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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 12, 2013

Busan is still Asia's film-fest gem, but its sparkle is fading

During the Q&A session after the screening of his new film "Stray Dogs" at the 18th Busan International Film Festival, which ran Oct. 3-12, Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang mentioned that not only was his previous film not distributed in South Korea, it wasn't even shown at BIFF. Tsai was one of the...
EDITORIALS
Oct 12, 2013

Revising Status of Forces Agreement

A meeting earlier this month among Japan-U.S. officials failed to address change for most of the core issues held in place by the half-century-old U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 12, 2013

Myanmar takes helm of ASEAN while sectarian violence persists

Myanmar last week took the baton from the Sultan of Brunei, assuming the rotating chair in 2014 of Asia's most important regional organization, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Oct 11, 2013

Big Oktoberfest at Deutsche Schule Kobe

Deutsche Schule Kobe European School will hold Oktoberfest 2013 on Oct. 19 in Kobe.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2013

Past a papal-centric church

Pope Francis is raising eyebrows by criticizing the Catholic Church's obsession with 'small-minded rules' and narrow issues as well as its heretofore Vatican-centric view.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Oct 10, 2013

Earth's climate change tipping point to start in 2020, new model predicts

Locations around the globe will soon reach climatic tipping points, with some in tropical regions — home to most of the world's biodiversity — feeling the first impacts of unprecedented eras of elevated temperatures as soon as seven years from now, according to a study released Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2013

Bibi and Obama head for a showdown on Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's message to the U.N. was simple: If Iran doesn't abandon its nuclear ambitions in the coming months, we're going to have a crisis.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2013

At 77, he flips burgers to earn his old hourly wage in a week

It seems like another life. At the height of his corporate career, Tom Palome was pulling in a salary in the low six-figures and flying first class on business trips to Europe.
EDITORIALS
Oct 7, 2013

Inching toward collective self-defense

By agreeing to revise the terms of Japan-U.S. defense cooperation in view of China's buildup, the Abe administration risks discarding Japan's traditional 'defense-only defense' posture.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2013

Averting conflict over water

In an increasingly water-stressed world, shared water resources are becoming an instrument of power, fostering competition within and between nations and impacting ecosystems.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2013

Separating Jesus from the legends

There's enough biblical scholarship about the historical Jesus to raise questions about some of the myths that have formed around Him over the past 2,000 years.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2013

Protecting migrant workers' rights worldwide

There is still too little being invested at national and regional levels to protect the rights of migrant workers, particularly in agriculture, domestic work and construction.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 5, 2013

Abe promotes secrecy, sidelining transparency and open government

Norika Fujiwara, a TV celebrity who serves as goodwill ambassador for the Japanese Red Cross, recently caused a media sensation when she came out against the government's proposed secrecy legislation, saying it would adversely affect citizens.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2013

Foreigners to get info on 'sento' etiquette

Tokyo's "sento" public bathhouses are making an effort to become foreigner-friendly by printing multilingual brochures and posters to explain Japan's communal bathing etiquette ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Oct 4, 2013

Antlers of Nara's sacred deer to be cut off

The antlers of sacred deer in Nara will be cut during a ceremony between Oct. 12 and 14.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2013

The type who dare risk a government shutdown

Don't look for the refinement of public views in the U.S. Congress unless the most extreme members of the Republican Party feel they can risk moving out of their echo chambers.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Oct 2, 2013

True tradition would be preferable to an 'Idolympics' in 2020

Ten-thousand Kumamons doing an elaborate Busby Berkeley-style dance routine to Kyu Sakamoto's international 1963 hit "Sukiyaki"? A 100-meter Hatsune Miku towering over the stadium while 80,000 spectators crane their necks for a glimpse up her skirt? Newly elected Prime Minister Pamyu Pamyu speeding up...
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 2, 2013

Koizumi takes up post for Tohoku reconstruction

Shinjiro Koizumi's appointment Monday as parliamentary secretary in charge of Tohoku's recovery has generated much attention amid mounting criticism of the government for failing to speed up reconstruction efforts or end the radioactive water spill into the sea at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Oct 2, 2013

'Frack off': U.K. energy debate erupts

This might seem a bizarre place for a battle over energy policy in Britain.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2013

New U.S. health care law exchanges see much interest, some glitches

Millions of Americans flooded government websites Tuesday to get a long-awaited look at insurance options available under the Affordable Care Act, but the high traffic contributed to widespread computer problems on what President Barack Obama hailed as a historic day.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 1, 2013

11 pieces of not-so-conventional wisdom on Obamacare

As we approach the Great Unveiling of Obamacare, Americans are going to see a lot of these talking points repeated as if they're facts. Most of the talking points are not dead wrong — they could be true. But they're considerably more uncertain than most pundits seem to think.
EDITORIALS
Sep 30, 2013

North Korea's hard and soft tactics

Pyongyang's recent cancellation of a planned reunion for North and South Korean families suggests that it is using hard and soft tactics to gain diplomatic advantage.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Sep 30, 2013

Cultural and legal hurdles block path to child adoptions in Japan

While more than 7,000 couples applied to adopt or become foster parents every year between 2006 and 2010, only 309 children were adopted in fiscal 2010, according to government figures.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 30, 2013

Glitches, logistical problems plague exchanges

Buying health insurance will be as easy as purchasing a plane ticket or shopping on Amazon, President Barack Obama has promised.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2013

Sanctions have warmed up Iran for an accord

As Iran's economy reels and President Hassan Rouhani shows interest in rapprochement with the West, it seems high time to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Sep 28, 2013

Solitude is where you find it

Under cartoon-blue skies washed by early-autumn typhoons, I stand at Sendaizaka-ue (summit of Sendaizaka Slope) in Tokyo's Minato Ward. Sendaizaka was named for daimyo lords from Edo Period (1603-1867) Sendai, now in Miyagi Prefecture, who maintained a yashiki (suburban home) on the slope that today...

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