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Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 5, 2015

Vermont gas station attendant bequeaths millions to library, hospital

Perhaps the only clue that Ronald Read, a Vermont gas station attendant and janitor who died last year at age 92, had been quietly amassing an $8 million fortune was his habit of reading the Wall Street Journal, his friends and family say.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 5, 2015

Ebola cases on the rise for first time this year, WHO says

The number of new cases of Ebola rose in all three of West Africa's worst-hit countries last week, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, ending several weeks of encouraging declines across the region.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 5, 2015

Two Cuban baseball players defect in Puerto Rico

Two Cuban baseball players defected in Puerto Rico, where a squad from their country is playing in the Caribbean Series against four other Latin American teams, Cuban sports officials said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 4, 2015

Malakhov brings borscht to ballet

"In my free time when I'm not taking classes or conducting rehearsals, I like to go to theaters and museums — or just go shopping and visit different parts of the city," Vladimir Malakhov, The Tokyo Ballet's new artistic adviser explained during our recent Japan Times interview.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 4, 2015

At least 16 dead in Taipei plane crash

A TransAsia Airways plane with 58 passengers and crew on board crashed into a river shortly after taking off from a downtown Taipei airport on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people and leaving about a dozen missing, officials said.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 4, 2015

Grenades cheaper than Coca-Cola menace the Central African Republic

As Capt. Victor leads a team of Spanish special forces on a night patrol in the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui, one thing worries him most: Chinese-made hand grenades that sell for less than a soft drink.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 3, 2015

Alibaba scores a hollow victory over Beijing

Alibaba's success in its confrontation with the Chinese Communist Party is not a sign that life is generally improving for private business in China,
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 3, 2015

Bullet train black gold awaits Ethiopian roasters

On a typically sunny January day in southwestern Ethiopia, smallholder coffee farmers gather beneath red, blue and orange canvases, propped up by wooden stakes, to watch and participate in a coffee-tasting competition with demanding Japanese standards.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2015

Goto's tweets document his courage, sadness for victims of war

Poignant messages sent by executed hostage Kenu00adji Gou00adto on Twitter before he was taken hostage bear silent witness to his courage as a journalist in a conflict zone.
WORLD
Feb 3, 2015

Russia, Ukraine in indirect talks to reopen key Black Sea air corridor: report

Russia and Ukraine are holding indirect talks to reopen a key international air corridor over the Black Sea to commercial flights as part of a plan that could give Ukraine much-needed overflight fees and ease congestion on other crowded air routes, according to five sources familiar with the matter....
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2015

Greece eyeing Russia card?

There is speculation that the new government of Greece might try to get bridge financing from Russia if Europe does not accept the demands of the leftist ruling coalition that just swept snap elections.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2015

China fights deflation on its own

During the past two years, China has tightened fiscal and monetary policy in the hope of offsetting the adverse effects of the large stimulus package implemented in response to the 2008 global financial crisis.
BASKETBALL
Feb 2, 2015

West prevails in high-tempo bj-league All-Star Game

In a fast-paced game of dueling run-and-gun offenses, including 79 3-point shots in all, the Western Conference had the better scoring touch in the pivotal fourth quarter.
WORLD
Feb 1, 2015

Egyptian court bans Hamas' armed wing, lists as terrorist organization

An Egyptian court on Saturday banned the armed wing of Palestinian group Hamas and listed it as a terrorist organization, a ruling in keeping with a systematic crackdown on Islamists by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 31, 2015

The changing motives behind juvenile crime in Japan

In a thought-provoking article in the February issue of Bungei Shunju, veteran journalist Kunio Yanagida ponders changes in the patterns of crimes committed by juveniles that have taken place since the end of World War II.
Japan Times
SPORTS
Jan 31, 2015

Japan Coaches' Awards recognize top coaches from throughout the nation

Sometimes, or perhaps many times, the success of athletes and sports teams can be achieved with an enormous amount of effort provided by those who give them instructions and strategies — coaches.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Jan 31, 2015

Crime and punishment: Abe's Mideast crisis

In general, crime prevention is a good thing — it helps stop crime. By punishing people for minor transgressions, you stop them from committing larger misdemeanors and discourage crime overall. If the principle is applied blindly, however, it can produce some awkward results.
EDITORIALS
Jan 31, 2015

Too few people to protect kids

Many people in Japan are shocked when they find out how overworked and overextended the nation's network of social workers for protecting children is.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past