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COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2014

Russia's natural gas weapon looks overblown

On close inspection, the threat that Russia could use its natural gas as a doomsday weapon involves much bluff. If used, it would probably do less damage than imagined while imposing long-term costs on Russia.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2014

Gulf widens between Qatar and its neighbors

Saudi Arabia's recent decision to withdraw its ambassador from Qatar has revealed the gravity of the crisis in the Gulf Cooperation Council, composed of Saudia Arabia's most immediate neighbors. Gulf politics is shifting.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2014

Failed 'resets' with Russia allow for a cold peace

The ideological antagonism of the Cold War may be gone, but Russia now defines itself as an alternative civilizational and social model. A cold peace is possible.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 29, 2014

Fashion Week Tokyo: opposites attract womenswear designers

Collections reflect the antithetical nature of fashion in Japan
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2014

What does the West now want?

The U.S. has acquired a dangerous militarist outlook on world affairs in which problems are defined primarily in military terms. In the case of Ukraine, such a view could lead to catastrophe.
Japan Times
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Mar 28, 2014

Kakuryu secures promotion to yokozuna, but will he now revert to form?

In the days since he defeated fellow ozeki Kotoshogiku to win his first makunouchi championship at the Haru Basho in Osaka on Sunday March 23, new Mongolian yokozuna Kakuryu has been getting used to the helter-skelter off the dohyo lifestyle he will have for the rest of his sumo career.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2014

Man With A Mission and Buzz The Bears keep punk's spirit alive at Punkspring

It's not every day you get to exchange thoughts on punk rock with a talking wolf.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Mar 27, 2014

Hanami! Sakura! Spring snacks have also sprung

I am not one to require too much of a reason to throw a mini cream puff party in the office, but Beard Papa's announcement of karintō cream puffs was a good one; so, I take the liberty of starting this spring snack write-up with our impressions.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2014

When the need to 'protect' signals a land grab

U.S. President Barack Obama seems to harbor the surreal hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin will continue to help regarding Syria's civil war and Iran's nuclear weapons program. Putin's helpfulness, if not fictitious, has been ineffective.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2014

Families with young kids eligible for one-time handouts

The government will give out a special child benefit of ¥10,000 to households nationwide with children aged 15 or younger to help offset the consumption tax hike to 8 percent.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 26, 2014

Shimooka Renjo, back in focus

It's not surprising that the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography has organized a retrospective on Shimooka Renjo, one of the first commercial photographers in Japan. What is surprising is that it didn't happen sooner.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 26, 2014

There's lots to do down by the river in Kitakyushu

During World War II, Kokura, which is now part of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture, is said to have been selected as a potential target of the atomic bomb, an alternative to Nagasaki.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBL NOTEBOOK
Mar 25, 2014

Hitachi forward Rice fondly recalls uncle's remarkable NFL achievements

As much as Darius Rice has been referred to as a basketball player blessed with size and phenomenal skills, he's probably always been known because of the name of his uncle and former NFL great: Jerry Rice.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Mar 25, 2014

Time for ISU, Cinquanta to answer for sham in Sochi

Good news arrived on Friday with the announcement that the Korean Olympic Committee and Korean Skating Union will file a formal complaint about the judging in the women's free skate at the Sochi Games last month which saw defending Olympic champion Yuna Kim robbed of a second gold medal.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2014

What does the Russian 'godfather' have in store?

In President Vladimir Putin's mind, the whole world has discriminated against Russia for the last three centuries. Russia's bloody despots — Catherine II, Nicholas I, or Josef Stalin — apparently never discriminated against anyone.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2014

Reducing shock to businesses after a disaster

The downturn in automobile and information and communications technology manufacturing after Japan's 3/11 tragedy underscore the critical importance of building business resilience to lower disaster risk and ensure trade flows that keep the APEC economies moving in an era of production interdependence.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2014

Ukraine's battle is not about fascists

Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that fascists have taken control in Kiev is fundamentally bogus, while Russia's despicable actions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine are all too real.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2014

An economy resilient to political dysfunction

Recent analysis shows there is little correlation between America's highly publicized political dysfunction and its relative economic performance in serveral dimensions.
Japan Times
PRESS / Publications
Mar 24, 2014

新書判 『ビジネス英語の新人研修Primeシリーズ』 「女子のためのフレーズ」「電話のプレーズ」同時発売!

<iPhoneアプリ&MP3音声付き英語学習書>
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 23, 2014

Globing warming to hit Asia the hardest; coastal cities most vulnerable, experts say

People in coastal regions of Asia, particularly those living in cities, could face some of the worst effects of global warming, climate experts will warn this week.
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2014

Education ministry's heavy hand

Two weeks before school starts, Japan's education minister tells the town of Taketomi, Okinawa Prefecture, that it may not use the junior high school civics textbook it adopted in place of the 'conservative' textbook selected by an area-wide council.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2014

The rest of Ukraine promises only more trouble for Russia

Once again Russian President Vladimir Putin's rhetoric has made U.S. President Barack Obama seem out of touch protesting violation of international law, as the world knows the U.S. is the country that ignores it most.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Mar 23, 2014

[VIDEO] Tokyo Gundam Project 2014: “Industrial Revolution” -to the future-

LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 22, 2014

Hay fever: nothing to sneeze at

Pharmaceutical companies are deploying a whole new generation of high-tech products in the fight against the seasonal irritant
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2014

Mt. Gox finds 200,000 'forgotten' bitcoins in old online wallet

After filing for bankruptcy protection and announcing it had lost nearly 850,000 bitcoins, Mt. Gox finds 200,000 'forgotten' bitcoins worth ¥51 billion.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami