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Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 17, 2013

U.S. program secretly feeding Syrians

In the heart of rebel-held territory in Syria's northern province of Aleppo, a small group of intrepid Westerners is undertaking a mission of great stealth. Living anonymously in a small rural community, they travel daily in unmarked cars, braving airstrikes, shelling and the threat of kidnapping to...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2013

Taiji dolphin cull inhumane: study

From a cliff above the tiny cove, a stocky, bald man could be seen between tightly drawn lengths of green tarpaulin, a metal rod in one hand, and something long, black and smooth wriggling helplessly under the other.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Apr 16, 2013

Tokyo: What have been your best and worst jobs, and why?

My current job is the best I've had. Since 2008 I've worked for a university entrance exam company here. The worst was also here in Japan, when I was working as an assistant language teacher, because I had different bosses, and the job description was so loose that it was far from satisfying.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 16, 2013

Mad court rush could brake or bless Abe's vision

As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet rush to diminish the Bank of Japan's bothersome independence, join the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations (sort of . . .), start pouring lovely, popular concrete before the summer House of Councilors elections and (sotto voce) maybe even amend the Constitution,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Apr 16, 2013

Education: What are we paying all the money for?

Dear Minister of Education Hakubun Shimomura,
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LABOR PAINS
Apr 16, 2013

Employers' 'box them in, drive them out' tactics fail legal test

Surely few employees would jump out of bed every morning, itching to start work at the 'Department for Driving Them Out'? But what is an oidashi-beya? And what scary entities are to be driven out?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2013

No resting on techie laurels

Only a few years ago, it was forecast that Japan's best growth strategy would be to develop environment-related products. That forecast was off the mark.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Apr 16, 2013

Tokyo: Do you have a message for young North Korean leader Kim Jong Un?

Get a hobby. Play less Battleships. Kim should take up something else, such as darts. He really needs to show his generals who is boss, and needs to be a little more refined in how he demonstrates his power.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 14, 2013

Iran's presidential hopefuls take aim at Ahmadinejad

Iran's political landscape has become increasingly divided during controversial President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's second and final term. But as a diverse array of candidates to replace him takes shape, nearly all the contenders seem united on one thing: attacking the president's legacy.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 14, 2013

Myanmar's unrest: Colonial legacy undermines nascent democracy

Alarming outbreaks of sectarian violence pitting Buddhists against Muslims in Myanmar cast an ominous cloud over that nation's democratic transition from military rule.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 14, 2013

Net TV expresses views the mainstream ignores

Last week's column mentioned "Pack-in News," a current-affairs talk show that used to stream on the Internet TV channel Kinkin.tv, which is the personal project of veteran actor-emcee Kinya Aikawa. It was a continuation of "Pack-in Journal," a show hosted by Aikawa on the satellite station Asahi Newstar...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 14, 2013

Digging for insights on foreigners living in Japan from some of the most prominent figures

Donald Richie, prolific author of more than 40 books and longtime contributor to The Japan Times, died in February at age 88. April 17 was his birthday, so this review pays tribute by sharing some of the insights he passed on during an interview, one of 12 in this book, conducted four years ago.
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Apr 13, 2013

Welcome party for new residents of Kyoto

The Kyoto City International Foundation will hold a welcome party and seminar April 21 for newly arrived foreign residents.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 12, 2013

A revived Japan must adjust its ASEAN business sights

If resurgent Japanese companies return to Asia looking for the strongmen, cheap land and low-wage labor of old, their expectations will be frustrated.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 11, 2013

Welsh approach to 'national' theater is efficiently different

Always keen to break new ground, Keiko Miyata, artistic director of the New National Theatre Tokyo (NNTT), has created a series titled "With: linking theater" as the centerpiece of this season's program. In this, she has lined up three appetizing collaborations by asking playwrights from Wales, South...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2013

Pyongyang-Tehran military ties test nuclear nonproliferation regime

Circumstantial evidence and a growing number of reports suggest that North Korea and Iran are sharing advances in nuclear and missile technology.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2013

Keeping it simple isn't an act for Pope Francis

Organized religion is often defined by specific do's and don'ts. Now comes Pope Francis with his emphasis on being humble and helping those who hurt.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2013

Abe expresses condolences over Thatcher's death

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his condolences over the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on Monday, saying she was "a great statesperson" who devoted herself to her state and her people.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 9, 2013

Whatever happened to the Goldman Sachs union?

In February 2012, a small band of sacked workers in Japan took on one of the world's biggest investment banks, Goldman Sachs, unionizing in a bid to keep their jobs and win a better deal from a firm they believed had treated them unfairly.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Apr 9, 2013

Rosy Fukushima health report faulted by experts

Dear Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,
EDITORIALS
Apr 9, 2013

Getting the word out on recalls

The frequency of accidents caused by defective goods highlights a pressing need to make consumers more aware of product recalls.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2013

Abe expresses condolences, admiration for Thatcher

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his condolences over the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on Monday, saying she was "a great statesperson" who devoted herself to her state and her people.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 8, 2013

After days of escalating threats, China makes veiled criticism of ally North Korea

Responding to regional worries over North Korea's bellicose threats, China on Sunday expressed concern and what appeared to be veiled criticism of its longtime ally.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 8, 2013

A template emerges for prosecuting terror suspects

Aboard the USS Boxer, somewhere in the Indian Ocean, Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame was sitting across from a team of interrogators, talking and talking. In secure meeting rooms in Washington, senior officials in the Obama administration were wringing their hands over what to do with him.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Apr 8, 2013

India students' aspirations, job market don't match

As India's economy grows, cities expand and new industries arise, officials and policy analysts are grappling with a key question: Will Indians have the skills to build the new India?

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb