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COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 30, 2013

Is being nice to customers really so disgusting?

That women in Japan are oppressed, neglected, or otherwise compelled to speak well above their natural pitch in formal settings has become a tired, cheap refrain among some American journalists.
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Dec 28, 2013

Snakes and Earrings

Take a walk through Tokyo's Shibuya or Shinjuku shopping districts and you'll soon notice the streets are filled with a certain kind of girl — stylishly dressed, sassy, with heavy makeup and dyed brown or blond hair. These are gyaru, and to get a peek inside their world, "Snakes and Earrings" is a...
COMMENTARY
Dec 27, 2013

Happiness takes faith, family, friends and work

Research from the American Enterprise Institute identifies faith, family, friends and work as the four great sources of happiness. The problem is that all four sources are in retreat in the U.S., especially among men.
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Dec 27, 2013

Visitors can help ring in New Year's at temples

In many Buddhist temples across the nation, bells will be rung 108 times from just before midnight on New Year's Eve into New Year's Day as the sound is believed to repel evil spirits. The temples in Kyoto and Nara are no exception, and some of them even let visitors ring the bells.
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Dec 27, 2013

Mao must let the triple axel go for shot at gold in Sochi

Enough already. It is time for two-time world champion Mao Asada to give up the triple axel.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 26, 2013

Have a superhero New Year's

Here's an opportunity to have an ultra-special time this holiday season. The popular Ultraman superheroes, including the superhero himself and new hero Ultraman Ginga, will be in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, from Dec. 27 until Jan. 5 for the Oshogatsu Dayo! Ultraman Zenin Shugo (It's the New Year!...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 26, 2013

Hakone's Venetian Glass Museum unmasks a carnival of festivities

The Venetian Glass Museum in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, is hosting a Carnevale di Venezia (Venetian Carnival) — a recreation of one of the oldest and most well-known Italian festivals, which takes place before the Roman Catholic tradition of fasting at Lent.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 25, 2013

Best of the West tops this year's major shows

Japan occupies an odd niche in the art world. Its own indigenous artistic traditions are balanced against an almost fanboy fascination with certain aspects of the canon of Western art, while there is an often half-hearted attempt to stay plugged into the global contemporary art scene with its various...
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 25, 2013

Snowden declares his mission accomplished

In a candid interview, NSA leaker Edward Snowden breaks his silence on surveillance, democracy and the meaning of the top-secret documents he exposed, and says his mission is 'already accomplished.'
EDITORIALS
Dec 24, 2013

The Emperor's call for peace

Emperor Akihito on Monday celebrated his 80th birthday, becoming the second emperor to have passed this milestone while on the throne, following his father, Emperor Showa.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 24, 2013

Why world's newest country is nearing civil war

It was considered one of the world's great successes when South Sudan became an independent nation on July 9, 2011. After many unhappy years as a region of Sudan, the new country declared its independence with crucial support from the outside world, particularly the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2013

2013 Mideast twists give lessons in democracy

The news that Tunisia's competing political factions have broken months of logjam and appointed a technocrat as interim prime minister sets the stage for a yearend review of the events that have followed the Arab Spring.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 21, 2013

Making their wishes come true

If you were granted one wish this Christmas, what would you wish for? For 17-year-old Mostafa Horie, the choice was simple: to see a Ferrari race car in action.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 21, 2013

Hot times in the realm of Mount Aso

I used to think that only Mount Fuji was massive enough to have its own weather patterns, but 1,592-meter Mount Aso in Kyushu proved me wrong.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 21, 2013

Protecting nature to protect ourselves

This month's column takes an intrepid look at efforts to expand protected areas in Japan and worldwide, areas that are essential to conserve biological diversity and mitigate natural disasters.
BASKETBALL
Dec 21, 2013

FIBA warns JBA about problems

FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann has advised the Japan Basketball Association to resolve issues that exist inside the nation's basketball circles or face greater problems in the future, according to Japanese media reports.
Reader Mail
Dec 21, 2013

Exactly who do you think he was?

Nelson Mandela was seen and revered not only as a political hero but practically as a living saint. The hagiography surrounding him somewhat disguises his many family tragedies, his policy failures and his political cunning.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 21, 2013

It's business as usual 'back in the USSR'

Paul McCartney was in Japan some weeks ago. Having spent a totally Beatlemaniac four years of my pre-teen existence in the U.K., it was nice to see the erstwhile Beatle in such good form.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Dec 20, 2013

Cook, writer, TV host, actress and more: Briton toasts eventful half-century in Japan

Civil servant, cook, columnist and TV personality are among the hats Jill Sinclair Ito has worn during her 50 years in the country.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2013

Behind the Pyongyang purge

So far, only two aides of Jang Song Thaek, the late No. 2 of North Korea, have been killed, but hundreds or thousands of other people thought to be linked to him may also be executed.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2013

Challenges highlight need for better government

U.S. President Ronald Reagan famously insisted that 'government is not the solution to our problem.' Today we know better: If government is not part of the solution, our problems will only get bigger.
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Dec 20, 2013

Diplomats' photo exhibit under way in Kobe 

Photos taken all over Japan by 57 foreign diplomats will be on display until Jan. 20 in Kobe.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Dec 20, 2013

Odds on Ando making Olympic team for Sochi very long

"Do you believe in miracles?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2013

'Matsuri no Uma (The Horses of Fukushima)'

The earthquake, tsunami and reactor meltdowns of March 2011 may have faded from the world's consciousness, but for many Japanese filmmakers, both young and old, it has been a life- and career-defining event. Documentary makers, especially, have gone north by the dozens to film the aftermath and interview...
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Dec 19, 2013

Bright lights in our big cities

Christmas holiday lights can be quite the spectacle in towns and cities celebrating the festive season. And as the days get shorter and colder, they can often brighten the gloomy evenings of a frosty winter.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 18, 2013

'Hokusai from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston'

Hokusai Katsushika (1760-1849), one of Japan's best-known Edo Period ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artists, has garnered admiration from across the world for more than a century. His prints are still sought after by collectors and he was the only Japanese to be selected by Life Magazine to be included in...

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