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JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 28, 2013

There's a cloud above our silver generation

Travel back with me, reader, 60 years in time. It's 1953. Two booms are in full swing: one economic, the other reproductive; the first fueled largely by the Korean War, the second, in part, by the first. Among the 2 million babies born in Japan that year — nearly twice as many as were born this year...
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Dec 27, 2013

From charity to chocolate, the best ways to blow ¥500

The Japan Times asked readers to email or tweet their suggestions of the best ways to use a single ¥500 coin, for a chance to win edible prizes. Here are some of the entries.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Dec 25, 2013

Race-based ID checks in front of families send wrong message

I cannot accept the way Japanese police treat foreigners such as myself in public places — especially how they judge people by color and appearance. I have had several unpleasant experiences that suggest this is the case.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2013

Dear Dennis Rodman: consider a few facts of life

An escaped political prisoner from North Korea asks retired American basketball player Dennis Rodman to use his friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to help Kim understand that he has the power to rebuild the country's economy so that everyone can afford to eat.
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...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2013

Politically bankrupt China dare not tolerate a free press

The practice of journalism in China, a country where 30 practitioners are in prison, has never been easy. During 2013, it has become a great deal harder.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2013

Winners of 2013's behavioral economics oscars

The Oscars won't be awarded until March, but those who hand out the annual Behavioral Economics Oscars (Becons) are famously impatient, and it is time to announce this year's winners.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Dec 22, 2013

Don't let the holidays leave you homesick this year

Homesickness is a particular concern for foreign residents in December, when the holiday season starts to conjure up images of family dinners and drinking parties with old friends. For new arrivals, it's further complicated by the simultaneous challenge of adjusting to a different culture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Dec 22, 2013

Osaka joins rush to attract foreign tourists

If you asked many Kansai-area foreigners, and not a few Tokyoites, to come up with a slogan to promote Osaka internationally, you might get a response along the lines of: "Osaka: When You Can't Get a Hotel in Kyoto."
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Dec 22, 2013

Kyoto aims to be Muslim-friendly city

Kyoto, a city known worldwide as a major center for Buddhism and as the home of some of the country's most famous Shinto shrines, is stepping up efforts to better welcome one particular group of foreign visitors: Muslims.
WORLD
Dec 22, 2013

U.S. secretly helps Colombia kill rebel leaders

The 50-year-old Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), once considered the best-funded insurgency in the world, is at its smallest and most vulnerable state in decades, due in part to a CIA covert action program that has helped Colombian forces kill at least two dozen rebel leaders, according...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 21, 2013

Protecting nature to protect ourselves

This month's column takes an intrepid look at efforts to expand protected areas in Japan and worldwide, areas that are essential to conserve biological diversity and mitigate natural disasters.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 20, 2013

To tap tourist yen, think train-packing, plastic grub and sumo

I think it is time for some up-to-date experiences — ones that the waves of tourists due to flood Japan up through the 2020 Olympics might savor more than those that revolve around traditional Japanese culture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Dec 19, 2013

Where would Santa find Finnish flavors in Japan?

Dear readers, I have made a wonderful discovery: Finnish cinnamon rolls, korvapuusti, are not just cinnamon rolls. They are cinnamon and cardamom rolls and they are delicious. Also, korvapuusti translates to "slapped ear" — perhaps because the dough is rolled rather than coiled — which is adorable....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 18, 2013

Miura's sex 'Whirlpool' wows a bashful Paris

Looking around before "Ai no Uzu" began, there was an almost palpable anticipation ahead of our plunge into the realm of young Japanese people's sex lives. What to talk about while waiting for the orgy to begin?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2013

Media get first tour of fish radiation check process

With the continued flow of radioactive water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant, consumers at home and abroad are concerned about the safety of seafood around Japan.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Dec 15, 2013

Ja, haite-mimasu

X (= verb in te-form) + u307fu308b is usually used in various patterns, such as in X (= verb in te-form) + u307fu3066(u304fu3060u3055u3044) (please do X and see how it is); X (= verb in te-form) +u307fu305fu3044uff08I want to do X and see how it is); X (= verb in te-form) + u307fu3066u3082u3044u3044u3067u3059u304b (may I do X and see how it is?); X (= verb in te-form) + u307fu305fu307bu3046u304cu3044u3044 (it will be better for you to do X to see how it is); and X (= verb in te-form) +u307fu3088u3046 (let's do X and see how it is). Example: u958buff08u3042uff09u3044u3066u3044u308bu304bu3069u3046u304bu3001u5e97uff08u307fu305buff09u306bu96fbu8a71uff08u3067u3093u308fuff09u3057u3066u307fu3088u3046 (let's call the restaurant and see if it's open). X (= verb in te-form) +u307fu305fu3044 or X (= verb in te-form) + u307fu3066uff08u304fu3060u3055u3044uff09 shows the speaker's reserved feeling more than X (= verb in pre-masu-form) + u305fu3044 and X (= verb in te-form) + u304fu3060u3055u3044 (please) respectively.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Dec 14, 2013

Tsunami debris scuppers expert ecology opinion

The dock arrived almost like a gift, not quite on the doorstep of Dr. John Chapman, but on a beach 8 km from his office at Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center, on the western coast of the United States.
BASKETBALL
Dec 14, 2013

Ryukyu triumphs over Osaka in overtime

The shots weren't falling and their overall game was not a thing of beauty, not a well-choreographed artistic production.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 14, 2013

NSA can crack cellphone security, decode private conversations

The cellphone encryption technology that is used most widely across the world can be easily defeated by the National Security Agency, an internal document shows, giving the agency the means to decode most of the billions of calls and texts that travel over public airwaves every day.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2013

Cameron eats humble pie in China

British Prime Minister David Cameron was feted by China's leaders during his recent three-day trip to the country, but much of his diet consisted of humble pie.
WORLD
Dec 13, 2013

China pilots to learn smog landings

Chinese aviation authorities will soon require captains of domestic flights into Beijing to master low-visibility landings to combat chronic flight delays that have been worsened by heavy smog.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 13, 2013

Arsenal-Manchester City match should be a belter

Tiredness?
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 13, 2013

Ex-FBI agent who disappeared in Iran was on rogue mission for CIA

An American man who disappeared in Iran more than six years ago had been working for the CIA in what U.S. intelligence officials describe as a rogue operation that led to a major shake-up in the spy agency.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 12, 2013

Higher-education stimulus would be sure bet for Japan

Making Japanese universities global as well as world class requires generous support not only for hiring foreigners but also — and far more importantly — for improving conditions for all faculty.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Dec 9, 2013

Ultracompacts zip into the future

In the near future, the nation's traffic scene may be characterized by the widespread use of ultracompact cars.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Dec 6, 2013

Writer inducted into intricacies of country life shares her story

Home for Rebecca Otowa is a 350-year-old farmhouse nestled on the edge of a tiny village in Shiga Prefecture, where generations of her husband's family have lived. It is a lifestyle she has grown to cherish since arriving in rural Kansai as a bride more than 30 years ago.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji