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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 26, 2018

North Korea blasts U.S. for 'double-dealing' by conducting 'man-killing' secret military drills

North Korean state-run media on Sunday slammed the U.S. for "double-dealing" by allegedly conducting what it said were "secret drills involving man-killing special units," a charge that came just a day after a trip to Pyongyang by the top U.S. diplomat was canceled.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 22, 2018

English sumo broadcasts bring together diverse cast

In last week's column, I talked about overseas tours by the Japan Sumo Association and also mentioned the live sumo broadcasts with English commentary on NHK.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2016

China state media warns Trump against isolationism, calls for status quo

Chinese state media have warned the U.S. president-elect against isolationism and interventionism, calling instead for the United States to actively work with China to maintain the international status quo.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2016

China's carrot-and-stick strategy reaping results

As it strives to control virtually the entire South China Sea, China is using its economic and military might to ensure its Southeast Asian neighbors fall into line.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 2, 2022

COVID, Russia and economy put the ‘China model’ to the test

On social media, a growing number of citizens are accusing the Communist Party of breaching its social contract with the people as China faces down numerous challenges.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 30, 2021

China calls Xi’s regulatory crackdown a ‘profound revolution’

Xi's campaign calling for 'common prosperity” has intensified in recent weeks.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2020

Japan broadcaster NHK under fire over flawed video on anti-racism movement

Public broadcaster NHK has apologized for its attempt to educate viewers on the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, after its video on anti-racism demonstrations came under fire for lacking context on racial injustice and the police brutality that had spurred such protests worldwide.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 25, 2019

North Korea alleges 'nuclear weaponization' by Japan as Trump-Kim summit draws near

In the latest jab at perennial foe Japan, Pyongyang has blasted Tokyo over its alleged "nuclear weaponization" just days ahead of a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2018

China Party journal warns of trade war's impact on financial stability

A Chinese Communist Party journal has said that the country may experience near-term pain from trade friction with the United States, including a negative impact on financial stability, but China's stable growth trend would not change.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 12, 2018

Trump-Kim meeting: What role should China play?

The fear of marginalization in Beijing is palpable.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 20, 2018

South Korea to announce plan for joint military exercises before April

In a move that is likely to enrage nuclear-armed North Korea, the South Korean Defense Ministry said Tuesday that by the end of next month it will announce plans for postponed joint military exercises with the United States.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 19, 2018

North Korea 'fully ready for both dialogue and war,' state media says

North Korea is "fully ready for both dialogue and war" and prepared to respond to any U.S. "provocation by prompt counterstrike," state-run media said Monday as the Winter Olympics continued in South Korea.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 6, 2018

North Korea calls Trump 'dolt-like' and compares 'bloody nose' strike to Iraq War run-up

Nuclear-armed North Korea unleashed a raft of insults and threats against the U.S. and its leader on Tuesday, calling Donald Trump "dolt-like" and comparing recent reports of a possible "bloody nose" limited strike against Pyongyang to the run-up to the Iraq War.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 21, 2018

Chinese state-run media takes dig at U.S. government over shutdown, says it exposes 'chronic flaws' in political system

China's official news agency said in a commentary Sunday that the shutdown of the U.S. government exposed "chronic flaws" in the American political system.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 28, 2017

Top Chinese military official hangs himself amid corruption probe

A top Chinese general hanged himself at his home last week after becoming the latest prominent official to be swept up in President Xi Jinping's wide-ranging corruption campaign, state-run media reported Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2017

North Korea says 'crafty' Japan views tension as 'good opportunity'

North Korea has lambasted the Japan-U.S. security alliance, labeling Tokyo "crafty" and claiming that Japan views tension on the Korean Peninsula as a "good opportunity" to loosen constitutional restraints on its military.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
May 9, 2017

China cries 'fake news' in reaction to report about U.S. Navy chief Harris

China's Foreign Ministry has labeled as "fake news and not worth refuting" a report that Beijing urged Washington to fire the top U.S. naval commander in the Pacific in return for boosted pressure on North Korea.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2014

Scholar quits NHK over nuclear power hush-up

A noted professor who regularly provides commentary on an NHK AM radio show resigns from the program to protest the broadcaster's demand that nuclear power not be discussed until after the Feb. 9 Tokyo gubernatorial poll.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2013

New censors of Web media

The Internet has proved to be a powerful tool for overcoming media restrictions and censorship worldwide. But new restrictions on Web-based news media, such as those in Jordan, threaten to reverse the progress that the Internet has enabled.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 6, 2012

Caveat emptor: Not all 'word of mouth' blogs unpaid

Is word-of-mouth information on the Internet trustworthy — or to be taken with a grain of salt?
CULTURE / Books
Nov 28, 2010

Tales of a Heian Casanova

Ariwara no Narihira (825-880), a Japanese Don Juan, a Casanova of the Heian Period (794-1185), a poet, one of the prime authors of "Ise Monogatari," is the hero of these 125 interconnected tales written in verse with prose links.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 15, 2009

Opening your mind to open your heart

21-SEIKI HAIKU NO JIKUU / THE HAIKU UNIVERSE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: Japanese Haiku 2008, edited by Modern Haiku Association. Nagata-shobo, 2008, 216 pp., ¥2,500 (paper)
CULTURE / Books
Feb 15, 2009

Opening your mind to open your heart

HAIKU MIND: 108 Poems to Cultivate Awareness & Open Your Heart, by Patricia Donegan. Boston & London: Shambhala, 2008, 231 pp., $18 (cloth) 21-SEIKI HAIKU NO JIKUU / THE HAIKU UNIVERSE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: Japanese Haiku 2008, edited by Modern Haiku Association. Nagata-shobo, 2008, 216 pp., ¥2,500...
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Apr 17, 2001

Small minds behind the small screen

Have you been lucky enough to follow England's World Cup qualifiers or Liverpool's progress in the UEFA Cup on SKY PerfecTV recently? Let me rephrase that: Have you been clever enough?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 8, 2021

Xi’s ‘common prosperity’ drive triggers a rare debate in China

Competing viewpoints in China's tightly controlled media space point to internal confusion over just how far Xi plans to go in reining in 'disorderly capital expansion.”
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 1, 2021

More than a third of heat deaths are tied to climate change, study says

The sweeping new research was conducted by 70 researchers using data from major projects in the fields of epidemiology and climate modeling in 43 countries.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 13, 2021

China signals action to block critics from Hong Kong elections

The People's Daily newspaper said in a commentary Tuesday that those found to be disloyal must not be allowed to seek office.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 22, 2019

North Korea labels Joe Biden an 'imbecile,' in contrast to effusive praise for Trump

North Korea, which has offered effusive praise for U.S. President Donald Trump, delivered a scathing rebuke of one of his top Democratic foes, Joe Biden, for insulting leader Kim Jong Un, calling the former vice president "an imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being, let alone a politician."...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past