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CULTURE / Music
Jan 24, 2016

Cairo breaks with its past for dreamy debut, 'Same as Before'

While talking to the members of indie rock band Cairo, I can't help but feel their sense of excitement. After all, this is their first interview ever.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 24, 2016

Base rivals face off in pivotal Ginowan mayoral election

Voters in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, cast their ballots for a new mayor in a key local election with implications for the relocation of a contentious U.S. military base.
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Jan 24, 2016

Politics heating up over Hokuriku Shinkansen Line's undecided last leg

The opening last March of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line extension to Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, brought the Hokuriku region closer to Nagano and Tokyo than ever before, and similar efforts are underway to connect the region with Kansai.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2016

Kuroda sees limited impact of market turmoil on Japan's outlook

Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda plays down the prospect of market turmoil causing Japanese companies to pare back capital spending and wage increases, and expressed confidence in the underlying pace of inflation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2016

California gas leak spotlights shoddy regulation of nation's aging underground infrastructure

Long before a natural gas storage well sprung a disastrous leak near Los Angeles, utilities and national industry groups were raising alarms about the danger of aging underground storage infrastructure.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 24, 2016

U.S. says deal with China on North Korea at U.N. still far off

The United States is not close to an agreement with China on new United Nations Security Council measures to impose on North Korea over its fourth nuclear test earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 23, 2016

'Crazy Camel' helps butoh over the hump

'Many people have a preconception about butoh — that it is performed by dancers whose bodies are painted white. So when we debuted our current program, 'Crazy Camel,' in France, and we came on stage covered in gold-colored powder, the fans and experts there thought we were pioneering a new style,"...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 23, 2016

Interpreters continue to play important role in NPB

If I had known then what I know now, I would have taken Spanish in high school instead of French. It is not that I remember any of the French (I failed the course), but there are very few — if any — professional ballplayers whose native language is Francais. Even a little Español would come in handy...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 23, 2016

League blows chance to honor Aoki

It's absolutely ridiculous that the most popular player in bj-league history is not going to play in the circuit's 10th and final All-Star Game.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 23, 2016

Amid Oscars outcry, film academy pledges to double diversity by 2020

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, organizer of the Oscar awards, pledged on Friday to double its membership of women and minorities by 2020 through an ambitious affirmative action plan that includes stripping some older members of voting privileges.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 22, 2016

BOJ on verge of fresh inflation target delay, putting monetary policy under scrutiny

The Bank of Japan is poised, for the third time in less than a year, to push back the time frame for reaching its inflation target, making it harder for policymakers to hold off from enlarging monetary stimulus.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2016

Where to find China's latest crop of shoppers

China's vast number of rural consumers are starting to make themselves felt in the realm of e-commerce.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2016

Mizuho to sideline old boys' network in next CEO selection vote

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. is doing away with the kind of opaque leadership selection process that's common in the nation, vowing to ensure its next chief executive is chosen openly and fairly.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 20, 2016

Japan's economic minister hit with bribery allegations, vows response

Akira Amari swears to answer accusations of a money scandal leveled against him by a weekly tabloid after conducting an investigation.
EDITORIALS
Jan 20, 2016

Fatal bus crash raises alarm bells

The Karuizawa bus crash should prompt the industry and authorities to reconsider whether current safety regulations are adequate and being properly followed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2016

Minato Ward to protect few remaining views of Tokyo Tower

The area that houses the Tokyo Tower takes steps to ensure that high-rises do not obliterate the few remaining views of it.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 20, 2016

North Korea nuclear test did not increase its technical capability, U.S. military says

North Korea's Jan. 6 nuclear test did not expand its technical capability, but the U.S. government is keeping a close eye on Pyongyang's efforts to develop a thermonuclear warhead capable of reaching the United States, the head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / DAVOS SPECIAL 2016
Jan 20, 2016

Showcasing the best of Japanese cuisine, culture

Japan Night, one of the most popular events during the World Economic Forum meeting, will return to Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 21.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2016

Five years after the Arab Spring

democracy is still just as suitable for Arabs as it is for any other people. It's just going to take a little longer than we thought in 2011.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 19, 2016

North Korean propaganda drops into defector's yard in South

The irony wasn't lost on Lee Min Bok when he spotted propaganda leaflets fluttering down in front of his home just south of the border dividing the Korean peninsula: it was airborne pamphlets flown the other way that convinced him to defect from the north more than two decades ago.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 19, 2016

Nuclear test seen as move to boost Kim's legitimacy as Pyongyang readies for rare party congress

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's recent nuclear weapon test was designed to boost his domestic legitimacy ahead of a rare ruling party conference in May that could formalize market-based economic experiments in the isolated country, analysts say.

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