Search - 2012

 
 
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...
EDITORIALS
May 10, 2014

Japan's orphans need foster care

Japan's tendency to place orphans and abused children into institutions instead of finding them foster homes too often leaves them open to mistreatment and socially scarred.
JAPAN
May 9, 2014

Bid to stop Oi reactor restarts fails

The Osaka High Court rejected an appeal Friday by Kansai-area citizens who were seeking an injunction to prevent the restart of the Oi No. 3 and 4 reactors in Fukui Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
May 9, 2014

Wiser Abe Cabinet logs record 500 days in office

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet on Friday marked the 500th day since its inception in December 2012, extending its record as the longest-serving lineup in the postwar era.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
May 9, 2014

Texans take Clowney No. 1

The Houston Texans beefed up their defensive line by taking extraordinary pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney from the University of South Carolina with the first pick of the NFL Draft on Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 9, 2014

Asia's myriad film genres celebrated at Udine festival

Why go to a film festival that specializes in the sort of popular Asian genres — from Hong Kong actioners to South Korean comedies — that the other "better" sort of festivals have traditionally sniffed at?
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 9, 2014

Japan should treat test scores with discretion

Although the education ministry's decision to allow local boards of education in Japan to make public the results of achievement tests for individual schools appeals to those who are frustrated by what they perceive as a lowering of standards, the tests are far too unstable to be considered reliable or fair.
Japan Times
WORLD / EU SPECIAL 2014
May 9, 2014

EU continues commitment to security and peace

The European Union is now at its most critical stage ever. It is facing what European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has called "a disgrace in the 21st century."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 8, 2014

Ex-Aum cultist pleads not guilty

Former Aum Shinrikyo cultist Naoko Kikuchi pleads not guilty to attempted murder for her role in the 1995 bombing of a Tokyo City Hall office.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / NFL NOTEBOOK
May 8, 2014

Teams facing tough strategic choices in draft

Best or bust?
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2014

Mitsubishi Estate turns first profit in three years

Mitsubishi Estate Co. said Thursday that full-year earnings rose for the first time in three years as profit margins at its residential business improved and office rents recovered.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 8, 2014

the Hiatus to swap guitars for synths on 'Keeper of the Flame' tour

Who says you can't go home again? After breaking from what it knows best, the Hiatus is set to return to the live-house venues that it built itself on, following a nationwide tour that took it in a different direction.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 7, 2014

Art Basel makes a difference in Asia

Magnus Renfrew, the director of Asia Art Basel, stopped by Tokyo in the lead up to this year's Art Basel in Hong Kong to talk about what it means to have Art Basel purchase Art HK.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
May 6, 2014

Taking stock of the Eastern Conference playoff semifinals

Four teams remain in the Eastern Conference playoffs, which points the spotlight on the regular-season conference champion Toyama Grouses and Iwate Big Bulls. As the top two seeds, the Grouses and Big Bulls play host to the Niigata Albirex BB and Akita Northern Happinets, respectively, this weekend....
BUSINESS
May 6, 2014

U.S., Singapore reach agreement on tax evasion

Singapore has reached an agreement with the United States on sharing tax information under a new law meant to combat offshore tax-dodging by Americans, a U.S. Treasury Department spokeswoman said on Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 6, 2014

Japan meets most conditions for 'vital' EU trade talks: documents

The European Union is to tell Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday that Brussels is broadly satisfied with Japan's progress in negotiations toward an ambitious free trade deal, likely allowing talks to continue, according to EU documents.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 5, 2014

'Ordinary' billionaire behind canal project

Wang Jing, the enigmatic businessman behind Nicaragua's $50 billion Interoceanic Grand Canal, shrugs off skepticism about how a little-known entrepreneur can be driving a huge transcontinental project, insisting he is not an agent of the Beijing government.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
May 5, 2014

English morris dancing hits Japan, with all the bells and whistles

The English form of folk dancing known as morris dates back to the Middle Ages and involves costumed groups of dancers stepping in time to music. Barely seen in Japan before, this traditional art can now be experienced in the most unexpected of locations: Shikoku.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
May 4, 2014

Jewelry innovator Shiraki puts ethics at the heart of beauty

Natsuko Shiraki, a jewelry designer and CEO of Tokyo-based jeweler Hasuna Co., vividly remembers the shocking experience in southern India that changed her life.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AT A GLANCE
May 4, 2014

Fashionable Shibuya is a magnet for youths

Known as the town for young people, Tokyo's Shibuya district is the capital's center of youth fashion and culture. It also attracts crowds of tourists from home and abroad.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
May 4, 2014

Cameron settles in quickly as Frontiers thrash Hurricanes

The Fujitsu Frontiers might just have found the quarterback to solve their long-lasting problems at the position.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 4, 2014

Food labs fight organized crime

At first glance the sprawling campus amid glorious countryside looks an unlikely base from which to wage war against Italy's most feared crime organization, the 'ndrangheta.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’