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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jan 31, 2019

'Bohemian Rhapsody': Queen film won't bite the dust just yet

The Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" is still doing big business in Japan, long after its November release. The movie recently crossed the ¥10 billion mark here, and its impact stretches well beyond box-office stats. Songs from the British band have taken up residence on streaming charts, while affection...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 30, 2019

Riyadh vows to release seven Houthi prisoners after freed Saudi arrives home

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said that seven Houthi prisoners will be released, after a Saudi prisoner freed by the group arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday, Saudi state television reported.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 30, 2019

U.N. finds at least 15 mass graves and hundreds of sets of remains in Congo after December violence

At least 15 mass graves have been found in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo in the wake of three days of ethnic bloodshed in December, a spokeswoman for the U.N.'s MONUSCO mission in Congo said on Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 29, 2019

Why U.S. lost the Afghanistan War again

Why did it take the U.S. 17 years to realize it had lost the Afghanistan War?
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 29, 2019

Roger Stone's arrest may hurt Trump's 'love' of Wikileaks

"WikiLeaks," Donald Trump said at a campaign rally on Oct. 10, 2016. "I love WikiLeaks."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 28, 2019

In annual policy speech, Abe omits passage on ties with South Korea

Seoul gets only a passing mention amid the currently tumultuous relationship.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2019

Trump lifts Rusal sanctions as Putin ally Oleg Deripaska cuts stake

The U.S. Treasury Department on Sunday lifted sanctions on three firms tied to Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, including United Co. Rusal, a move that will provide relief to the global aluminum market.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Jan 27, 2019

Flexibility and connections at the core of hospitality

When visiting the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, one might encounter an impeccably dressed, broad-shouldered individual diligently picking up absent-mindedly discarded bits of trash, returning a stray pamphlet or straightening a sign.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 27, 2019

From new visas to a tourism backlash, the Top 10 issues that affected us in 2018 may forecast our future treatment

Every January, Just Be Cause takes a look at how things went for the non-Japanese residents of Japan (NJ) in the previous year.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 27, 2019

Foreign troops would exit Afghanistan in 18 months under draft deal, Taliban sources say

Taliban officials said U.S. negotiators on Saturday agreed on a draft peace deal setting out the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan within 18 months, potentially ending the United States' longest war.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 26, 2019

Five Japanese restaurants on the shortlist for new culinary award

A legendary Kyoto restaurant serving kaiseki, Japan's exquisite multicourse haute cuisine. A traditional grilled-eel specialist in Tokyo with roots dating to the days of the shoguns. An irreverent fast-food joint where fish burgers rule. The newly opened offshoot of one of Scandinavia's most innovative...
WORLD
Jan 26, 2019

Taliban's new political leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar expected to join peace talks with U.S. in Qatar

The Taliban's new political leader is expected to join meetings with U.S. officials in Qatar imminently, Taliban sources said Saturday as the latest round of talks to find ways to end the 17-year Afghan war entered a sixth day.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 26, 2019

Ukraine sees surge in cyberattacks targeting election, suspects Russia

Hackers likely controlled by Russia are stepping up efforts to disrupt Ukraine's presidential election in March with cyberattacks on electoral servers and personal computers of election staff, the head of Ukraine's cyberpolice said on Friday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 25, 2019

Ice diving in Hokkaido: All adrift beneath a frozen sea

Hokkaido's Shiretoko Peninsula is a treasure trove of forests, wild animals and birds. But from early February to early March it is the home of ice diving, scuba diving beneath the drift ice that blows south from the Sea of Okhotsk.
Reader Mail
Jan 25, 2019

Nobel Prizes prove plenty of creativity

As professor Takamitsu Sawa says in "The global decline of Japanese universities" in the Jan. 19 edition, Japanese universities are lower than Chinese and Korean ones in the world ranking with special reference to the ranking in Asia. I have to acknowledge this, but Japan has also received more Nobel...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 25, 2019

U.N. expert to lead inquiry into murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Turkey

The United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions said Thursday she will travel to Turkey next week to head an "independent international inquiry" into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jan 24, 2019

Japan Fencing Federation staging three-day FIE World Cup meet this weekend in Tokyo

With increased popularity and a rise in the competition level of fencing in Japan in recent years, the battle to secure spots for next year's Olympics in Tokyo will not be easy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 24, 2019

The Japanese family, seen through Iranian eyes

Iranian director Ida Panahandeh's fourth feature, "The Nikaidos' Fall," took her way beyond her comfort zone. She didn't speak Japanese nor had she ever visited the country, and yet there she was with a Japanese crew and cast, filming a story about the Japanese family dynamic in the ancient city of Tenri...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 24, 2019

U.S. aviation agency details impact of drone sightings on Newark airport

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday that 43 flights into New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport were required to hold after drone sightings at a nearby airport on Tuesday, while nine flights were diverted.
Japan Times
SUMO
Jan 23, 2019

Sumo 101: Trading cards

With a sport as ancient as sumo, trading cards aren't the first things that spring to mind when you think of memorabilia.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 23, 2019

Germany's Merkel and France's Macron seek to unite European defense industry as U.S. support wanes

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are pushing for a more united defense industry, citing renewed ties between the two nations as a way to bolster the safety of the European Union in the face of flagging American support.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 23, 2019

As Taliban talks gather pace, Afghan women fear turning back of the clock

Eighteen years ago, at the height of the Taliban's power in Afghanistan, Roshan Mashal secretly taught her daughters to read and write alongside a dozen local girls who smuggled school books to her house in potato sacks.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 23, 2019

U.S. top envoy Pompeo expects 'good marker' with North Korea before next Trump-Kim summit

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday there remains "an awful lot of work to do" to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea but he anticipates further progress by the end of next month, when the U.S. and North Korean leaders are expected to meet for a second summit.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 22, 2019

Rudy Giuliani backtracks on remark that Trump sought Moscow deal in 2016, calling comment 'hypothetical'

U.S. President Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, backtracked on Monday from earlier comments that Trump pursued a business deal to erect a tower bearing his name in Moscow throughout 2016, saying his statements "were hypothetical and not based on conversations I had with the president."
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 22, 2019

Trump's Russian pop star pal Emin Agalarov scrubs U.S. tour over probes and fear of detention

Emin Agalarov, the Moscow pop star who arranged the now-infamous Trump Tower meeting in New York at the height of the 2016 election campaign, abruptly canceled his U.S. tour, citing the risk of being detained.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jan 21, 2019

No politics please for Baghdad bikers aiming to unite Iraq

Roaring along Baghdad's highways, the "Iraq Bikers" are doing more than showing off their love of outsized motorcycles and black leather: They want their shared enthusiasm to help heal Iraq's deep sectarian rifts.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb