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ASIA PACIFIC
May 16, 2013

TV show gives peek into world of Chinese porn censors

In the annals of bizarre bureaucratic desk jobs, the Chinese government may have all others beat.
JAPAN / Politics
May 10, 2013

Draft plan for national security council drawn up

A plan has been drafted to set up a national security council for the prime minister where four Cabinet ministers will meet to share top secret intelligence, government officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
May 7, 2013

Fukushima debris disposal falling short

The Environment Ministry admits that disposing of disaster debris in Fukushima Prefecture will not be completed by the April 2014 target.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 29, 2013

Perceptions of brothers don't fit neatly into pre-existing box

Chechen? American? Immigrant? Citizen? Muslim? Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev may be all of the above, but how Americans attempt to come to grips with the attacks allegedly perpetrated by the brothers has much to do with how Americans identify them.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 27, 2013

Can you really train your brain to be more intelligent?

My week has been pretty hectic so far. On Monday, I manned a busy beach bar and had to remember a range of ice-cream and pizza orders for a constant stream of customers.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2013

Time for the U.S. to come clean about torture

The U.S. government's use of torture against suspected terrorists, and its failure to fully acknowledge and condemn it, makes the use of diplomacy more daunting.
WORLD
Apr 13, 2013

Gitmo dogged by new controversy

The U.S. military justice system at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which has been dogged by charges of secret monitoring of proceedings and defense communications, became embroiled in a fresh controversy Thursday when it was revealed that hundreds of thousands of defense emails were turned over to the prosecution....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 2, 2013

A tale of two knives, a Kiwi legend, a gang and a girl

The story reads like a New Zealand news editor's wish list: Celebrity, dangerous weapons, bizarre behavior, death threats, Brazilian street gangs and a mysterious love interest.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 26, 2013

Curse or cash cow: Japan ready for casinos?

Lawmakers are seriously considering legalizing casinos so Japanese can roll the dice without having to travel to gambling houses in the United States, East and Southeast Asia.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 25, 2013

Yoisho! A word to move mountains (and smaller things)

The man from next door says it. My mother-in-law says it. The guy in the grocery store says it. The nurse on TV says it. Seems like everyone says Yoisho! (よいしょ!) It's one of those expressions that appear to be a common part of everyday Japanese life but are not usually taught in Japanese language...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2013

Lift the veil of secrecy on U.S. drone program

The White House is still weaving on whether to share legal opinions on targeted killing, including justifications for killing U.S. citizens without trial.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2013

With Hugo Chavez gone, will Chavismo die as well?

Venezuela is better off with Hugo Chavez gone, but the country will prosper only if the opposition offers a vision that makes 'Chavismo' disappear.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2013

China skips 3/11 rites over invite to Taiwan

China's absence at the national ceremony commemorating the second anniversary of the 3/11 disasters was unfortunate, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says, with the snub apparently in response to Taiwan's invitation.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 9, 2013

Sleeping on the train — a rite of passage into Japanese society

When I first came to Japan, I wondered how people could sleep on the train, a public and completely inappropriate place where you can be assured everyone will be watching you. But then I learned that sleeping on the train is involuntary — and should be classified as a sleeping disorder.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / CHUBU CONNECTION
Feb 23, 2013

Women see, touch war-era paper again

Three former students who were involved in making paper balloon bombs at a Nagoya school during the war saw and touched the "washi" (traditional Japanese paper) used to make the balloons for the first time in 68 years on Feb. 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2013

Hit North Korea through its financing network

Washington and Seoul should target the global network of banks and front companies that sustain North Korea's palace economy as well as its gulags.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 13, 2013

Detainees' talks with lawyers 'monitored'

A defense lawyer at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba said Monday that there is "overwhelming circumstantial evidence" that the U.S. government is listening to privileged communications between high-value detainees accused of orchestrating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and their lawyers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 8, 2013

The unexpected awaits at Media Arts Festival

When asked to describe his latest film in one word, director Shunichiro Miki repeated what most cinema critics worldwide had said after their own somewhat botched attempts to describe it: 'Indescribable.'
WORLD / Politics
Feb 8, 2013

Lawmakers to get access to drone war rules

Washington AFP-JIJI
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 6, 2013

Chinese target-locked MSDF ship, chopper

Chinese warships directed their fire-control radar on a Japanese destroyer and a helicopter last month in the East China Sea, the Defense Ministry says.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2013

Ending the international war against women

According to the United Nations, one in three women worldwide will be raped or beaten in her lifetime.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 21, 2013

CIA drone war exempt from counterterror 'playbook'

The Obama administration is nearing completion of a detailed counterterrorism manual that is designed to establish clear rules for targeted-killing operations but leaves open a major exemption for the CIA's campaign of drone strikes in Pakistan, U.S. officials said.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 20, 2013

Hostage crisis upends U.S. regional plans

The hostage crisis in Algeria has thrown a wrench into the Obama administration's strategy for coordinating an international military campaign against al-Qaida fighters in North Africa, leaving U.S., European and African leaders even more at odds over how to tackle the problem.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 17, 2012

In movie, she's a hero; in real life, it's complicated

She was a real-life heroine of the CIA hunt for Osama bin Laden, a headstrong young operative whose work tracking the al-Qaida leader serves as the dramatic core of a Hollywood film set to premiere this month.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 16, 2012

Mount Fuji's lacustrine Gang of Five

Among Japan's many physical features, none comes even close to matching the manner in which its loftiest peak has carved out the fondest niche in the national psyche. The Mount Fuji name and image are evident practically everywhere in Japan today — as they have been one way or another over the centuries....

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear