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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 18, 2017

The long goodbye: making sense of Brexit from Japan

What Brexit will mean in practice remains a mystery. Also unknown is what effect — if any — Britain's divorce from the EU will have on 'Brexpats' in Japan.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jan 18, 2017

Researchers urge Japan to reform college sports system

In the past year or so, the Japan Sports Agency, an external bureau of the education ministry, has discussed the potential establishment of "a Japanese edition of the NCAA" as part of its scheme to make college sports in this country more business-like.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2017

Keep human rights a part of U.S.' Asia policy

Human rights must not fall through the cracks among America's efforts in Asia under the Trump regime.
WORLD / Society
Jan 17, 2017

Want to learn Arabic, Korean or Swahili? Refugee language tutors can help

As university students mill around a bright and airy study hall in London, Eiad Zinah converses in his native Arabic with a female student from Germany.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / DAVOS SPECIAL 2017
Jan 17, 2017

Shaping the future via collaborative efforts

Global events in 2016 have reminded decision-makers that the more complex a system, the greater a community's concern about its future. The weakening of multiple systems has eroded confidence at the national, regional and global levels. And, in the absence of innovative and credible steps toward their...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / DAVOS SPECIAL 2017
Jan 17, 2017

Home to cutting-edge technology and innovation

Saitama City, a major bedroom community of Tokyo, is home to many leading technology companies that Japan can be proud to showcase to the world.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2017

Open society needs defending

Open societies are in crisis, and various forms of closed societies — from fascist dictatorships to mafia states — are on the rise.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2017

Why Trump is succeeding where Powell failed

The experience of British nativist firebrand Enoch Powell in the late 1960s and early 1970s can help shed light on Donald Trump's political success.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jan 15, 2017

Examining a year in the life of the country's Diet

When not trying to get elected, Japan's 700-plus Diet members (475 in the House of Representatives, 242 in the House of Councilors) conduct the weighty business of the nation. With the 193rd session of the national legislature under the current Constitution scheduled to commence on Jan. 20, let's look...
Japan Times
Rugby
Jan 15, 2017

Rugby star Pocock preparing to swap Japan for African wilderness

Australian rugby star David Pocock has enjoyed locking horns with the big beasts of Japan's Top League since joining the Panasonic Wild Knights in December.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 14, 2017

Curtain call: Examining the evolution of Japan's humble 'noren'

The shōtengai (shopping street) in Katsuyama, a rural hamlet located on the banks of the Asahi River in Okayama Prefecture, wouldn't look completely out of place in a Richard Scarry picture book for young children.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 14, 2017

The little black screen we just can't take our eyes off

A great weight sits perched on us. It's called a head. It houses our brain and presents our face to the world. It comprises roughly 10 percent of our body weight. Heavy enough at the best of times, it grows heavier as it inclines forward. Held high, it's a 5.5-kilogram burden on the neck of a person...
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Jan 14, 2017

Kansai sizes up ways to work with a Trump administration

In 3½ weeks, Kansai's business leaders will gather in Kyoto for their annual summit. Some of the world's most recognizable firms will send their top executives to the two-day retreat. There, they will rub shoulders with local politicians, academics, and "business consultant" types who, like fortune...
EDITORIALS
Jan 14, 2017

Join U.N. nuclear arms ban talks

Japan's standing in the international community will decline if it is seen as defending the interests of the world's nuclear powers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2017

Trump's crazed transition is making history

Judging by his post-election transition — which has been, hands down, the strangest in U.S. history — all we really know about how Donald Trump will govern is that we must expect the unexpected.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2017

Rural 'furusato nozei' beer, beef thank-yous costing urban Japan much-needed revenues

Want a free case of craft beer? If you send ¥30,000 or more of your taxes to the town of Yamanouchi in Nagano Prefecture, they'll send you 24 bottles of a locally brewed beer to say thanks.
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2017

Keep 'comfort women' deal alive

Tokyo and Seoul should take careful steps to prevent an escalation of diplomatic tensions and keep the comfort women agreement alive.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 12, 2017

Mali eradicates Guinea worm in global milestone against parasitic disease

Mali has eliminated Guinea worm disease bringing the world a step closer to eradicating the debilitating parasitic disease that is now only endemic in three African countries, the U.S.-based Carter Center said, citing provisional government figures.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 11, 2017

LDP team charged with drafting casino rules to have first meeting this month

The team, led by Lower House member Takeshi Iwaya, will examine a host of issues related to establishing integrated resort facilities, which include casinos and hotels.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 11, 2017

Secondhand bookshop exorcizing ghosts of the past

The first floor of the crumbling art deco building where my daughter lives in Riga, Latvia, houses a well-patronized secondhand English bookstore. I've bought several titles there. It led me to wondering why a business of this kind, a social space for readers, can thrive in the tiny Latvian capital,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jan 11, 2017

Views from Nagoya: What are your resolutions and/or hopes for 2017?

Stephen Carr asked people in Sakae, the entertainment district of Nagoya, what their resolutions and/or hopes were for 2017.
EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2017

Trump meddling in Toyota's affairs

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's tweet criticizing Toyota Motor Corp.'s plan to build a new car plant in Mexico for exports to the North American market — threatening a heavy border tax if the top Japanese automaker goes ahead with the plan — is an unacceptable act of intervention in private-sector...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 11, 2017

Trump taps skeptic Kennedy to launch review of vaccines

Vaccination skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he will oversee a presidential panel to review vaccine safety and science at the request of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, in a move likely to reignite debate over now-debunked research that tied childhood immunizations to autism.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 10, 2017

Xi to lead delegation of China's wealthiest executives to Davos

President Xi Jinping will become the first Chinese head of state to address the World Economic Forum, leading an entourage of business executives to Switzerland next week as the country seeks a larger role in shaping the global economic order.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jan 10, 2017

Kerry apologizes for past firings of gay U.S. State Dept. staff

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday apologized to hundreds of State Department employees who were fired after the start of the Cold War for being gay in what is known as the "lavender scare."
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 7, 2017

Heavy metal in Japan: Love of craft runs deep

Although 2017 is the Year of the Fire Rooster, fire is not the only element destined to influence the next 12 months. Each of the 12 Chinese zodiac years is governed by one of five elements: wood, fire, earth, water and metal, resulting in 2017 taking the element of fire. According to the Five Elements...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 7, 2017

'Falling into the Dragon's Mouth': a poetic tale of overcoming school bullies

In her third verse novel, Japan-based writer Holly Thompson tackles the topical issue of bullying. Her protagonist, likable American sixth-grader Jason Parker, struggles to fit in at his Japanese elementary school after moving from America to a seaside community on the Shonan coast in Kanagawa Prefecture....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 6, 2017

Japan recalls envoys over new 'comfort women' statue in Busan

The Japanese ambassador to South Korea is recalled over a new statue representing the wartime “comfort women” near the Japanese Consul in Busan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 6, 2017

Richie Hawtin: Pairing Japan's best sake with techno

Richie Hawtin needs no introduction to anyone familiar with electronic music. For 25 years, this Berlin-based, English-Canadian DJ has been at the forefront of techno and he continues to play at major music and art events around the planet.

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