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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Apr 1, 2018

K-pop stars turn diplomatic envoys with concert dates in North Korea

They won over buttoned-up investors at a banking conference with their jingles about teenage love, but the K-pop girl band Red Velvet is about to face what may be its toughest audience yet: North Korea.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 31, 2018

'Territory of Light' is a timely translation that sheds light on Japan's marginalized

Acclaimed novelist Yuko Tsushima spent her lifetime reflecting light on the shadowed voices in Japan, inspired by her own experiences as a single mother facing the censure of a traditionally patriarchal society. In her later years, Tsushima explored the marginalized in Japanese history, writing from...
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Mar 31, 2018

'The Outsider' scores a few hits among the misses

Netflix last month released a yakuza film starring Jared Leto titled "The Outsider" to critical disdain. And as much as I expected to hate the movie, I didn't. It's portrayal of the world of organized crime in Japan after World War II is not entirely inaccurate. It even has its moments.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 30, 2018

As wild weather worsens, Philippine migration takes on a female face

When the rains failed in 2015 and drought gripped southern Mindanao in the Philippines, Corazon Vegafria knew what she had to do: move to the city of Koronadal, about an hour away by bus, and find work as a domestic helper to support her family.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 30, 2018

Strong on diplomacy? Abe seemingly caught off guard by North Korea and trade setbacks

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe likes to boast about his diplomatic skills, but two weeks of humiliating surprises from the U.S. and North Korea are testing his mettle.
EDITORIALS
Mar 29, 2018

Japan must take a unified stance on terrorism in U.K.

Japan must stand strong against the lawlessness of the Skripal attack together with its partners in London and elsewhere.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 28, 2018

Casting director Ko Iwagami plays matchmaker in Hollywood

It was Ko Iwagami's love for American cinema, and "Indiana Jones" in particular, that took him to the United States. Now a successful casting director, he understands that Hollywood isn't always so kind.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB Preview
Mar 28, 2018

Hawks look set to maintain stranglehold over Pacific League rivals

The following is the first of a two-part NPB preview beginning with the 2018 Pacific League.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2018

Defying criticism, Taiji pushes forward with bold plans based on continued dolphin hunts

A few years back, the normally sleepy town of Taiji in Wakayama Prefecture was filled with activists furious with its traditional dolphin hunt, which was featured in "The Cove," a 2009 Academy Award-winning documentary.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 28, 2018

Mystery no more: North Korea's Kim meets Xi, says he's 'willing' to talk with Trump

North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, has made an unannounced visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, state media confirmed Wednesday, apparently saying for the first time just weeks before a possible meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that he is "willing" to sit down...
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 28, 2018

Ex-Michigan State dean who supervised Larry Nassar is also charged with sex crimes

A former Michigan State University dean who supervised the doctor at the center of the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal was himself charged on Tuesday with criminal sexual conduct involving medical school students.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 27, 2018

Abe's right — it's time to codify the SDF

The importance of providing legal clarity to decision-makers — especially during times of crisis — cannot be overstated.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 27, 2018

Japan and the Skripal poisoning: The U.K.'s fair-weather friend

Prime Minister Abe should demonstrate that Japan is a reliable security partner.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2018

Poisoning demonstrates Brexit's threat to the security of Britain

Brexiteers must realize a 'Britain alone' is a 'Britain vulnerable.'
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2018

Amid tourism rise, Tsushima Island could play evacuation role if tensions flare with North Korea

Within sight of the bright lights and bustling beaches of Busan, sleepy Tsushima Island has little in common with its neighbor located a mere 50 kilometers north, but the island of about 31,000 people has recently become a hot spot for South Korean tourists.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 27, 2018

U.S. Republicans press for F-35 fighter jet sale to Taiwan so island can 'remain a democracy'

Two senior U.S. Republican senators asked the Trump administration on Monday to allow the sale of Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 fighter jets to Taiwan, saying it would help it "remain a democracy" in the face of threats from China.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 26, 2018

Abe says he's in contact with North about meeting Kim, suggests in Diet he'd be open to trilateral summit with U.S.

Japan has been communicating with North Korea through “various means” on the possibility of meeting with leader Kim Jong Un.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 26, 2018

Mattis holds firm as chaos engulfs Trump national security team

U.S. President Donald Trump's shake-up of his national security team adds to the burden on one man at the center of any decision about war and peace: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 26, 2018

Trump may boot some Russian diplomats over nerve agent attack on ex-spy in U.K.: source

President Donald Trump is considering the expulsion of some Russian diplomats in the United States in solidarity with Britain over the poisoning of a former Russian spy in England, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 26, 2018

Exiled Catalan ex-leader Carles Puigdemont detained in Germany on Spanish warrant

Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont was detained in Germany on Sunday, five months after entering self-imposed exile from Spain, where he faces up to 25 years in prison for organizing an illegal secession referendum last year.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2018

Former U.S. national security chiefs uneasy with Trump pick John Bolton's hawkish bent

Two former national security officials said Sunday they don't agree with the saber-rattling rhetoric of President Donald Trump's pick to become the new national security chief.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Mar 25, 2018

Hands-on leadership, empathy buoy chairman

Sachin N. Shah's love for Japan began with a Toyota Tercel, his first car after he moved from India to an American-Italian neighborhood in the United States in the 1970s.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Mar 25, 2018

Nothing but a heartbreak: an Akita dog named Voyager

A purebred Akita with papers to prove it, Voyager's journey started out fine but has become a one of loneliness and yearning.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 25, 2018

The elderly are dominating Japan's fitness clubs

Japanese gyms are almost totally monopolized by people of middle and advanced ages, especially those over 65, and have become indispensable arenas for their socializing.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 24, 2018

Malaysia arrests seven men with Islamic State links over attacks plot

Malaysian police have arrested seven men with links to the Islamic State militant group who were planning attacks on non-Muslim places of worship and other targets, authorities said on Saturday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 24, 2018

Once falsely convicted in Japan, rarely exonerated

A lot of eating goes on in the new documentary "Gokutomo" ("Friends in Prison"), which is about five men, all convicted of murder, who spent many years in prison. Watching one of them casually buy a sweet bean bun at a convenience store, you realize that, as an indulgence, food can be the most obvious...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2018

'Polar Silk Road': Greenland's courting of China for airport projects worries Denmark

Greenland is courting Chinese investors and construction firms to help expand three airports, causing concerns in the Danish government that Chinese involvement on the Arctic island could upset the United States, a close ally.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person