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COMMUNITY / Issues
Jan 15, 2014

Three cases, three paths to legitimacy for Supreme Court

When I began studying Japanese, one of my goals was to be able to read the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's version of The Wall Street Journal. Achieving that goal, however, meant realizing that it is possibly The Most Boring Newspaper on Earth.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 15, 2014

No refuge from booze in Tokyo, paradise for alcoholics in denial

Many of us foreigners living here know deep down that we and many of our friends are at least mild alcoholics, masking each other's addictions, and the allure of alcohol is not an easy monkey to get of your back. It's difficult in any city, though living in Tokyo provides it's own unique set of problems.
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jan 15, 2014

Tokyo: What's the strangest thing you've seen in a vending machine?

From melon to books, eggs and stewed morsels, interviewees around Tokyo share their most wonderfully weird vending machine encounters.
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

Cannabis enters real world of taxes and regulation

Americans are just starting to see the first, hard details in the tricky balancing act of transforming recreational marijuana use into a legal business — in Washington and in Colorado. The big deal about legalization is that it may not be such a big deal, at least right away.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 13, 2014

A hard day's grind for porn's professionals

A day on set with Akira Takatsuki, arguably Japan's most famous porn director in the subgenre revolving around well-endowed female talent, and AV stars Shiori Tsukada and Mumin reveals a world of work like any other — except for the sex stuff.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 13, 2014

London sets out to be the capital of menswear

Bring on the boys. London Collections: Men autumn-winter 2014 brought with it a new message to promote and a new voice to shout about it.
BASKETBALL
Jan 12, 2014

Shimane fires Vlaikidis, names ex-JBL star Hanson new bench boss

The Shimane Susanoo Magic, who have lost seven straight games, including their past three by a combined 59 points, made a coaching change on Sunday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 12, 2014

No lack of ideas on a course of action for English education

Last week's Learning Curve column, "English fluency hopes rest on an education overhaul," looked at the persistent mismatch between the education ministry's stated goals and the actual outcomes of English language education in Japan.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 12, 2014

Sharon's life shaped Israel, mirrored its turbulent times

The death of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who had been in a deep coma since suffering a stroke in January 2006, represents an extraordinary moment of rupture in his country's history. Of the generation of Israeli soldiers and politicians who fought in Israel's founding conflicts, only...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 12, 2014

French comedian's gesture divides a nation

On Jan 12, 1944, the Gestapo occupying the French city of Bordeaux despatched its Jews, who had been rounded up and imprisoned in their own majestic synagogue, to the death camps.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 12, 2014

Deflation Watch: New Year's scorecard

It seems likely that the consumption tax increase will derail the government's economic boom train.
LIFE
Jan 11, 2014

Everything you ever wanted to know about Godzilla but were afraid to ask

Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 10, 2014

Teachers must nurture critical thinking, confidence in English for a shot at 2020 goals

Until English teachers start developing critical thinking skills in the classroom and emphasizing confidence over competence, students will never be able to converse with native English speakers 'at a viable level of proficiency.'
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jan 10, 2014

Any Hosokawa presence in Tokyo race bad for Abe

The emergence of Morihiro Hosokawa as a potential candidate could be a game-changer for the Tokyo gubernatorial race and deal a severe blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2014

Focusing on the business of Korean reconciliation

Despite its flaws, including an Orwellian feel, the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a joint venture of the North and South Korean government, helps to build an environment of collaboration. Pyongyang's recent announcement that it will open another 14 special economic zones is a positive development.
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Jan 10, 2014

Major bonsai exhibition this weekend in Kyoto

A large bonsai exhibition is taking place this weekend in the city of Kyoto.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2014

Japan urged to embrace U.S.-style think tanks

Right before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet approved the nation's new long-term National Security Strategy in mid-December, the independent think tank Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation, composed of prominent Japanese and American scholars, compiled its own approach.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jan 8, 2014

Restore the shuttered-up New Year's of yore

First of all, I would like to wish a happy new year to all the readers of Labor Pains. While labor news has generally been a gloomy topic of late, it is my hope that this year will bring brighter things for me to write about.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jan 8, 2014

Has Abenomics improved things for you or the country over the past year?

I can't really say that things have improved for the country as I don't often have the chance to follow politics. But, based on what I feel about my family, things have improved in the last year. I'm not sure if it's because of Abenomics, but some things have changed for the better.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 8, 2014

New York's Apples make a big impression

In the last three months since I arrived in New York to study American drama with a grant from the Asian Cultural Council, a U.S. nonprofit dedicated to international cultural exchange, I have been to the theater more than 70 times — including at least a dozen visits to somewhere that's been a truly...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2014

Kobe neighborhood gets spicy with 'kimchi town' moniker

A Kobe neighborhood densely populated with Korean residents is now touting itself as the "town of kimchi," having created brochures that have proved more popular than expected.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2014

Time to relegate 'moral laws' to history's dustbin

Nothing lasts forever — especially in the U.S. with its 50 percent divorce rate — and it's clear that same-sex marriage will eventually be the law of the land.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan