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BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 16, 2014

Iwate's Yonamine never loses track of ultimate goal: winning

Tsubasa Yonamine doesn't grab front-page headlines or dominate the highlights segment on TV sports shows. He helps his basketball team achieve success.
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 2014

Election spotlight on nuclear power

Expect the question of whether Japan should rely on nuclear power generation in the future to be a main theme of the Feb. 9 Tokyo gubernatorial election after former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa announced his candidacy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 12, 2014

No lack of ideas on a course of action for English education

Last week's Learning Curve column, "English fluency hopes rest on an education overhaul," looked at the persistent mismatch between the education ministry's stated goals and the actual outcomes of English language education in Japan.
LIFE
Jan 11, 2014

The return of Godzilla, the king of kaiju

'Godzilla' first appeared in cinemas across the country in November 1954 but its story line was heavily influenced by an incident eight months earlier at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 11, 2014

A new-year Asian reading list to savor and inspire

At this time of year, many newspapers publish such lengthy lists of must-read books that it's daunting to even imagine them all piled up gathering dust on the bedside table. So let me narrow the field by sharing some amazing titles about or from Asia that I have enjoyed over the past year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jan 9, 2014

Anime/manga experts hopeful for year ahead

Aside from Hayao Miyazaki's sudden departure from filmmaking in September, the anime world saw some potentially hopeful developments in 2013.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2014

How South Korea rides out emerging-markets turmoil

With seven of every 10 high school graduates attending a university, there is a surplus of educated people in South Korea. Estimates are that 40 percent of college graduates are redundant.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 6, 2014

Abe squandering good will

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's weakening public standing doesn't bode well for the 'third arrow' of his economic plan — lower trade barriers, less regulation and a greater embrace of free-market principles.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 5, 2014

English fluency hopes rest on an education overhaul

Ringing in 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a dream: One nation that will actively re-engage with the global marketplace.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 4, 2014

Slippery slope to Yasukuni, Nago oiled by lucre

As with the Yasukuni story, most of the commentary on Okinawa base relocation deal focused on its contentious nature, but also like the Yasukuni story, the main impetus behind the actions reported was economic.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 4, 2014

Imagining Edo Period intrigue from the U.S.

At the climax of "Shinju"(1994), Laura Joh Rowland's first mystery novel, gallant yoriki (police sergeant) Sano Ichiro rescues the shogun from an assassination plot and earns himself a big promotion. It's a pyrrhic victory leading to what Sano immediately realizes will be a thankless position that risks...
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 2, 2014

Abe's diplomatic overtures are likely to fall on deaf ears

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saw relatively smooth diplomatic sailing in 2013, but he flushed his year-long effort down the drain with his surprising visit to Yasukuni Shrine.
CULTURE
Jan 1, 2014

Lucky food, charming decorations and visiting deities: welcoming the new year with history and tradition

Wearing kimono, getting together with family and friends, and not working for the first three days of a new year. Shogatsu, or New Year's, is when Japanese generally work less than the rest of the world.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 28, 2013

Charles E. McJilton: 'Stop attempting to control nature already'

What confuses you about Japan? When Japan says it loves nature but then cements rivers and prunes back trees so they resemble poodles on a stick.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 28, 2013

After Abe Yasukuni jaunt, all eyes on Xi

Chinese President Xi Jinping's reaction to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Yasukuni Shrine will determine whether Asia's top two economies come closer to a hostile incident.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 27, 2013

Researcher sees digital maps as key to understanding, alleviating crises

'Maps put into pictures what policymakers traditionally see in numbers,' says Elise Montiel-Welti, a researcher at Doshisha University who produces digital maps to explain global crises. 'They also put us in perspective: We can see how small we are in the face of huge disasters or conflicts.'
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 27, 2013

'Abenomics' turns Japanese hedge funds into world's best performers

Japanese hedge funds are heading for record returns this year as investors bet that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policies will succeed in reviving the world's third-largest economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 26, 2013

Abe's visit to Yasukuni to further incite hard-liners in China, South Korea

Although the U.S. had effectively urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to refrain from visiting Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, he goes anyway, ensuring Japan's relations with China and South Korea will further sour.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2013

Abe visits Yasukuni, angering Beijing and Seoul

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's unannounced visit to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine triggers immediate censure from China and South Korea.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 25, 2013

Top billings of 2013

Although all Japan's 50 reactors have been shut down since September, cleaning up in the wake of the March 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is making very slow progress and tens of thousands of people still live in temporary accommodation or are internally displaced. In addition,...
BASEBALL
Dec 25, 2013

Tanaka given chance to pursue dream in majors

Major League Baseball fans and executives finally found what they were looking for under the Christmas tree.
EDITORIALS
Dec 24, 2013

The Emperor's call for peace

Emperor Akihito on Monday celebrated his 80th birthday, becoming the second emperor to have passed this milestone while on the throne, following his father, Emperor Showa.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 23, 2013

From Mikimoto's pearls to ones of publicity wisdom

Having invented a method for creating cultured pearls in 1893, Meiji Era entrepreneur Kokichi Mikimoto set about selling them to the world. Apparently not one for understatement, he once announced he hoped to "adorn the necks of all women around the world with pearls."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Dec 23, 2013

Secrets, lies, gaffes, glory: 2013 in quotes

A mix of scandals, achievements, political missteps and commemorations highlighted 2013. Here's a rundown of the quotations that shaped the Year of the Snake.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?