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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 26, 2016

Pundit didn't need an actual Harvard degree to get top marks in gaming the system

On Feb. 29 a group of veteran journalists held a press conference to protest communications minister Sanae Takaichi's comment that the government could shut down broadcasters if their news programming was deemed to be politically biased. Former Mainichi Shimbun reporter Shuntaro Torigoe said that Takaichi's...
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 24, 2016

Flaws found in scientific case for moderate drinking

It is an irresistible headline: People who drink alcohol in moderation actually live longer than those who abstain entirely. Counterintuitive studies that show the purported benefits of a drink or two a day prompt flurries of bright news reports. You can hear the glasses clinking.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2016

'Banksy Does New York' and throws shade on the art world in the process

Who is Banksy? The U.K.'s best-known-yet-unknown street artist/conceptual prankster was in the news again this month after researchers at Queen Mary University of London analyzed maps of Banksy's wall works in London and Bristol to pinpoint a possible suspect. Excited headlines shouted as though Batman's...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 15, 2016

Trump's Japan-bashing shows why he's unfit to lead America

The presidential candidate's fiery rhetoric risks relations with allies and Washington's two biggest bankers.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2016

A future of happiness, tolerance and youth

The UAE has learned that failure to respond effectively to the aspirations of young people, who represent more than half of the population in Arab countries, is like swimming against the tide.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Feb 29, 2016

Chris Rock pulls no punches as host of one of the most socially conscious Academy Awards shows

Comedian Chris Rock launched his return stint as Oscar host on Sunday by immediately and unabashedly confronting the racially charged elephant in the room — the furor over the all-white field of performers nominated for Hollywood's highest honors.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2016

Donald Trump relishes wrecking Republicans

It's time to change the topic to Donald Trump's tax records.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2016

Tokyo sightseeing boats offer unique views, but missing foreign tourist tide

A trip to Tokyo does not necessarily mean elbowing your way through crowds. You can get fine views of the capital from a boat on the bay.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 12, 2016

China pushes back on THAAD

China is critical of moves to deploy a missile defense system in South Korea in the wake of North Korea's rocket launch, but fails to offer much in the way of constructive suggestions on how the South can ensure its own security otherwise.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 6, 2016

Does sumo commentary need to stress the foreignness of the wrestlers?

Let's scroll 10 years back to 2006, when a wrestler named Tochiazuma emerged victorious in the January Grand Sumo tournament. That win, by a native Japanese grappler, was already a rare occasion, as Mongolian yokozuna (grand champion) Asashoryu almost completely dominated the sport and another Mongolian,...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2016

IOC praises Tokyo as 'most prepared city' during latest visit

International Olympic Committee Vice President John Coates on Friday praised Tokyo as "the most prepared city we've ever seen," more than four years ahead of the 2020 Games. But Coates also scotched suggestions that the new National Stadium could be completed in time to host games at the 2019 Rugby World...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2016

The bill for China's flawed ascent is coming due

The Chinese government's contract with its 1.4 billion subjects is that it will deliver prosperity and they will be obedient. But how much longer can this deal continue?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2016

Israel pays close attention to Putin, with good reason

Israel's interests vis-a-vis Russia run wide and deep, and are impossible for Jerusalem to ignore.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 18, 2016

South China Sea? For Beijing, Taiwan is the No. 1 security issue

For China, whose President Xi Jinping is already taking an increasingly muscular approach to claims in the East and South China seas, the question of Taiwan trumps any other of its territorial assertions in terms of sensitivity and importance.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 16, 2016

The ink-stained road: ‘age of adventure’

If foreign visitors to Japan in the Edo Period (1603-1868) ran certain risks by committing their impressions of the country to paper in a totalitarian state that worked hard to maintain its obscurity, the new Meiji Era (1868-1912) positively encouraged attention.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2016

Don't believe all the myths about North Korea

Before figuring out what can be done about North Korea and its seemingly crazy dictatorship, we mustn't fall prey to four common myths about the hermit kingdom.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 12, 2016

China sets up new military units, including graft-busting team

China's military has set up 15 new units — covering everything from logistics to equipment development, political work and fighting corruption — as part of an ongoing drive to modernize the world's largest armed forces, the Defense Ministry said.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2015

A common thread in 2015's list of ludicrousness

Some of America's most ludicrous events in 2015 were the result of a collapse of judgment in, and the infantilization of society by, government.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 26, 2015

Flipping back through the good reads of 2015

Before we turn the page on the year, here's a selection of our reviewers' favorite books.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 26, 2015

Modi makes sudden stopoff, meets Pakistan leader Sharif

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise stopover in Pakistan on Friday to meet his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, the first time an Indian premier has visited the rival nation in over a decade.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 25, 2015

Indonesia to step up hunt for IS militant Santoso

Indonesian forces are mobilizing for a manhunt in steamy jungles on the far-flung island of Sulawesi to flush the country's most-wanted man from his hideout and deal a pre-emptive blow to the Islamic State group. The real threat could be much closer to home.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 24, 2015

Re-print of Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' unleashes row in Germany

For the first time since Adolf Hitler's death, Germany is publishing the Nazi leader's political treatise "Mein Kampf," unleashing a highly charged row over whether the text is an inflammatory racist diatribe or a useful educational tool.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 15, 2015

'Pre-Raphaelite and Romantic Painting from National Museums Liverpool'

Dec. 22-March 6
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 15, 2015

U.S. Navy commander warns of possible South China Sea arms race

The U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander has warned of a possible arms race in the disputed South China Sea which could engulf the region, as nations become increasingly tempted to use military force to settle territorial spats instead of international law.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 8, 2015

Wanted: cosmopolitan, foreign language-speaking Chinese graft busters to hunt suspects abroad

China's efforts to take its anti-graft campaign global are being crimped by a serious lack of officials familiar with foreign languages and laws, the country's top newspaper said Tuesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 5, 2015

Oku-Nikko: Once home from home for Japan's diplomats

‘One of the principal points to which travelers will direct their steps is the Lake of Chuzenji,” writes Ernest Mason Satow (1843-1929) in “A Guide Book To Nikko,” the first English tourist guide of the area published in 1875. Satow, a British diplomat and Japanologist, arrived in Japan in 1862...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 26, 2015

Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Dormer and Gwendoline Christie laud the heroic women of 'The Hunger Games' saga

At the London premiere of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2," actress Natalie Dormer, who plays Cressida in the film, received quite the surprise when she was accidentally kissed on the mouth by costar Jennifer Lawrence. The Internet went nuts.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 19, 2015

Astronomers see planet still growing in its stellar womb

Astronomers have taken the first images of a planet still in formation, a discovery expected to shed light on how giant planets manage to beef up early in their lives, research published on Wednesday showed.

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