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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 16, 2013

The comedy and drama of Takashi Fujii

At age 41, Takashi Fujii has quite the resume. In 2000 and 2001, he appeared on national broadcaster NHK's annual top-rated New Year's variety show, "Kohaku Utagassen" ("Red and White Song Battle"); he toured abroad as a pop singer in 2004, including shows in Los Angeles and Shanghai; and in 2009 he...
JAPAN
May 16, 2013

TPP-fearing farmers get lip service?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sees participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a way to bolster Japan-U.S. relations but the requirement to scrap tariffs across the board alarms farmers, who want assurances of a safety net to make up for, according to the latest government estimates, a loss in production...
JAPAN
May 16, 2013

Okinawa women's groups condemn Hashimoto justification of sex slaves

Women's groups and other parties in Okinawa Prefecture on Wednesday protested Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's contentious remarks about the wartime sex slaves, with some calling for his immediate resignation.
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2013

Mr. Hashimoto's unacceptable words

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's call for greater use of sex shops by U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa increase suspicions about his common sense and sense of dignity.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2013

UKIP rides wave of discontent

Britain as well as Japan must contend with xenophobic anti-establishment parties and politicians who want to take their nations back to imaginary periods of isolation.
Reader Mail
May 16, 2013

Autocratic anti-church struggle

Unable to refute the key role of Christian principles in progressive advances, from abolition of slavery to workers' rights, or the geographical congruence of human rights with the historic arc of Judeo-Christianity, Barry Ward (May 9 letter, "Worthy fight to right the church") resorts to historically...
EDITORIALS
May 15, 2013

Nationalism will undermine Japan

The prime minister's remarks about Yasukuni Shrine as well as his attitude toward the nation's past 'aggression' threaten to undermine international trust in Japan.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 15, 2013

IRS conservative scandal snowballs

Internal Revenue Service officials in Washington and at least two other offices were involved in the targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, making clear that the effort reached well beyond the branch in Cincinnati that was initially blamed, according to documents obtained by The...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
May 15, 2013

Nash reflects on Toyama's success this season

Toyama Grouses coach Bob Nash guided his team to its first winning season, and that's something the franchise, which began play in the fall of 2006, can consider a major accomplishment.
LIFE / Digital
May 15, 2013

Crude 3-D print tech will make a big bang

The news that a few jokers in Texas calling themselves Defense Distributed have succeeded in creating a working handgun using 3-D printing technology has thrown the cat into the pigeon coop. The reaction from legislators in the United States has been hyperactive. Democratic Congressman Steve Israel from...
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2013

Misplaced pride in conspicuous consumption

Wouldn't you laugh at someone who paid more than 200 times as much as you did for a watch, and ended up with an inferior product? Some lawmakers don't get it.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2013

Disarm Syria to stabilize it

At this stage, arming the opposition in Syria would not serve American interests. Instead, the U.S. should focus on working with Russia and others to disarm Syria.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2013

U.S. defense cuts: An ax is needed, not a scalpel

The fact the U.S. government devotes too much to Social Security is no argument for spending too much on the military. The defense budget could use a meat-ax.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2013

'The right path' for North Korea

In an interview, President Park Geun Hye says South Korea won't tolerate the North's nuclear weapons and provocations, but will keep the window open for dialogue.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2013

Son talks up Silicon Valley hub plans in Sprint bid

Softbank Corp., bidding to take over Sprint Nextel Corp. in a $20.1 billion deal, is planning a new Silicon Valley office for the U.S. carrier that would employ as many as 1,000 people.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 14, 2013

New thugs on block sidestep the usual suspects

Japan's underworld, namely the "boryokudan" (gangster organizations) better known as yakuza, have been targeted with crackdowns in recent years focused on cutting their funding and expanding their criminal liability. But a new type of thug appears to be acting with impunity by operating in a legal void....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
May 14, 2013

Tokyo: What do you make of Gov. Naoki Inose's comments about Muslims and Istanbul's Olympic bid?

I think many people in Japan see all foreigners as fighting with each other, not just Muslims. But, focusing on the positives [and ignoring Inose's negative comments], I see Istanbul as the better option [to be 2020 host].
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
May 14, 2013

Inose's slurs anger, bemuse Turks in Tokyo but may boost Istanbul's Olympic bid

It's prayer time at Tokyo's biggest mosque and the congregation is pondering God, community and Naoki Inose, the city's governor, who many here say has revealed himself to be, well, a bit of a bigot.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 13, 2013

China bird flu can still pose threat: expert

The new bird flu outbreak in China hasn't spread to Japan yet, but Tokyo must stay on guard, the head of the influenza countermeasures panel warns.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2013

U.S. officials, firms fear spying by Bloomberg

Officials at the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and some of America's largest financial firms are assessing whether their use of Bloomberg News' ubiquitous financial data terminals has exposed them to a potential privacy breach.
JAPAN / Politics
May 12, 2013

To woo young voters, DPJ tries self-reflection

The opposition Democratic Party of Japan held a self-deprecating convention Saturday, inviting more than 500 people aged under 30 to criticize their three-year rule in an effort to garner more support from young voters ahead of the Upper House election.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji