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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 16, 2014

Web pioneers try to transform TV

Netflix had a chance of breaking the Internet over the weekend in America.
EDITORIALS
Feb 12, 2014

Prioritizing medical research

The Abe administration is seeking to establish a new system for the nation's medical research in which the government takes the lead role in pushing large-scale projects in the development of new drugs and medical technology.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 11, 2014

Cibo Matto's Yuka and Miho share the secrets to their 'second marriage'

The story of Cibo Matto's return to the public eye is, thankfully, not one powered by cold, hard cash. Not for these two.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 7, 2014

'Cove' to become 'aquatic nook' as Abe takes aim at improper eigo

Some say that Shinzo Abe's latest proposed tax increases, part of the 'fourth arrow' in his popular 'Abenomics' policy, are going a step too far. Dubbed the 'language tax,' the new levy is aimed at word usage.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Jan 16, 2014

Japan's mobile apps provide an 'A' for every 'Q'

Question and answer sites have for a decade been one of the most popular user-contributed services on the Web — and Japan is no exception. On the traditional Web, the market has been occupied by a few big players, but the recent popularity of smartphones has attracted new startups to the mobile Web...
EDITORIALS
Jan 15, 2014

The 'Internet of everything'

The advent of the 'Internet of things,' the ever-expanding array of connectedness between computer sensors and consumer devices, promises convenience as well as privacy and security concerns.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 15, 2014

'Kaz' Kumagai brings tip-top tap to town

"Anyone can enjoy being be a tap dancer in their daily life; all you have to do is casually make a rhythm with your feet when you're walking down the street," Japan's leading exponent of the art, Kazunori Kumagai, insists — seemingly oblivious to the gulf between him and most of the rest of clod-hopping...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2014

India's shambolic Afghan policy

India stands at a crossroads where it remains keen to preserve its interests in Afghanistan but has refused to step up its role as a regional security provider.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2014

Economic inequality by the click

Free markets are expected to distribute the fruits of some new technologies in dramatically unequal ways. Will the relative losers, satiated by computer games and Internet entertainment, and provided with the basics of a minimally acceptable life, be too docile to revolt?
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2014

Teaching or brainwashing?

An education ministry council has approved the new standard for screening school textbooks after holding just two sessions. Such haste is deplorable as it suggests that the government seeks to impose particular views on children.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2014

Tepco's flawed turnaround plan

Tepco should further streamline its operations and explore new avenues of business growth, such as the retail sale of electricity in parts of Japan, rather than return to its old model that depended on nuclear power for profitability.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2014

Preparing for the age of disruption

By 2020, the quantity of stored data could be 50 times greater than it was in 2010. Many pundits regard this massive explosion of data as the new oil, even a new asset class.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 4, 2014

Imagining Edo Period intrigue from the U.S.

At the climax of "Shinju"(1994), Laura Joh Rowland's first mystery novel, gallant yoriki (police sergeant) Sano Ichiro rescues the shogun from an assassination plot and earns himself a big promotion. It's a pyrrhic victory leading to what Sano immediately realizes will be a thankless position that risks...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 4, 2014

Back and forward: Asia in 2013; predictions for 2014

Crystal-ball gazing is a notoriously inexact science, so before getting to that, let's lessen the potential exposure to ridicule by starting with a roundup of the last 12 months' key trends and events in Asia.
EDITORIALS
Jan 3, 2014

Dubious cure for doctor shortage

The education ministry's recent decision to approve creation of a new medical school at an existing university in Tohoku marks a new development in the government's oscillating policy on the education of doctors.
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Dec 31, 2013

NFL playoffs could produce another surprise champion

Just make the tourney, baby!
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2013

Energy rivals to face eased demand

Even as new renewable energy projects come online and changes in the law designed to increase competition and use power generated from all sources more efficiently start to come into effect this year, predictions for the nation's energy landscape show total energy consumption slightly down.
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.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: ARCHITECTURE
Dec 30, 2013

Building on strong foundations in 2013

The end of the year is traditionally a time of review and new prospects, a time to weave memories of the past with plans for the future to form the narrative cloth of a coherent identity.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 29, 2013

So much for nau: What will we say next?

The end of the year is always a good time to reflect on what is, was and will be. With regard to language, one of the most stimulating things I have recently read in this respect was from an article in the journal Nihongogaku (日本語学) about a study in which Japanese university students were asked...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 26, 2013

Favorite finds from 2013's Food File

As 2013 draws to a well-replete coda, there's just enough time to stop, pause and ponder the culinary highlights of the past 12 months. Tokyo has never been better for eating out, and this year has brought a further glut of excellent restaurants at every point on the budget spectrum. Here are a few,...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 26, 2013

Budget limits trim NASA's plans for big projects

The Cassini spacecraft is in splendid shape as it circles Saturn. Conceived in the 1980s and launched in 1997, Cassini arrived at the gas-giant planet in 2004 and has continued to deliver stunning images of the jewel of the solar system.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2013

Politically bankrupt China dare not tolerate a free press

The practice of journalism in China, a country where 30 practitioners are in prison, has never been easy. During 2013, it has become a great deal harder.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2013

Xi factor may not influence contentious issues

The Chinese president's authority has certainly increased under Xi Jinping, but Xi is powerful only when he has the votes. On contentious issues, he is but one of seven top leaders.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 22, 2013

Rental video stores ponder their reason for existing

DVDs still may be the cheapest, and easiest, way to watch videos at home.
EDITORIALS
Dec 19, 2013

Defense buildup won't bring security

With the adoption of Japan's first comprehensive guideline for security policy and diplomacy, the Abe Cabinet appears to operate under the illusion that the use of force ultimately could resolve the difficult situation the nation finds itself in.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2013

Mitsubishi Estate to hike office rent in Marunouchi

Mitsubishi Estate Co. plans to increase office rents for the first time in about five years in 2014 as the supply of new buildings slows.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2013

Sanrio said to violate children's privacy

Iron Man, Captain America and Spider-Man greet visitors to Disney's MarvelKids.com website, but parents may be surprised to learn that these superheroes may also open the door to tools that track their children's activities across the Web, according to federal complaints to be filed Wednesday.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo