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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 27, 2014

New idol group The Margarines sing to pay off debts

Japan's entertainment industry has become so filled with idol groups that some call this the age of the "idol war."
WORLD
Sep 26, 2014

Magnitude 6.2 quake hits Alaska near Anchorage; no immediate damage reported

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck Alaska on Thursday near Anchorage, but the U.S. Geological Survey said there was little likelihood of casualties or severe damage from shaking generated by the deeply rooted temblor.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 25, 2014

McCarthyism, Japan-style

The inordinate attacks by right-wing media and politicians on the Asahi Shimbun after the newspaper retracted and apologized for past reporting errors on two controversial topics does not bode well for the spirit of future press inquiry in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 23, 2014

Fewer obstacles to Putin-style nationalization

The house arrest on Sept. 16 of one of Russia's richest men is part of an attempt to nationalize his oil business. It also shows how the recent Western strategy of isolating Russia is perversely benefiting President Vladimir Putin's close circle of friends:
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 23, 2014

Turkey bars Kurds from entering Syria to fight Islamic State as refugees top 130,000

Turkish troops used tear gas to disperse a crowd of Kurds seeking to enter Syria to defend their ethnic kin there against Islamic State, whose advance in the past week has driven tens of thousands to flee.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 22, 2014

Ukraine clashes test truce as Russian opposition stages protests

Ukraine's truce was tested by battles between government forces and separatists as Russia's opposition held a peace march to protest President Vladimir Putin's policy in the neighboring country.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 20, 2014

Abe's female Cabinet picks warrant a closer look

In a Sept. 5 Twitter post, university instructor Akiko Orita pointed out that four of the five women appointed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to his new Cabinet do not use their legal names. Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi, state minister in charge of abduction issues Eriko...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 20, 2014

China fines drugmaker GSK record $489 million for bribing doctors to use its drugs

Adam Jourdan and Ben Hirschler
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 19, 2014

North Korea says abduction probe will take another year

Pyongyang tells Tokyo it is still at 'an early stage' of its re-investigation into possible Japanese abductees and plans to finish the probe in about a year.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Sep 19, 2014

Blood types

Dear Alice,
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 17, 2014

Amid Japan spying report, China mum on whereabouts of its ambassador to Iceland

China's Foreign Ministry refused to say on Wednesday where its ambassador to Iceland was or who was even representing Beijing in the country, following reports he had been arrested by state security for passing secrets to Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Sep 17, 2014

Der Spiegel magazine finds print and digital mix that works

With newspaper readership on the decline worldwide as the industry faces the print-to-digital transition, a German approach may serve as a reference for Japanese media seeking new tactics to attract customers.
WORLD
Sep 14, 2014

Sisi says coalition must battle Islamic State and others

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi told visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that any global coalition against terrorism should battle not just the Islamic State group but other groups as well, the presidency said on Saturday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 12, 2014

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has tumor; election campaign up in air

Speculation swept Canada's biggest city on Thursday after Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who made global headlines last year for admitting he had smoked crack cocaine, was hospitalized with an abdominal tumor just six weeks before the mayoral election.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Sep 10, 2014

Anatomy of a scam: Aomori targeted by fake agents

A trail of deceit has produced fake 2014-15 contracts for several American basketball players for the Aomori Wat's, The Japan Times learned during a one-month investigation of alleged fraudulent agents.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Sep 10, 2014

Five reasons why agricultural reform will be a tough slog

Today's column, in list form, tackles a subject that defies a more conventional presentation: Japanese agricultural regulation.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 8, 2014

Britain's Prince William and wife Kate expecting second baby

Britain's Prince William, grandson of Queen Elizabeth, and his wife Kate are expecting their second baby and the mother-to-be is once again suffering from very acute morning sickness, his office said Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 3, 2014

Tanigaki gets nod as LDP No. 2; hawkish Inada named party policy chief

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appoints Justice Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki as secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and removes Shigeru Ishiba, his top political rival, from the party's No. 2 post.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 2, 2014

Crossing paths with James Foley in Syria's war

A former independent reporter in Syria recalls the last times he saw freelance journalist James Foley — whom the Islamic State beheaded last month — and a helpful middle-aged tailor fighting for the Free Syrian Army.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 2, 2014

Xi's hard line on Hong Kong shows no room for tolerating challenges

President Xi Jinping's uncompromising stance on limiting democratic reforms in Hong Kong marks a public show of strength that signals to the world — and China's own citizens — that the ruling Communist Party won't tolerate any challenges to its authority.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 1, 2014

Top Chinese university warns against criticizing Communist Party

One of China's top universities has urged students and teachers to "fight against" criticism of the ruling Communist Party, an influential party journal said, in the latest curbs on free expression.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Sep 1, 2014

Seward out to have big impact in Japan

Kyoto University's football team recently revealed that it had acquired Adam Seward, a former NFL player, as its new linebackers coach — perhaps the biggest news before the Kansai collegiate season kicked off this past weekend.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 1, 2014

Abe, India's Modi agree to boost security, economic ties amid China's increasing territorial ambitions

The leaders of Japan and India agree to boost security and economic ties amid China's increasing territorial ambitions and military strength.
JAPAN / INTERPRETATION & TRANSLATION
Aug 31, 2014

Connecting two cities beyond interpretation

Interpreters and translators facilitate communication and understanding between people who speak different languages, which sometimes is instrumental in bridging two distant cities.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 31, 2014

EU names Tusk, Mogherini to top jobs, readies Russian sanctions

European Union leaders on Saturday chose Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to chair the European Council and named Italian Federica Mogherini to run the bloc's foreign relations as it prepared to threaten Russia with new sanctions over Ukraine.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb