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COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 10, 2014

The Sewol tragedy: for whom the bell tolls

South Korea is a nation in mourning, sharing the unfathomable grief of parents who lost their teenage children on what should have been a festive school trip. It is a nation experiencing collective depression, where many are tormented by the heartbreaking and endless grim news about the students who...
BUSINESS / Companies
May 2, 2014

Y!mobile to target smartphone users

Yahoo Japan prepares to launch a cellphone carrier in June that could pit it against parent SoftBank in the hunt for smartphone users.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 31, 2014

Call the sitter: Parents resort to online services out of economic necessity

Most Japanese parents who use babysitters do so because of work obligations.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 14, 2014

Culture of safety can make or break nuclear power plants

On the third anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and its devastating impact on Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima nuclear power plants, we need to understand why Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s Onagawa Nuclear Power Station — which was even closer to the quake epicenter — had a drastically different fate.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2014

Tamogami finds right-wing niche

Last Sunday, a week before Tokyo residents go to the polls and choose a new governor, prominent candidates were campaigning hard in Ginza, showcasing their ability to manage a ¥13 trillion annual budget that almost equals Indonesia's national budget.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2014

Internet wiz courts offbeat vote

A Tokyo gubernatorial candidate with an offbeat platform surfaced Wednesday, just one day before applications to run in the Feb. 9 election have to be filed.
LIFE / Digital
Dec 24, 2013

Even our Facebook 'grunts' could be monetized

As Mark Twain observed: "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." And that was a long time before the Web. Which brings us to a meme that was propagating last week though social media. Its essence was an assertion that Facebook monitored — and stored — not...
LIFE / Digital
Dec 17, 2013

Why do governments make such a mess of IT?

This is a tale of two cities — Washington and London — and of the governments that rule from them. What links the pair is the puzzling failure of said governments to manage two vital IT projects. In both cases, the projects are critically important for the political credibility of their respective...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 6, 2013

United faces improbable climb to defend title

WARNING: The opening paragraph does not make happy reading for Manchester United fans. The champions have won only two points from their last three games, they are in ninth position, their lowest ever at this stage of a Premier League season. They have scored fewer goals at Old Trafford than basement...
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 27, 2013

Suspicious of NSA spying, Microsoft eyes encryption

Microsoft is moving toward a major new effort to encrypt its Internet traffic amid fears that the National Security Agency may have broken into its global communications links, people familiar with the emerging plans said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Sep 16, 2013

Activist Chinese billionaire detained

Last month, Chinese police invited Wang Gongquan in for a "cup of tea," often a prelude to detention. He had launched a public petition calling for the release of arrested dissident Xu Zhiyong, and the authorities were not amused. But Wang effectively told the police to forget it — he had no time...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 10, 2013

Anatomy app gives users a better understanding of the human body

Back in highschool, I was in the middle of basketball practice, when I suddenly felt an acute pain in my knee. I had no idea what had happened to me. After visits to several different clinics, none of which could identify the problem, I finally found an orthopedist who accurately guessed the cause of...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / 'SUMMER DAVOS' SPECIAL 2013
Sep 10, 2013

Young entrepreneurs go forward in 'New Japan'; deregulation can aid economy

Tokyo is becoming an incubator of venture businesses as many young people — seeing the success of other entrepreneurs, who in turn have created a network of mentors and investors — are taking on the challenge of having their own business, aided by an improving economy buoyed by Prime Minister Shinzo...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 9, 2013

A friend to kanji learners worldwide

Mary Sisk Noguchi helped readers unravel the complexities of Chinese characters, adding an element of fun to a process often fraught with frustration for many learners of Japanese.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 5, 2013

After Snowden revelations, China worries about cyberdefense

China has been seen as the aggressor in cyberattacks, but many worry its own defenses are woeful.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2013

CCP's plan for pro-democracy voices: repression

A semisecret directive from the senior members of the Chinese Communist Party tells us how President Xi Jinping plans to manage pro-democracy voices in China: by shutting them down.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 23, 2013

As promoters follow users, not sites, ads can pop up in distressing ways

Ads for knockoff Louis Vuitton bags pop up on the luxury retailer's official Facebook page. A Toyota advertisement shows up on a news article about a car crash. Or an ad for Dove promoting women's "real beauty" shows up on a Facebook page glorifying domestic violence.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 20, 2013

Hot biz: stocks that climb with the temperature

The heat may be bad for your peace of mind, but it's great for the economy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Japan Pulse
Jul 17, 2013

Resting in peace has never been so easy

The array of after-life choices, especially for families with fewer financial means, is growing.
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Jul 16, 2013

Japanese adults spend crazy money on cellphone games

Over the last decade, people's behavior during their daily train ride has completely changed. In the past, Japanese were known to be avid readers of paperbacks (bunko) and manga magazines, and would do so even on Tokyo's notoriously crowded trains. Now, however, it is rare to spot someone on the train...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jul 12, 2013

Cashing in on Fuji fever

As Fujiyama-mania sweeps the nations, merchants watch their profits climb.
EDITORIALS
Jul 1, 2013

Mr. Snowden's revelations

There is real debate over whether Edward Snowden is a whistleblower for civil rights violations or a traitor who has harmed U.S. national security.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 25, 2013

Unpaid overtime excesses hit young

Some companies are compelling their younger employees to work more than 100 hours of uncompensated overtime a month to maximize their profits.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 23, 2013

Jellyfish carry the sting of human overcrowding

It may not be immediately apparent what jellyfish, human population growth and our protein diet have in common. Take a closer look, though, and all three offer warning signs that dramatic changes are on the horizon for us and our planet.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 8, 2013

U.S. taps servers in vast data-mining program

The National Security Agency and FBI are tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet firms, extracting audio and video chats, photos, emails, documents and connection logs. U.S. taps firms' servers, mines Internet data
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2013

Tumblr's boy wonder won't like grown-up world

A happy ending to the fairy tale of how David Karp, a 26-year-old autodidact who founded Tumblr, stands to make $250 million from Yahoo is in considerable doubt.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
May 26, 2013

A big 'F-ck yeah' from 26-year-old Tumblr CEO on $1.1 billion Yahoo deal

Tumblr Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Karp, a 26-year-old who started the company in 2007, signed a note announcing Yahoo! Inc.'s $1.1 billion acquisition with the closing, "F-ck yeah."
Japan Times
WORLD
May 16, 2013

Houston, we have a superstar: Crooning astronaut Hadfield's enthusiasm goes viral down on Earth

Chris Hadfield, who crawled out of a space capsule on the plains of Kazakhstan early Tuesday, is dealing with gravity for the first time in five months and sudden global celebrity after singing a gone-viral made-in-space music video.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past