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Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 7, 2014

U.S. to fund anti-militant TV in Nigeria

The United States is financing a new 24-hour satellite TV channel in northern Nigeria meant to counter insurgencies by the militant Islamist Boko Haram and other groups in the region, The New York Times reported on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2014

Calculating the ethical cost of high-priced art

If artists, art critics and art buyers really had any interest in reducing the widening gap between the rich and the poor, they would spend time in developing countries, where spending a few thousand dollars on the works of indigenous artists can make a real difference to the wellbeing of whole villages.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jun 6, 2014

Hodgson facing tough decisions due to injuries, form

Roy Hodgson will have learned nothing new from England's 2-2 draw with Ecuador in Miami on Wednesday, but quite a lot of his opinions will have been underlined as he prepares for Saturday's final World Cup warmup against Honduras in Florida.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 5, 2014

'Godfather of ecstasy' dies at 88

Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin, a biochemist and former Dow Chemical Co. researcher who introduced psychologists to the drug MDMA and became known as "the godfather of ecstasy," has died. He was 88.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2014

Russian, U.S. jets in row near Japan

A Russian SU-27 Flanker fighter jet intercepted a U.S. surveillance plane off Russia's east coast near Japan in April, flying unusually close, as tensions rose over the Ukraine crisis.
Reader Mail
Jun 4, 2014

A coup from a different view

Regarding the May 29 AP article "Thai troops detain Cabinet minister who blasted coup": Over the past week I found myself in the midst of the second coup since I came to Thailand, and the news, as reported by the Western media, has appeared fundamentally flawed. I am hoping that the lack of understanding...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 3, 2014

Especia takes a road less traveled by idol acts

The eldest member of six-member idol unit Especia was born in 1989, so when I ask them about life during Japan's early '90s bubble era they can only imagine what it was like.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Jun 2, 2014

Bowker relishing second chance

John Bowker’s second chance presented itself one morning in late April. Bowker was just sitting down for breakfast at his apartment in Campeche, a port city on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, when his telephone rang.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jun 2, 2014

Letters: What did ASIJ know of Moyer sex abuse and why was nothing done?

Readers want to know why children's accounts of abuse by American School in Japan teacher Jack Moyer were not acted upon much earlier.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Jun 1, 2014

NPO Fathering Japan shows men how to be better dads

Tetsuya Ando, founder of the nonprofit organization Fathering Japan, wants to do everything he can for dads in Japan to encourage present and future fathers to play a more active role in child-rearing.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
May 31, 2014

Anti-stalking laws 'are a dead end'

On May 8, the National Police Agency gathered police officers from all over the country to declare a war on stalking. This gathering was even held before members of the all-girl pop group AKB48 were attacked by a man with a saw at a handshaking event. (It's still unclear whether the assailant was stalking...
Reader Mail
May 31, 2014

An urban gem that deserves reassessment

I don't know if any other Japan Times readers have recently been to the sides of the Kanda and Zenpukuji rivers below Omiya Hachiman Shrine, but it is quite shocking what civil engineers are doing to the environment in the middle of Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2014

Russia's hand in east Ukraine violence is exposed

After the fighting in Donetsk this week, there's no doubt Russia is working to destabilize Ukraine. Countries participating in Russia's South Stream natural gas pipeline project should pull out.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
May 29, 2014

Teamwork, defense keyed Ryukyu title

What made the Ryukyu Golden Kings' remarkable championship season even more startling was the team's cohesiveness and singular focus. It started in training camp and lasted until the final second ticked off the clock at Ariake Colosseum on Sunday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 28, 2014

Japan: a haven for the psychologically troubled

For the troubled Western expat in Japan, the reality of being on another continent can collide with normalized Japanese antisocialism to form a cocktail effective in tuning out a lot of the 'just be a normal adult' voices.
Reader Mail
May 28, 2014

Helping hand from the military

As a Thai citizen who has been observing the political situation in Thailand closely, I understand that most Japan Times readers might not accept the military coup in Thailand, but this is the best decision Thailand can come to at the moment.
SPORTS / NOTES ON A SCORECARD
May 27, 2014

Mao makes right choice in deciding to take year off

"The feeling here is that she would be better served by taking a year off — like Vancouver Olympic champion Kim Yu Na did — to recharge her batteries before making such a huge choice. Perhaps some time away will let her gain some perspective."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
May 26, 2014

Letters: Kikokushijo encounter trouble upon re-entry

Japanese returnees and others discuss the trials and tribulations facing those educated abroad if and when they attempt to settle back in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2014

New digital technology wave replacing labor

People scrambling to keep up with digital technologies need to know that the world we are entering is one in which the most powerful global flows will be ideas and digital capital — not goods, services and traditional capital.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 25, 2014

Decisive battle looms for Syrian rebels in Aleppo

High spring in Syria's largest city and the final battle has arrived. From his vantage point on a front line in Aleppo's northeast, Abu Bilal, a rebel commander, had spent the past month staring at a ridge line about a kilometer away that marked the closest Syrian military position.
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2014

China and Russia strike a deal

The $400 billion deal that China signed with Russia for natural gas has caused Western handwringing as expected, but a broader view suggests that Beijing has other interests that may outweigh this partnership.
JAPAN
May 23, 2014

School axes policy of barring foreigners

The chairman of three private cooking schools in Saitama scraps his discriminatory policy of barring foreign students and apologizes for being 'immature and stubborn.'
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
May 23, 2014

More and more smartphone users in Japan look to news curation

Curation isn't just for museums anymore. There has been a recent uptick in the popularity of smartphone apps that customize news for users in Japan, and this customization is called kyurēshon.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
May 21, 2014

Nash's strong leadership molds Toyama into title contender

Bob Nash's tenure with the University of Hawaii men's basketball team came to an end in March 2010 after a three-year run as head coach and a 34-56 overall record in that span. For Nash, that opportunity came after a 23-year stint as an assistant coach at the school.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 21, 2014

Yang Liping speaks out

"My dance is not something I learned from someone; my mentor is nature and I learn from watching nature," is how the Chinese star Yang Liping explained the roots of her art in a recent interview for The Japan Times.
Reader Mail
May 21, 2014

Abe makes old-timers bristle

At his recent press conference on the need for Japan to legalize its use of collective self-defense, how many times did Prime Minister Shinzo Abe say "... protecting the property and lives of the people and ensuring the security of the country as prime minister"? He occasionally mentioned the lives of...
JAPAN
May 20, 2014

Government silent on report Fukushima No. 1 workers fled during crisis

The government is refusing to comment on a media report that Masao Yoshida, the now-deceased chief of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant at the time of the meltdowns, was quoted as saying most of the plant's workers evacuated the site despite of his order to remain.
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2014

Why censoring search engines is a good idea

The European Court of Justice deserves praise for ruling recently that a Spanish national should not suffer shame or embarrassment for his former financial difficulties every time an acquaintance or potential employer types his name into a brower.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 20, 2014

Washington mixes signals about aims toward China

Even while reconfirming its 'pivot to Asia,' Washington tries to construct multifaceted bilateral ties with Beijing, raising questions about the ultimate fate of longtime alliances between the U.S. and a number of Asia-Pacific countries.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
May 18, 2014

Hiroshima's Maru has learned a walk is as good as a hit

Yoshihiro Maru is getting on base more by swinging his bat less.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’