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COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2013

Putin may be the only winner in Snowden affair

President Barack Obama's handling of the Snowden affair shows that the logic of security overrides that of civil rights. For a Nobel Peace Prize winner, that's disappointing.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Aug 4, 2013

NSA leaks allow Wyden chance at privacy debate

It was one of the strangest personal crusades on Capitol Hill: For years, Sen. Ron Wyden said he was worried that intelligence agencies were violating Americans' privacy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Aug 4, 2013

A year later, couple grapples with life after assault

Thomas "TC" Maslin easily reads to himself the local newspaper or latest issue of the Economist. Reading aloud a simple children's book is another story.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 3, 2013

Toyohiro Akiyama: Cautionary tales from one not afraid to risk all

In December 1990, journalist Toyohiro Akiyama made headlines the world over when he blasted off aboard a Soviet rocket to become the very first "space correspondent" in history.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 2, 2013

Curiosity rover's descent to Mars — the story so far

Nestled below the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory outside Pasadena has a surprisingly low-tech feel. For more than 40 years, space missions to the planets have been controlled from its operations rooms, yet the place is still striking for its bucolic charm. Mule...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 1, 2013

'Hope Springs'

Feminism is redefined in "Hope Springs," a tale of two 60-somethings locked in a marriage gone stale and opting for a week of intensive marriage counselling in a picturesque Maine town.
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 31, 2013

Shark attacks on humans are rare but not unheard of

With beach season in full swing, the question inevitably arises: What are the chances of getting attacked by a shark?
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 28, 2013

Breakneck NSA growth fueled by insatiable demand for its product

Twelve years later, the cranes and earthmovers around the National Security Agency are still at work, tearing up pavement and uprooting trees to make room for a larger workforce and more powerful computers. Already bigger than the Pentagon in square meters, the NSA's footprint will grow by an additional...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2013

DuckDuckGo chief spills on search engine wars

AltaVista, one of the leading search engines of the 1990s, has died. It was 18 years old. It had languished for years before its owner, Yahoo, finally pulled the plug.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jul 27, 2013

Log-jamming in Shin Kiba

Last month, readers of this column found me frolicking in the sawdust and lumberyards of Shin Kiba — meaning "New Wood Place" — which arose on reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay in the 1970s when the city's timber businesses were moved there from their traditional home in nearby Kiba to make way for rapid...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jul 26, 2013

Brit Scoutmaster jogs for health, charity

Running up a mountain probably wouldn't be most people's idea of a pleasant weekend leisure activity, but Brit Colin Yarker thrives on the physical and mental challenge of trail running.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2013

Abe seen set to squeeze the poor

Mammoth cuts in welfare benefits starting next month point to the government's desire to skimp on social security and instead boost military capabilities in hopes of fighting alongside the United States, according to veteran lawyer Kenji Utsunomiya.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jul 22, 2013

Police stonewalling over death of U.S. teen in Shinjuku prolongs family's ordeal

The family of Scott Kang had hoped that the release the autopsy report would shed some light on the U.S. teenager's death in Shinjuku in 2010 and bring them nearer to obtaining closure. Instead, it has reopened old wounds and raised fresh questions about the original police investigation.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 21, 2013

'Motor City Madman' rocks political world

On the final morning of the 2013 National Rifle Association annual convention in May, the day was bright, the mood was festive and Ted Nugent was neither dead nor in jail.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 21, 2013

Martin rallies across U.S. urge 'justice'

In most places it was too hot for hooded sweat shirts. So they came with T-shirts.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 20, 2013

Teams jockeying for playoff position to battle Giants, Tigers

At the All-Star break for the 2013 NPB season, the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers appear to have a lock on finishing in first and second place in the Central League pennant race. Unless there is total meltdown by one of them, we will be seeing them in the postseason Climax Series come October.
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Jul 20, 2013

Tokyo homeless, Olympics cancelled, medals given for kindness, Mandela's birthday feted

Summer is generally a good season for employment-seekers of the laboring classes. This summer, however, there are twice as many unemployed men as usual. The Free Lodging House of Honjo, Tokyo, for instance, generally takes in about 20 lodgers nightly during the hot months, but this season some 45 are finding shelter there every night.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 20, 2013

Satirist's hilarious stories tenderly feature the deluded, feckless

These are golden times for American satirists. After years of relentless brilliance, George Saunders finally seems to have crossed into the mainstream with his absurdist short-story collection "Tenth of December." Now Sam Lipsyte seems to be making his move, backing up his smart and very funny 2010 novel...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 18, 2013

Vampire Weekend to go 'Modern' at Fuji Rock

Over the course of three albums, Vampire Weekend has cultivated a unique sound from a wide spectrum of influences, including experimental rock musician Keigo Oyamada (aka Cornelius). Vampire Weekend lead singer and songwriter Ezra Koenig has a fond memory of the musician, often described as Japan's counterpart...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 17, 2013

The different brush strokes of Tani Buncho

The latest exhibition at the Suntory Museum of Art commemorates the 250th anniversary of the birth of Tani Buncho — a painter, connoisseur and art historian of formidable energy and with an insatiable drive for knowledge. Of samurai lineage, Buncho underwent foundational art training in Kano School...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2013

Pluralism Japan's answer: immigration expert

Japan's leaders need to confront the reality of the rapidly thinning labor force and acknowledge that a more ethnically pluralistic society can help ward off the looming demographic crisis, a British expert on immigration policy says.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Jul 16, 2013

Aquariums offer summer escape

This past Monday was Marine Day in Japan. Aside from creating a much-appreciated three-day weekend, the role of the holiday is to encourage people to reflect on the integral role the ocean plays in Japan's history. So, what better time to visit an aquarium? Japan has plenty of places to ogle fish, and...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2013

Do unto Exxon as you would do unto yourself

Last week's resolution on climate change by the General Synod of the United Church of Christ has garnered mostly admiring attention from the news media. But I must admit to a degree of perplexity and sorrow over the document, which seems to place the blame for our heavy use of fossil fuels on the companies...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 14, 2013

Major parties both fall short

It should be of concern to Japan's voters that the LDP's proposed constitutional revisions run counter to the principles of freedom and democracy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 14, 2013

Furigana: read the fine print, decode the hidden meanings

Years ago, a colleague at a company where I worked had a surname written using a character so obscure, that when handing out his business card he used to joke apologetically, 名前の漢字、ほとんど誰も読めない (namae no kanji, hotondo dare mo yomenai, hardly anybody can read the kanji in...

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