claims by Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump that Beijing "breaks the rules in every way imaginable" when it comes to trade, lashing out at the business mogul's economic prescription that it called "dangerous and damaging."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Aug 7, 2016

Japan's Minor Offenses Act has major untapped potential

Law has the teeth to tackle everything from peeing and posters to more serious matters.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2016

The West's decline would also harm China

It makes little sense that Beijing is so pleased about the struggles of China's most valuable trading partners.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 1, 2016

Amid Britain nuclear debacle, Chinese state media decries 'suspicion'

China will not tolerate "unwanted accusations" about its investments in Britain, a country that cannot risk driving away other Chinese investors as it looks for post-Brexit trade deals, China's official Xinhua News Agency said Monday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 30, 2016

Bushido: Soseki, 'Star Wars' and the samurai

In September 1912, Gen. Maresuke Nogi — a hero of the Russo-Japanese War — committed ritual suicide. His sensational death took place on the day of Emperor Meiji's funeral, making it an act of junshi (following one's lord in death) and a high-water mark for the samurai code in the modern era.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 23, 2016

Bushido: The samurai code goes to war

In a scene from the 1957 film "The Bridge on the River Kwai," a haughty British Col. in a prisoner-of-war camp confronts the camp's Japanese commandant. Citing the Geneva Convention as justification, he argues that his officers should not be forced into manual labor, which makes the commandant furious...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami