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ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 31, 2014

American detained in North Korea gets job back with Ohio city

An Ohio man detained in North Korea for nearly half a year got his job back with a city agency, but on condition he not travel again to a country where he could be easily detained, his attorney said on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2014

Will Hong Kong go beyond self-flagellation?

Hong Kong and mother China should be working together on ameliorating the social and economic pressures threatening to pull Hong Kong down far more dramatically and dangerously than today's governance dispute.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Oct 29, 2014

Imminent U.S. revamp of nuclear weapons, subs and planes is too costly, some say

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel grabbed a ladder extending through the sleek black hull of the USS Tennessee at a U.S. Navy submarine base in Kings Bay and disappeared down the hatch for a close look at one of the Pentagon's most daunting budget issues.
COMMENTARY
Oct 28, 2014

Time to end American financial repression

A generation of development economists owe Ronald McKinnon, who died earlier this month, a huge intellectual debt for his insight that governments like the U.S. that engage in free-market rhetoric to channel funds toward themselves hamper financial development.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 28, 2014

Ena treads a fine line in the DJ booth

When the people at the Berlin-based Samurai Horo label asked Yu Asaeda to contribute to a compilation they were putting out, they got more than they'd bargained for.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 28, 2014

Questions remain over how Japan would handle actual Ebola cases

Health experts have said authorities were correct to intercept a Canadian journalist who subsequently tested negative for the Ebola virus and remains under observation.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2014

The antidote to poverty, disease and terrorism

To increase the chances of success for children in developing countries, educating mothers may be more important than educating fathers, as educated girls seem to develop better essential life skills, including the ability to participate effectively in society.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 27, 2014

After victory in key Iraqi town, Shiite militias take revenge

After helping government forces break the Islamic State's grip over a strategic town just south of Baghdad on Saturday, Shiite militias decided it was time for payback.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 26, 2014

Special report: why Ukraine's revolution remains unfinished

In the afternoon of Feb. 20, after the morning's dead had been cleared away, Volodymyr Melnychuk arrived outside Kiev's October palace.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 25, 2014

Blondes have more fun in NHK's morning drama

Two weeks ago I received a message from a reader who asked me to ask NHK why the public broadcaster had changed the name and the hair color of the female protagonist of its new daily 15-minute asa-dora (morning drama series) "Massan," which is based on the life of Masataka Taketsuru, the first person...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2014

Surprise €2.1 billion EU bill leaves U.K.'s Cameron in bind as Euroskeptic rivals pounce

In a vivid display of fury at European Union technocrats, British Prime Minister David Cameron refused to pay a surprise €2.1 billion bill Friday as EU leaders ordered an urgent review of the calculations used.
EDITORIALS
Oct 24, 2014

Patent law must retain incentives

As the government drafts amendments to the patent law, the question is how effective the new rules will be in ensuring fair corporate remuneration to inventors so that they keep their engineering talent in Japan to enhance the nation's industrial competitiveness.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 22, 2014

Silver City: one man's dream of growing old in English

My friend dares to dream of a whole city for aged foreigners in Japan where everyone speaks the lingo.
COMMENTARY
Oct 21, 2014

Abe's 'womenomics' is little more than skin deep

The sudden resignations of two female Cabinet ministers over separate spending scandals suggest that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prefers to appoint warm, telegenic figures to help him sell unpopular policies rather than strong, independent-minded women.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 21, 2014

EMAF packs a lot onto its musical menu

In its first week, the Red Bull Music Academy Tokyo has treated local audiences to a wide gamut of sounds, from hip-hop to deep house to noise, while keeping the capital's billboards comprehensively smothered in advertising. The two-day EMAF Tokyo (Electronic Music of Art Festival), held under the auspices...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 19, 2014

Thai regime hunts for legitimacy in Myanmar

Thai Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha visits Myanmar, of all places, to try to add a layer of legitimacy to his regime following the military coup last May.
WORLD
Oct 19, 2014

Ukraine says it has agreed on interim gas price with Russia

Ukraine's and Russia's leaders have reached a preliminary agreement on a price for gas supplies this winter, but Kiev may need international help to pay, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Saturday.
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Oct 18, 2014

Getting to the heart of Murasaki's 'Tale of Genji'

"If any society in the world can be described as unique," wrote historian Ivan Morris, "it is that of Heian Kyo in the time of Murasaki Shikibu."
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 18, 2014

Russia, Ukraine near deal on gas supplies after tough Milan talks

Russia and Ukraine made progress on Friday toward resolving a dispute over gas supplies in time for winter, but European leaders said Moscow still has to do much more to prop up a fragile cease-fire and end fighting in eastern Ukraine.
OLYMPICS / ROBERT WHITING'S 1964 OLYMPICS RETROSPECTIVE
Oct 17, 2014

Schollander, Hayes were spectacular at Tokyo Games

The 1964 Tokyo Olympics had a profound impact on the capital city and the nation. In the third installment of a five-part series running this month, best-selling author Robert Whiting, who lived in Japan at the time, looks at some of the stars who emerged during the competition.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 17, 2014

Don't overstate Japan 'danger'

Chinese allegations that the Abe government is moving toward a militarist foreign policy demonstrate China's inability or unwillingness to acknowledge that current Chinese behavior contributes to the enhancements in Japanese security policy that China wishes to avoid.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Oct 17, 2014

BIFF 2014 plays down unavoidable controversies

The biggest event of the year for South Korea's film industry is the opening night of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), which marked its 19th year Oct. 2 to 11. Whether or not they have films screening at the festival, almost all the major Korean movie stars show up and strut the red carpet...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 17, 2014

Son's $51 billion acquisition run faces speed bump

Billionaire Masayoshi Son's 300-year business plan for SoftBank Corp. sees no pause in acquisitions that saw him splurge $51 billion in five years. Higher interest rates in the U.S. and Japan may put the brakes on his debt-fueled ambitions.

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’