Search - 2013

 
 
SOCCER
Aug 19, 2014

Longtime BBC announcer Gordon, 78, dies

James Alexander Gordon, who read out the soccer results on BBC radio for 40 years and had one of the most recognizable voices in broadcasting, has died at the age of 78.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 19, 2014

Chinese military's ability to wage war eroded by graft, its generals warn

As tensions spike between China and other countries in Asia's disputed waters, serving and retired Chinese military officers as well as state media are questioning whether China's armed forces are too corrupt to fight and win a war.
EDITORIALS
Aug 19, 2014

Higher standards for assemblies

Recent instances of strange or illegal behavior on the part of municipal and prefectural assembly members, including a bawling jag by a Hyogo assemblymen whose hand was caught in the cookie jar, have given many citizens cause to suspect that the overall quality of their local lawmakers is deteriorating.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 19, 2014

Musician Rory Viner turns Japan's suicide statistics into a song

Train delays due to jinshin jiko, which euphemistically translates to "human accident" — often a suicide on the tracks — are far from an infrequent occurrence in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 19, 2014

Old and new mingle sweetly at Summer Sonic

After Queen finished "Another One Bites The Dust" — 10 minutes before 8 p.m. on the Sunday of this year's Summer Sonic in Chiba — hundreds of fans darted for the exits of QVC Marine Field Stadium. Security guards and staff with megaphones tried to direct them as some dashed to the left for Kraftwerk,...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 19, 2014

Halt program that militarizes U.S. police forces

The U.S. Congress must take decisive steps to scale back the 'militarization' of American police forces by the Defense Department's donation of surplus equipment and weapons.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2014

Nonprofit group aims to help female students meet their potential

Tokyo-based nonprofit organization Hanalabs is offering female college students in Japan a chance to advance their careers by devising solutions to social problems affecting communities in need of revitalization.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2014

Japanese man feared captured by Islamic State in Syria

The Foreign Ministry tries to confirm whether a Japanese man has been captured by the Islamic State in Syria after his purported interrogation is uploaded to the Internet.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Aug 18, 2014

Challenges can't compare to the rewards of cross-cultural adoption in Japan

Five years ago, my Japanese husband and I adopted a 3-year-old boy who had been placed in an orphanage when he was a month old. His birth mother, too young to care for him, had likely decided that giving him up was his only chance for a better life. After we first took him home, he would barely acknowledge...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2014

Welcoming refugees to fill labor shortages

Why doesn't Japan, Canada and other governments admit more refugees for resettlement with a view toward addressing the governments' labor shortages?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2014

Mt. Gox insider's Kraken exchange to open in Japan next month

Jesse Powell knew Mt. Gox was not long for this world more than two years before the once-dominant bitcoin exchange went bankrupt in February.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 18, 2014

Top-paid Nikkei 225 female exec shows Japan gender hurdles

Only one female executive made it to the top-earner list of the Nikkei 225 companies last year. She is an American who lives in New York.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Aug 17, 2014

Could the lingua franca approach to learning break Japan's English curse?

Learning English as a lingua franca (ELF) involves approaching the language as a tongue shared by non-native speakers around the world rather than as a lingo that must be mastered to native-speaker level.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2014

Devastating use of barrel bombs in Syria, Iraq

In spite of a U.N. Security Council resolution banning the use of 'barrel bombs' — a type of improvised explosive device filled with shrapnel, oil and chemicals — both the Syrian and Iraqi governments continue to use them against civilians.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 17, 2014

Cricket star Khan overplays hand in Pakistani power game

Cricket hero Imran Khan rode a wave of discontent to finally break through as a serious player in Pakistani politics in last year's election. Now he is aiming even higher, leading thousands on a march to the capital in a bid to unseat the prime minister.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2014

Power play: the debate over renewable energy

On Aug. 26, 2011, the same day that Prime Minister Naoto Kan resigned after widespread criticism of his handling of the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant that followed the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, the Diet passed legislation that created a new feed-in...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Aug 16, 2014

Gomez earning his stripes with Tigers

Mauro Gomez probably couldn't believe his luck when he saw the pitch Chris Seddon threw him.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 16, 2014

Skipper Nakahata building new identity with BayStars

Three years ago, it might have been difficult to identify Kiyoshi Nakahata with a Japanese professional baseball team other than the Yomiuri Giants. He played his entire career with the Kyojin, served as a coach with the team after his playing days were finished and stayed in the family as a commentator...
EDITORIALS
Aug 16, 2014

Student absenteeism on the rise

Absenteeism for compulsory schools in Japan rose in fiscal 2013 for the first time in six years. Some of the students absent for 30 days or more feel permanently behind and give up going to class.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Aug 15, 2014

Wakayama negotiating to bring back Pavlicevic

After a complete organizational shake-up that included a planned switch to a new coach, veteran bench boss Zeljko Pavlicevic is in discussions with Wakayama Trians ownership to return to lead the team for the 2014-15 season, The Japan Times has learned.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2014

Vodka: market riches after communism's fall

Early on, Russia's Yeltsin government (1991-1999) imposed heavy tariffs on the import of medicines and staples while granting societies of the handicapped and sports clubs the ability to import vodka without tariffs. It marked a new era in the country's economic history.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2014

The bill for Putin's policy will be high

Virtually every retaliatory move against the West proposed by Vladimir Putin as a result of the Ukraine crisis has backfired on Russia and left it in a far weaker financial position.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 15, 2014

Developing countries get lesson in basic health from Japanese schools

Developing countries are studying health measures used in Japanese schools, such as regular body measurements, lunch distribution and the use of school infirmaries, to promote the health of their own schoolchildren.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 14, 2014

Seiho to take Summer Sonic into the night

Three years ago, Seiho Hayakawa could often be found playing shows at basement venues around Osaka. Today, he's all over the map.
WORLD / Society
Aug 14, 2014

U.S. appeals court declines to block Virginia gay marriage ruling

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday declined to delay its ruling striking down Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage, meaning gay people in the state will be able to get married unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years