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EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2013

Ms. Suu Kyi visits Japan

As a result of Aung San Suu Kyi's first visit to Japan in nearly 27 years, the government should work out a basic principle for providing assistance to Myanmar.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Apr 17, 2013

Uncomfortable truth laid bare in Boston: not every plot will be spotted

After nearly a dozen years of foiled plots, the United States on Monday suffered the first large-scale bombing since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, opened an era of heightened security affecting nearly every aspect of American life.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2013

Anonymous murder from a safe distance

War is war and murder is murder. The law draws the distinction. The American armed drone is a weapons system of war, not of policemen. And even if it were a police weapon (as it may, one fears, become in the future), the United States Department of Defense and the CIA are not police forces, nor has the...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2013

Obama's timid budget evades basic choices

There is something profoundly timid about U.S. President Barack Obama's proposed budget for 2014. He's evading basic choices while claiming he's bold and brave.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 17, 2013

The 'Iron Lady' and Japan

Margaret Thatcher was a role model for Japanese women and her combination of talents as a politician and scientist has had an important impact on Japanese attitudes.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 14, 2013

Late Chavez haunts Venezuela's election

In Venezuela's brief but raucous presidential campaign, the ruling party has let Hugo Chavez do the talking. On state television, he provides words of wisdom in frequent ads, and loudspeakers at campaign rallies belt out recordings of him singing the national anthem.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 14, 2013

Myanmar's unrest: Colonial legacy undermines nascent democracy

Alarming outbreaks of sectarian violence pitting Buddhists against Muslims in Myanmar cast an ominous cloud over that nation's democratic transition from military rule.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 13, 2013

How keeping it real took Matt Damon to the top

In 1987, when Bruce Springsteen wrote the song "Ain't Got You," he was the biggest rock star in the world. He had vast estates in New Jersey and Beverly Hills, and he had not long returned from a honeymoon at Gianni Versace's villa in Lake Como. "Ain't Got You" was Springsteen's attempt to make a self-aware...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2013

Here's what should be done when North Korea goes south

Predictions of North Korean famine come every year, but indeed the last five to 10 years have seen modest, but undeniable, economic improvement.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 12, 2013

'Nutty' U.S. researcher champions oddball science

Patricia Brennan received $384,949 from the U.S. government to study duck genitalia. Last month, that made her a national joke. Now, it's made her a little bit of a folk hero.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 12, 2013

Hollande seeks to eradicate tax havens

With the French government reeling over a minister's tax-dodging scandal, President Francois Hollande proposed a law Wednesday that would force ministers, legislators and other senior officials to declare their assets publicly and submit to auditing by a "totally independent" authority before and after...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Apr 12, 2013

Tokyo Disneyland turns 30!

Tokyo Disneyland (or "TDL" as it's known to the Japanese) turns 30 on April 15, but like George Clooney, or heck, even the famed Mouse himself, age hasn't withered it a bit.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 11, 2013

Welsh approach to 'national' theater is efficiently different

Always keen to break new ground, Keiko Miyata, artistic director of the New National Theatre Tokyo (NNTT), has created a series titled "With: linking theater" as the centerpiece of this season's program. In this, she has lined up three appetizing collaborations by asking playwrights from Wales, South...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 11, 2013

Election campaigning takes to Net

Japan is finally dropping restrictions on the use of the Internet as an election campaign tool in a first step toward sweeping changes to the outdated Public Offices Election law before the Upper House poll slated for July.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2013

Why South Korea has already won

Pop stars, bourgeois lifestyle commentary and funny videos often seem to interest young South Koreans more than the latest provocation by the North.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 9, 2013

Key moments that left mark on U.S.

Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female prime minister, held the office for more than 11 years, including during the entire 1980s. In that time, she left a major mark on U.S. politics, mainly through her close relationship with President Ronald Reagan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 8, 2013

Team Abe's grand plan leaves ghosts in charge of a haunted house

As I observe Team Abe in action at the helm of the Bank of Japan and elsewhere, a rather terrifying passage from a poem by William Hughes Mearns comes to mind:
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 8, 2013

Return to South Korea thwarted by nationalism

A Korean-born U.S. citizen gets a rude awakening on nationalism when he returns to South Korea to launch a ministry at the president's invitation.
Reader Mail
Apr 7, 2013

The LDP's annoying agenda

For many years I didn't hesitate to think of the Emperor as the head of state, despite disagreement from the Japanese I spoke with who said the Emperor was the "symbol of the state" — not the head of state. I tended to disregard them: first, because these were the same people who insisted that Japan...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 6, 2013

Di Canio hiring destined for disaster

Blunderland FC is searching for a new manager. Chairman Ellis Long heads a board meeting.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 5, 2013

'Extreme' characters fuel the plot of 'The Master'

Critics have called 'The Master' a triumph of style over substance. That is, the acting wins out over direction and writing.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 5, 2013

Maryland House passes firearm bill

The Maryland House of Delegates passed what would be among the most restrictive U.S. gun-control measures Wednesday, voting to ratchet up the state's already tough rules by requiring fingerprinting of gun buyers, new limits on firearm purchases by the mentally ill, and bans on assault weapons and magazines...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2013

India's data of gender discrimination

Has significant change occurred in India since December's fatal gang rape of a New Delhi woman triggered a public outcry for greater protection of women?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 3, 2013

War with China is not inevitable, so tread carefully

America's path plus China's immature ambitions threaten Japan's future. Japanese constitutional change would just add to uncertainty in the region.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 3, 2013

How three central bankers made today's world in three days

The BlackBerrys all started buzzing, just before dinner was to begin at the Palacio da Bacalhoa, a 15th-century estate outside Lisbon. The 21 men and one woman charged with charting the course of Europe's economy looked down to find startling news that evening of May 6, 2010.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2013

Pipeline politics in South Asia getting murkier

The start of Pakistani construction on a much-delayed gas pipeline from Iran is a snub at the U.S. as it seeks to isolate Iran for its nuclear program.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 31, 2013

Bollywood bigwigs hope Japan fans are in it for keeps

In the 1990s, one of the most popular foreign movie stars in Japan was an Indian actor named Rajinikanth, who appeared in films made for India's Tamil-speaking southern region.

Longform

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