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COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2015

China's pursuit of a new world economic order

Whether the renminbi is added to the SDR basket this October, a gradual transformation of the global system to accommodate China seems all but inevitable.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jun 4, 2015

Bra-maker's Cinderella Taxis aim to deliver the perfect fit

If you’re sick of waiting for your pumpkin to turn into a carriage, hail a Cinderella Taxi to get a little extra bibbidi-bobbidi-boo in your life.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 4, 2015

'Pyonghattan': Unofficial economy brews up bling for North Korea's growing middle class

Nail salons, massage parlors, cafes and other signs of consumerism were unheard of in rigidly controlled North Korea just a few years ago, but they are slowly emerging in one of the world's last bastions of Cold War socialism.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 3, 2015

Sink or sell? Russia standoff sees France saddled with two unused, unwanted warships

For sale: two French-built helicopter carriers, tested by Russians. Buy now for only €1.2 billion. Shipping extra.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2015

Why U.S. billionaires may be unable to buy 2016 election

Florida Senator Marco Rubio has one; Texas Senator Ted Cruz has one; even former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, considered a long-shot for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, has a billionaire in his corner. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has two.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2015

Cameron's work is cut out

David Cameron, if he is unlucky and plays his hands badly, could end up as the prime minister who led Britain out of the EU and who was responsible for the demise of the union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2015

Abe team moves to limit political damage from pension hack

Hoping to minimize the political damage from the latest pension system scandal, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga admonishes the Japan Pension Service and announces that a team will be set up to probe the massive theft of pension data.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 1, 2015

Abe and history: What's next?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe needs to dramatically and definitively address the 'comfort women' issue head on.
EDITORIALS
Jun 1, 2015

The beautiful game dirtied

Major sponsors should pressure FIFA to clean up its act.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 1, 2015

The AIIB key to Beijing's new economic order

China's approach to creating an infrastructure bank that will knit Asia into a Sino-centric economic order could prove to be a nightmare.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 1, 2015

Abe forced to apologize after heckling DPJ lawmaker

As heated debate continued Monday in the Lower House over controversial security legislation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was forced to apologize for barking at an opposition lawmaker during a previous session and interrupting her question.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 1, 2015

Syrian barrel bomb raid believed killed dozens of civilians; U.N. slams attack, ups toll

A Syrian air force raid killed at least 59 civilians at a market in a town held by Islamic State militants in northern Syria on Saturday, according to a monitoring group.
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2015

Europe's refugee problem an echo of the 1930s

Anti-migrant sentiment rising across Europe is a distressing echo of the attitude toward Jewish refugees in the 1930s.
CULTURE / Books
May 30, 2015

Breaching the secretive sects of Shin-Buddhism

The tendency to perceive covert groups as reticent conspirators rather than curators of hidden knowledge is universal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 30, 2015

Life inside a juvenile correction center

Young offenders are encouraged to acknowledge the crimes they have committed before learning how to survive in the outside world after their release.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 30, 2015

A media circus surrounds Japan's animal acts

The Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums has voted to stop buying dolphins captured during drive hunts conducted by fishermen in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture. For the past decade, the town has received a great deal of negative publicity because of its dolphin slaughter, and the World Association...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
May 30, 2015

Flora, fauna and fellows on the river

With summer's heat punching in early this year, I'm already angling for riverside relief. I trundle down to Ota Ward's Rokugodote, the southernmost train station in Tokyo's 23 wards, and a stone's throw from the Tamagawa (Tama River). The 138-km-long Tamagawa, which in this location divides Tokyo from...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NAGOYA RESTAURANTS
May 29, 2015

Traditional halal cuisine from Afghanistan to Iran at Nagoya's Ariana

If you are searching for a more traditional halal meal in Nagoya, but still want variety, Ariana is the spot. Much like Om Nom Nom, everything on their menu is halal, including Afghani rice dishes, Iranian kebabs and Indian curries. Also like Om Nom Nom, the drinks are alcohol-free. Smoking is permitted,...
Japan Times
WORLD
May 29, 2015

Amid Ukraine denials, Putin orders Russian peacetime troop deaths be kept secret

President Vladimir Putin ordered on Thursday that the deaths of Russian soldiers during special operations in peacetime should be classified as a state secret, a move that comes as Moscow stands accused of sending troops to fight in eastern Ukraine.
EDITORIALS
May 28, 2015

Juvenile crime and punishment

At a time when juvenile crime is decreasing, efforts to punish youthful offenders more harshly are misplaced.
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2015

Why U.S. 'believes' Pakistan's bin Laden story

Why do allies sometimes pretend to believe one another's lies?
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
May 28, 2015

Rainbow spas at Hotel Nikko Tokyo; Feast Hawaiian-style at the Imperial; Fireworks buffet at ANA Crowne Plaza

Rainbow spas at Hotel Nikko Tokyo
WORLD
May 28, 2015

U.S. commando raid on Syria gas facility foiled by Islamic State, Hezbollah paper says

Islamic State militants foiled an attempt by U.S. military commandos to carry out a raid in Syria, similar to the one that killed one of the group's leaders this month, a pro-Hezbollah Lebanese newspaper reported Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 27, 2015

Abe lays out scenarios for SDF dispatch if security bills pass

If contentious security reform bills are enacted by the Diet, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japanese forces could hypothetically be dispatched to mine-sweeping operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2015

The irresistible rise of the renminbi and the IMF

The IMF would be wise to include China's currency in its international reserve asset, the Special Drawing Right.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan