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Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2016

Abdeslam's lawyer slams French prosecutor for divulging 'suicide bomber' admission

The lawyer defending the prime surviving suspect for the Nov. 13 Paris attacks said on Sunday he would sue a French prosecutor for divulging his client's admission that he had planned to blow himself up with fellow Islamic State militants.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 20, 2016

Can cultural engagement soften North Korea's hard-line stance?

After years of provocations, talks, promises and broken vows — a pattern that Pyongyang has mastered — the atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula remains highly charged and little changed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 19, 2016

Do chimp rituals reveal roots of religion?

How did gods evolve? I can't promise to answer a question of such gravity this week, but I can perhaps raise some interesting ideas.
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Mar 19, 2016

The Meiji Era and the soul of Japan: part 2

An ambitious young man of the 1880s, flattering a girl he may want to marry (or may not, if a more advantageous alliance materializes), asks her, "What are you reading these days, Osei?" When Osei in reply mentions "Outlines of the World's History" by William Swinton, Noboru, the young man, is suitably...
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Mar 19, 2016

A Japanese version of Trump isn't so far-fetched

"On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."— H. L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920
Japan Times
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 18, 2016

Abramovich's wealth not enough for Chelsea now

When you have grown up in the Communist regime of the former Soviet Union, started your business career importing rubber ducks and becoming the 12th-richest person in Russia thanks to owning an oil company, then being accused of "failing to demonstrate even a minimum amount of manners and education"...
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 18, 2016

U.S. sees Chinese activity at reef seized from Philippines

The United States has seen Chinese activity around a reef that China seized from the Philippines nearly four years ago that could be a precursor to more land reclamation in the disputed South China Sea, the U.S. Navy chief said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2016

'Mission accomplished' for Russia?

Now that Russia is pulling out of Syria, where will Putin next focus his attention?
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2016

Challenge of global change

The world is increasingly beset with problems, but with the right effort the international community can overcome them.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2016

U.S. can't afford to make the 'Berlusconi' mistake

The only way to avoid Berlusconi-level disaster in the U.S. is to continue criticizing Trump, exposing his lies and holding him to account for his words and actions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 15, 2016

Looking forward through photography

The spectacular landscapes left by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami have been used as source material by photographers to an extraordinary degree. Yes, using the words "spectacular" and "landscape" here may seem indecent, but this is one of many difficult issues that arise when photography...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2016

Prelude to war with China?

The South China Sea contretemps has taken a decided turn for the worse.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2016

How to separate scientific fact from fiction

People must consider not just how to look for evidence that an idea is right, but how they might discover it's wrong.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2016

Why the world must live with a nuclear North Korea

It is inconceivable that Kim Jong Un would give up the weapon that places his nation in the exclusive nuclear club, and sanctions won't force him to do so.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 14, 2016

Why 3/11 didn't change Japan

The Fukushima crisis should have been a catalyst for change; instead it sustained policy inertia.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 13, 2016

BOJ to debate exempting $90 billion in short-term funds from negative rates

The Bank of Japan's policy board is set to discuss this week whether to exempt $90 billion in short-term funds from its newly imposed negative interest rate, people familiar with the matter said, after the securities industry warned that investment money would be driven into bank deposits.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Mar 13, 2016

Making an impression in Japan: a hanko primer

Everything you wanted to know about chops, from cheapo ¥100-shop seals to the Privy Seal of Japan, which is wielded by the Emperor and hewn from pure gold.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2016

Predicting a crime you have not yet committed

Scientists have demonstrated that a computer can outperform human judges in predicting who will commit a violent crime. Whether to use this in real life raises many ethical issues.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 12, 2016

Beneath the chaos, an old new order

We are all going to die. Most of us will die miserably — it's in the nature of things. Hopefully none of us, infirm in body and mind, will die falling from an upper story of a nursing care home, pushed to our deaths by a disgruntled care worker. That three people did die in that fashion at one particular...
EDITORIALS
Mar 11, 2016

Upgrading anti-disaster measures

It's imperative that officials at the national and local level check regularly whether anti-disaster measures are adequate and up-to-date.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2016

Toilet-maker Toto looks to Chinese to change cultural habits to boost sales

Nearly all Japanese have converted to using seated toilets since 1977 when they first overtook the squatting versions. For future growth, Japan's largest toilet—maker Toto Ltd. is looking toward neighboring China.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2016

Face of government in Fukushima aftermath blasts Abe push for nuclear power

In his trademark blue jumpsuit, the bleary-eyed Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano became the government's face of the Fukushima nuclear crisis as he faced the press every few hours. Five years later, he has stern words for Japan's atomic watchdog, the plant's operator and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2016

Xi: Another Chairman Mao?

A power struggle is underway between the two major factions in the Chinese Communist Party — the 'princelings' and the 'populists.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 9, 2016

'Love is Strange' when you're an aging couple in a big city

These days, love and real estate seem to go hand in hand when it comes to U.S. cinema. Throw in encroaching old age and you have a winning film: an adult love story that many aged city dwellers can truly relate to. Considering that one in four Tokyo residents are older than 65, it's no wonder older people...

Longform

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