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Dec 19, 2016

Olympic silver medal-winning relay team picks up Athlete of the Year award

The team of Aska Cambridge, Yoshihide Kiryu, Ryota Yamagata and Shota Iizuka, which stunned the world by capturing the silver medal in the men's 4x100-meter relay at this summer's Rio de Janeiro Olympics, received the Athlete of the Year award at the annual Athletic Award ceremony hosted by the Japan...
Japan Times
JAPAN / JAPANESE IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Dec 19, 2016

Nation committed to foster more globally minded youth

Over many decades, Japan has contributed greatly in the areas of global cooperation and coordination, through its generous donations of funds to the U.N. Despite such generosity, the number of Japanese working for international institutions remains low and has been increasing only marginally over the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2016

Holiday lights burn bright along Meguro River thanks to biodiesel fuel initiative

Organizers of an elaborate midwinter light display running until January along the Meguro River in downtown Tokyo, a popular cherry blossom viewing spot in spring, are going off the grid as a way to limit harm to the environment.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Dec 18, 2016

South Korea's year of reckoning, from H-bomb test to Park impeachment

It began with a nuclear explosion and ended with a street party where some 800,000 people sang and smiled in the freezing Seoul sunshine to celebrate the impeachment of their president. Even for a country with a modern history as tumultuous as South Korea, 2016 has been an eventful year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 17, 2016

Sonya Park: The styling of Arts & Science

Pajamas may sound like an unlikely creative catalyst for a business. For Sonya Park, however, it made perfect sense: She was determined to create a pair of comfortable, luxurious pajamas that she would want to wear herself.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 17, 2016

Trump builds team of bosses and big egos to shake up Washington

With more than 20 nominees now selected, Donald Trump's Cabinet appears much like the president-elect himself: mostly older, white males, many of them wealthy, who see themselves as risk-takers and deal-makers and prize action over deliberation.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 15, 2016

Japan's Southeast Asia offensive in retrospective

The effects of Japan's seizure of Southeast Asia that began to unfold 75 years ago this week still reverberate today.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 15, 2016

'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' takes some cues from a galaxy not so far away

By the time you read this, the hype will have already begun. Dec. 16 marks the day "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" starts showing in cinemas around the world. Promotional campaigns began in Japan weeks ago.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 15, 2016

Trump's top diplomat would carry Chinese baggage from Exxon days

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for top U.S. diplomat comes with Chinese geopolitical entanglements. In his favor is years of dealing with some of the country's biggest oil companies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 14, 2016

The shape of Japan's foreign policy in the Trump era

It might seem promising that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama this month. But both events actually presage a potentially destabilizing time for Japan — and all of East Asia.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 14, 2016

'Knight of Cups': Is Malick's cup half-full or half-empty?

Halfway through "Knight of Cups," the latest treatise from philosopher-filmmaker Terrence Malick, the movie's chorus of internal monologues yields a line that could be read as a memo to the director himself: "Don't get your head too far up your own ass."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 13, 2016

At conference on empowering women, Abe pledges action amid Japan's poor global rankings

At an annual international conference on women empowerment in Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Tuesday to create women-friendly working environments as part of his drive to promote their participation in the workforce to offset Japan's shrinking population.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 13, 2016

When Rene Redzepi brought Noma to Japan

In April 2014, chef Rene Redzepi was riding the crest of a wave. Noma, his iconic Copenhagen restaurant, had just been voted back to No. 1 on the World 50 Best list, cementing its place as one of the top global dining destinations. And then, at the awards ceremony, he dropped a bombshell announcement....
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 13, 2016

Why Japan should reconsider joining the AIIB

Now that the Chinese-led bank has begun operations, Japan's concerns have largely been addressed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 10, 2016

Defining J-horror: The terror of deep time

The horror genre is not typically thought of as a "slow" genre. In fact, horror films today often feel like stimulus-response tests where shocking events happen suddenly and without warning. However, Japanese horror directors take up another tradition, one where events unfold gradually. A case point...
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 8, 2016

With regulations out of its control, Nissan focuses on costs and technology

Nissan Motor Co., an automaker emblematic of what it means to be a global company, has a simple plan for navigating an unprecedented political and regulatory environment: Focus on what it can command.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2016

Japan's 15-year-olds perform well in PISA global academic survey

Japanese 15-year-olds continued to rank high among their international peers in science and mathematics, according to a global academic assessment released Tuesday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 6, 2016

Under Lucas Cranach's spell

Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) is acknowledged as one of the greats of the German Renaissance. His combination of religious piety and fleshly eroticism went on to inspire artists across the globe, including many in Japan. Despite his standing worldwide, however, Cranach's career and legacy have...
EDITORIALS
Dec 6, 2016

Europe shaken by Italian vote

Matteo Renzi's decision to resign ushers in a political and economic crisis for Italy — and for Europe.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 6, 2016

Empathy key to human rights

'The heart of all discussions of human rights is the battle against discrimination. All human beings are equal. No discrimination is permissible. Absolutely none.'
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2016

Trump's war on the press

One of the biggest conflicts in Washington next year will be the one between the mainstream media and the most anti-press president since at least Richard Nixon.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 6, 2016

Trump's stimulus plan may give Japan a welcome tailwind in 2017

For now, the global winds are at Japan's back.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2016

EU can lead on clean energy

Despite the European Union's caution on promoting renewables, Donald Trump's lack of interest is leaving the door wide open to global leadership.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2016

China's emerging schools of thought on handling Trump

In China's scholarly and policy world, three distinct schools have emerged on how to deal with the United States under Donald Trump.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Dec 4, 2016

Riken mind bender stays one step ahead of virtual reality

Imagine you are standing on the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped bridge suspended 1,200 meters above the Colorado River. You are likely to get dizzy and freeze up at the thought of venturing out onto the 10-cm thick glass.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Dec 2, 2016

Childress trying to get up to speed with NeoPhoenix

The San-en NeoPhoenix's recent acquisition of former NBA player Josh Childress came as a surprise near the middle of the inaugural B. League season.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 2, 2016

Tokyo cafes turn to 'friendly, relaxed' Australia for ideas

What is it about Australian cafes that has Tokyo so excited? Is it the relaxed atmosphere, the service or the fresh flavors? Perhaps it's the high-quality produce and the commitment to crafting exceptional cups of coffee? Or maybe it's the attraction of Australia's laidback lifestyle? Whatever it is,...
Reader Mail
Dec 2, 2016

Immigrants should be treated better

Regarding "Japan enacts law to prevent abuse of foreign trainees" in the No. 18 edition, having watched Donald Trump's offenses against Mexican and Muslim immigrants in the U.S. during the presidential campaign, I started thinking about how Japanese society will be in the next couple of decades from...

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb