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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2014

Safe alternative rites to female circumcision

New rites of passage to replace the traditional practice of female genital mutilation offers hope of protecting woman from bodily harm and helping them to lead healthier, more fulfilling lives in Africa and the Middle East.
WORLD
Jul 28, 2014

Xinjiang extremists may have joined Iraq conflict, China envoy says

Muslim extremists from China's far western region of Xinjiang have gone to the Middle East for training and some may have crossed into Iraq to participate in the conflict there, China's special envoy for the Middle East said on Monday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jul 28, 2014

'Hercules' no match for 'Lucy' in U.S. weekend box office race

"Lucy," starring Scarlett Johansson as a woman with a super-powered brain, collected $44 million to win at domestic box offices, outmuscling "Hercules," but both releases helped pump life into a lackluster summer at U.S. and Canadian theaters.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 27, 2014

A modest proposal for alleviating the endangerment of Japanese eels

In Japan, most eel is consumed on one day of the year.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jul 27, 2014

JBA vacillates as clock ticks on possible FIBA suspension

It's nice to know there are people who will elucidate what's really happening with the Japan Basketball Association-led merger talks between the bj-league, NBL and NBDL.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 27, 2014

U.S. evacuates embassy after 'free-wheeling militia violence' in Libya

The United States evacuated its embassy in Libya on Saturday, driving diplomats across the border into Tunisia under heavy military escort after escalating clashes broke out between rival militias in Tripoli.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 26, 2014

Traci Consoli: 'Follow your dreams and your heart'

What first brought you to Japan? I graduated. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
WORLD
Jul 25, 2014

Over half of China military airfields threatened by high-rises

More than half of China's military airfields have flight paths that are obstructed by tall buildings, causing accidents and airport closures, Chinese state media reported on Friday.
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jul 24, 2014

A taste of Hawaii in Tokyo; fine French dining; cruising, dining in Yokohama

A taste of Hawaii in Tokyo
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 23, 2014

Love beyond the realms of erotic cinema

The varieties of love are many: From the chaste and platonic, to the sexually uninhibited and emotionally obsessed. In a long career as a pinku eiga (pink film) director Yuji Tajiri has concentrated on the latter end of the scale, but in his latest film, "Koppamijin (Broken Pieces)," he makes a successful,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 23, 2014

Godzilla

The old Godzilla movies made by Japan's Toho studio between 1954 and 2004 were B-grade monster movies. They were cheesy and primitive, for the most part, but displayed the charm of inventive filmmakers who were trying to transcend the limitations of budget and technology by having a guy in a rubber lizard...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 23, 2014

Ex-Goldman trader says his bitcoin exchange will fill Mt. Gox void

Yuzo Kano quit Goldman Sachs Group Inc. twice: once for a rival bank, the second time to open Japan's first bitcoin exchange since the collapse of Mt. Gox.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2014

Success of Chinese reform is key to BRICS' rise

Last week, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) took a decisive step toward building institutions that could plausibly challenge the long geopolitical and economic ascendancy of the West. But Vladimir Putin's posturing at the meeting just hours before a Malaysia Airlines jetliner was shot down in Ukraine was one indication of the group's inability to offer an acceptable moral and political alternative to Western hegemony.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE PERSISTENT VEGETARIAN
Jul 22, 2014

Defying old habits with Taiwanese faux-meat

I happen to be one of those vegetarians who has never developed even an inkling of a taste for meat. It was thus one of the most bizarre culinary experiences I could have imagined to bite into a juicy, steaming dumpling of flesh — albeit fake flesh — during a recent dining experiment.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jul 22, 2014

Just what is so wrong about Yoko Ono?

As Yoko Ono prepares to take the stage at Fuji Rock Festival on July 26, a BBC video of her performing the 1969 Plastic Ono Band track "Don't Worry Kyoko" at this year's Glastonbury festival has racked up nearly 2 million views, largely from people tuning in to see the "worst live performance of all...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 21, 2014

Selective consumption tax weighed

It's only been three months since the consumption tax was hiked to 8 percent, but the ruling coalition is already expediting talks on another increase scheduled to come into effect in October next year.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2014

The real victims of U.S. sanctions on Myanmar

Myanmar's opening attracted much interest not only from Asian neighbors but also from those in the West that once considered the country a pariah.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 21, 2014

Bosnia buries 284 war victims unearthed from gruesome death pit

The remains of 284 victims of the Bosnian war were laid to rest on Sunday having been unearthed from what is believed to be the largest mass grave of Europe's worst conflict since World War Two.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jul 20, 2014

Malaysia Airlines may face global legal claims

Malaysia Airlines may need to convince judges from several countries that it was not negligent to send a plane over war-torn eastern Ukraine if the airline hopes to avoid an outsize legal exposure for the downing of Flight MH17, aviation lawyers said.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jul 20, 2014

NPO chief builds a barrier-free world for the disabled and disadvantaged

The founder of two nonprofit organizations in Japan working across Asia, Michiyo Yoshida has become an expert on international philanthropy, teaching courses on NPOs at universities in Sapporo and traveling all over the nation to counsel others.
EDITORIALS
Jul 20, 2014

Godzilla's message still relevant

Ahead of the first run of the latest, Hollywood-produced version of 'Godzilla,' the digitally remastered edition of the original 1954 movie has been making the rounds at theaters across the country to mark the 60th anniversary of the birth of the pop culture icon. After some 30 sequels, Godzilla's message remains relevant today.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 20, 2014

Big budget F-35 fighter 'can't turn, can't climb, can't run'

The U.S. military recently grounded all of its new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters after one caught fire on a runway. There is reason to worry that basic design flaws vex what is on track to become the military's most numerous warplane.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2014

Few biting so far on special visa for workers

Indefinite stay, ramped-up privileges so far failing to attract highly skilled foreign workers said to be key to the nation's economic revival.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
Jul 19, 2014

New sports center symbol of Haiti's recovery

Haiti's recovery from the 2010 earthquake that devastated the Caribbean nation is a slow, difficult process.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 19, 2014

The murky call on a hardball interview with Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

The tabloid press plays fast and loose with the truth, so anyone who gobbled up last week's NHK story in the weekly Friday should have added a dash of salt. An unnamed employee told Friday that the prime minister's office demanded the public broadcaster apologize for questions asked in its interview...
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Jul 19, 2014

Time for legislation to prevent spread of hate speech

On July 8, the Osaka High Court ruled that, yes, standing in front of a primary school while kids are in class, shouting through a megaphone that they and their parents are not human, and then vandalizing the school's property, is legal discrimination.

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