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WORLD / Science & Health
May 9, 2013

Hardy words that cross cultures traced

You, hear me! Give this fire to that old man. Pull the black worm off the bark and give it to the mother. And no spitting in the ashes!
Reader Mail
May 9, 2013

Limits of planning good health

Chris Flynn (May 2 letter, "Australia's declining smoking rate") seems to believe I'm a shill for the local agricultural interests here in rural Kumamoto based on my opposition to tobacco restrictions.
Reader Mail
May 9, 2013

Myanmar's respect for Japan

The May 3 editorial "Japan's approach to Myanmar" is timely and meaningful. It not only reflects the good will of The Japan Times toward the people of Myanmar but also provides a good grasp of the prevailing situation there. I only hope that the contents are not lost on Myanmar policymakers in the Japanese...
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2013

Globalized sacrificial altars

The Bangladeshi garment factory collapse poses moral questions for politicians and business executives worldwide, including: What is the value of a human life?
Japan Times
WORLD
May 6, 2013

Syrian conflict risks ancient heritage

A Shiite king ruled northern Syria more than a millennium ago from behind the towering walls of the citadel in Aleppo. In later centuries, Arab armies repelled medieval crusaders from the hilltop fortress, Mongol invaders damaged it and Ottomans used it as military barracks.
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2013

Mr. Inose does not understand

The Tokyo governor's remarks about Olympic Games rival Istanbul shows that he is not yet quite ready to participate in international society, let alone host the games.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 4, 2013

Manned Mars trip no longer a dream

The notion of landing astronauts on Mars has long been more fantasy than reality. The planet is, on average, 225 million km from Earth, and its atmosphere is not hospitable to human life.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 4, 2013

Master craftsman carries on sashimono tradition

On the floor of an eight-tatami workshop sits master craftsman Yoshio Inoue in a spot he has occupied for decades. His atedai, the long, low slab of wood that serves as a workbench, is in front of him, and within easy reach are scores of tools — chisels, planes, hammers, saws, clamps and other implements...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 3, 2013

'Harry Potter' star to feature in 'Tokyo Vice' yakuza thriller

Producers announce that Daniel Radcliffe will take the lead role in the film adaption of crime reporter Jake Adelstein's memoirs about Japan's underworld.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 3, 2013

'Gangster Squad'

You know the drill," says L.A. gang lord Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) to his henchmen, and they immediately pick up actual drills and get to work on their victims. The screen gets sprayed with enough blood to relieve a drought. So if Mickey Cohen says "Hammer it out," are those henchmen going to get hammers...
CULTURE / Music / MONEY AND MUSIC
May 2, 2013

Universal-EMI is the dinosaur in the room

Last September, the European Commission and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved Universal Music Group's buyout of EMI. Since then, the two record companies have been merging their operations worldwide. In Japan, the combined Universal-EMI entity will have a market share of between 15 percent and...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 30, 2013

People's award: glittering honor or political tool?

The People's Honor Award, bestowed on those who have made tremendous achievements in their careers, has often drawn criticism for its vague nomination criteria and opaque selection process.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 30, 2013

North Korea's weapon of choice: news agency

North Korea has kept the surrounding region on edge in recent weeks primarily by using its weapon of choice in times of warmongering: its state-run news agency.
COMMENTARY / World / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Apr 29, 2013

Photos of carnage would check war sentiment

Would most Americans remain indifferent to the wars their government wages in far-off lands if their media broadcast videos each day of the shattered bodies?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 28, 2013

Re-creating the life of a 17th-century concubine

As G.G. Rowley notes in the preface to her lovingly researched, elegantly written study of Imperial concubine Nakanoin Nakako, the history of her subject's period, the late 16th and early 17th centuries, 'has traditionally been written as the history of men.'
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 28, 2013

African elephants pluck at Japan's heartstrings

Next time you attend a shamisen performance, neither you nor most anyone else there will likely notice the elephant in the room. And those who do probably won't have given it much thought.
Reader Mail
Apr 28, 2013

Challenge of modern retirement

I have the opportunity to hold seminars for those who have worked in traditional Japanese companies, to give them hints on living a happy life after they retire. In former times, seminar participants tended to be eager to know how far their pension benefits would go and how to practice a thrifty lifestyle...
Reader Mail
Apr 28, 2013

Survival as a nation ruled by law

Regarding the April 18 article "Pulvers wins Noma translation prize": I can't thank former Japan Times columnist Roger Pulvers enough for his great contribution of introducing Japan's literary legacy to the world. That said, with all due respect, my thoughts are a little different from his March 31 article,...
Reader Mail
Apr 28, 2013

Ways to check violence in U.S.

Regarding The Washington Post editorial that was printed in The Japan Times on April 20 under the headline "U.S. Senate misfires": In spite of recent mass shootings, a gun background-check proposal failed to win a sufficient majority in the U.S. Senate, apparently because of pressure from the National...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 26, 2013

Murakami's 'Jellyfish Eyes' blends kawaii and creepy into a postquake critique

In the West he's been referred to as 'the other Murakami.' To those in Japan, the difference is so prominent that very few would ever confuse artist-cum-filmmaker Takashi Murakami with novelist Haruki Murakami.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 26, 2013

Cost of the American dream

The U.S. Fed policy of low interest rates and easy money is criticized for creating a 'bubble machine' from which asset prices could rise without growing jobs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 25, 2013

As U.S. economy picks up, richest get richer

Wealth inequality widened dramatically during the first two years of the economic recovery, as the upper 7 percent of American households saw their average net worth increase 28 percent while the wealth of the other 93 percent declined, according to a report released Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 25, 2013

The first lady of Japanese jazz comes home

For Japanese jazz musicians these days, going to the United States to further mastery of the genre is a much-pursued rite of passage. This route has enabled a number of acts to gain international recognition and success.
Reader Mail
Apr 25, 2013

Climate's effect on the web of life

Regarding the April 18 Kyodo article "Chilling: Arctic explorer Yamazaki sees climate change impact up close": While a scientist can observe its impact very clearly in the Arctic, global climate change is no longer something only specialists can detect, but a phenomenon that affects us all, regardless...
Reader Mail
Apr 25, 2013

Yasukuni serves useful purpose

Regarding the April 22 Kyodo article "(State minister Keiji) Furuya shows up at war-linked Yasukuni": I am a U.S. citizen with Japanese heritage on my mother's side. I was born in Japan only 16 years after the end of the great war. Although I do not have any real memories about what life was like at...
BASKETBALL
Apr 24, 2013

Ex-Apache post player Tyler making big strides in D-League playoffs

Jeremy Tyler has played a significant role in helping the Santa Cruz Warriors advance to the NBA Development League Finals, a best-of-three series that begins on Thursday.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 23, 2013

Service contracts and the 'mendokusai' factor

Do mobile service providers purposely make their terms impossible to understand?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 23, 2013

Conservative tasks in Japan

As the first conservative government in Japan for a long time, the Abe Cabinet faces two major tasks, including departing from the postwar regime on security.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan