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JAPAN / Politics
Jul 23, 2014

Ozawa sees risk of militarism with Abe

When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe loosened the limits of the pacifist Constitution to drop a ban on the Self-Defense Forces fighting overseas, many experts said it was a step toward becoming a "normal country" able to do more in its own defense.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS
Jul 22, 2014

O-chūgen: Hand-picked gourmet gifts courtesy of the postman

Even though the Japanese didn't invent the idea of exchanging gifts, they seem to be doing everything they can to convince themselves that they did. This is a culture, after all, that celebrates Christmas without Jesus, piles White Day on top of Valentine's Day, and has developed a whole species of cloth...
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jul 21, 2014

Malnutrition kills 3 million toddlers a year

More than 3 million children under the age of 5 die annually of malnutrition, the U.N. food agency and World Health Organization said on June 12. 'Malnutrition is responsible for about half of all child deaths under 5 years of age, causing over 3 million deaths every year,' the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said. Some 162 million children are left stunted by chronic malnutrition and 99 million children are underweight across the world, it added. The FAO and WHO urged governments to 'make strong commitment to ensure healthier diets for all' at an international conference on nutrition to be held in Rome in November.
ENVIRONMENT / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Jul 20, 2014

New radiation measurement method spreads confusion

Confusion is spreading among towns and cities tasked with radiation cleanup in the face of a new decontamination policy to be released by the Environment Ministry as early as this month.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
Jul 19, 2014

New sports center symbol of Haiti's recovery

Haiti's recovery from the 2010 earthquake that devastated the Caribbean nation is a slow, difficult process.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 19, 2014

Lost Tokyo ... rediscovered

People who have lived in the capital for more than a few years generally claim to know Tokyo pretty well. We discover a forgotten side to the city that suggests they may not know it quite as well as they think.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 19, 2014

The murky call on a hardball interview with Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

The tabloid press plays fast and loose with the truth, so anyone who gobbled up last week's NHK story in the weekly Friday should have added a dash of salt. An unnamed employee told Friday that the prime minister's office demanded the public broadcaster apologize for questions asked in its interview...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 18, 2014

In Japan's defense change, context is everything

Japanese leaders' stance on historical issues will help determine how far its neighbors and partners will go toward supporting or opposing its new military roles.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jul 17, 2014

Larkai helps grow the game at NBA clinic in Ghana

After the season ends, many players like to lounge by the pool or the nearest beach.
EDITORIALS
Jul 17, 2014

Supreme Court's dereliction of duty

By rejecting a citizens' request to have the government disclose secret documents that allegedly show Japan's financial obligations in the 1972 reversion of Okinawa from U.S. control, the Supreme Court has evaded its duty to protect people's right to know.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2014

Liberal values on gender are saving marriage

One view of American society surprisingly has the more educated people — despite being much more socially liberal than their less educated counterparts — espousing more traditional family values today. They get married more, get divorced less and pay more attention to their children.
Reader Mail
Jul 16, 2014

Misguided take on world history

As a schoolboy in England in the late 1940s, I clearly remember seeing much of the world colored in red, the red of the British Empire. We were told that "we controlled one-quarter of the globe." That empire, with all its faults, was primarily founded on trade, and its trading routes were stoutly protected...
Reader Mail
Jul 16, 2014

Pyongyang could feel cornered

Regarding the July 8 AP article "Bellicose North Korea promises cheer": Chinese President Xi Jinping's two-day state visit to South Korea, which political analysts judged successful in deepening mutual trust, has cornered North Korea.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 15, 2014

Abe looking at permanent law allowing dispatch of SDF overseas

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration will consider creating a permanent law allowing dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces overseas, a comment that could lead to a further rift between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, New Komeito.
EDITORIALS
Jul 15, 2014

The blowback from Shiga

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should realize that the defeat of the Liberal Democratic Party-backed candidate in the Shiga gubernatorial election Sunday is part of the price his administration pays for pushing to widen the scope of Japan's military role without seeking a mandate from voters.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Jul 14, 2014

NPB, MLB keeping track as Otani continues to blossom

Shohei Otani struck out 12 batters over seven innings on July 2 and fanned 16 in a complete-game effort in his next start July 9. He was in the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' starting lineup twice in the days between those outings on the mound and hit two home runs during a July 5 contest against the...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2014

A consensus for giving BRICS more leverage

Leaders of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) travel to Brazil this month with the hope of establishing a new development bank and a reserve currency pool arrangement.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices
Jul 14, 2014

Osaka: Do you approve of the recent reinterpretation of constitutional limits on military action?

On July 2, the Cabinet approved a new interpretation of the Constitution that effectively broadens the range of situations in which the Self-Defense Forces are permitted to act militarily. Danny Gong asked interviewees in Osaka what they thought about this change.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jul 14, 2014

LDP lawmaker apologizes for sexist jibe

A Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker apologized on June 23 for shouting a sexist remark at a female colleague from Your Party while she was asking questions about maternity support measures during a plenary session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 14, 2014

Will rice cookers save the Japanese home electronics industry?

The Chinese have discovered Japanese rice, and it could be a big deal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Jul 13, 2014

Cyberdyne's HAL suits give lift to mobility-challenged

Robotics engineer Yoshiyuki Sankai, 56, has been driven by his passion for innovative technology for about half a century.
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 12, 2014

Rising tide: long-term ramifications of global warming on the country's coastline

It's a scenario we're all familiar with: Unequivocal climate change warms our oceans, which in turn causes ice sheets at either pole to melt and sea levels worldwide to increase. Citizens of low-lying nations such as Tuvalu, much of which is less than 1 meter above sea level, are forced to relocate as...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Jul 11, 2014

Polling shows voters unclear about Article 9 reinterpretation: expert

Media polls' perplexing results on the public reaction to Japan's collective defense drive raise questions about media practices and residents' knowledge of the issue.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 11, 2014

Restorer in tsunami-hit Sendai reunites photos with owners

If a stray photo has an owner, Kaori Nose will try to reunite them.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 11, 2014

Myanmar jails reporters, newspaper boss for 10 years over chemical arms report

Four journalists and a newspaper boss were sentenced in Myanmar on Thursday to 10 years in prison with hard labor for reporting about an alleged chemical weapons factory, legal and media sources said.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2014

Composer Sakamoto has cancer, cancels all engagements

Musician Ryuichi Sakamoto announces that he has throat cancer and is canceling all engagements to focus on battling the disease.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 10, 2014

Angelina Jolie takes evil to new places in 'Maleficent'

Websites such as Buzzfeed have made an art of the "listicle," a news article that comprises a top 10 on a designated topic. Thanks to childhood nostalgia, Walt Disney characters often make their way onto such listicles, and a quick look at the Top 10 Disney villains of all time often ends with one woman...
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2014

Suga denies report that Pyongyang provided list of Japanese living in North

The government denies a newspaper report that said it has received a list of about 30 Japanese living in North Korea, including abductees, from Pyongyang.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years