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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 12, 2019

Trump touts plan to change visas for skilled foreign workers

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he plans changes to the H-1B program that grants temporary visas for specialty occupations such as technology or medicine, but his administration said later he was referring to changes that were proposed last year.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2019

Outrage erupts online in Japan after assaulted NGT48 pop idol apologizes for 'causing trouble'

Idol says the group's management did not act even after she spoke with them, and asked who would be responsible in “the worst-case scenario.”
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2019

Late Japanese travel writer Kaoru Kanetaka's trip around the world

In some ways, Kaoru Kanetaka introduced the world to Japan — and maybe a little bit of Japan to the world — when she flew around the globe in 1958.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jan 10, 2019

Mayor blasts Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki as Ginowan city abstains from vote on Henoko land reclamation

Amid long-standing political wrangling over construction of a new U.S. base in Okinawa, the mayor of the city of Ginowan in the prefecture has said the municipality will not participate in a prefectural referendum set to be held over reclamation of land in order to build the new military facility, and...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 10, 2019

Gem traces in teeth hailed as proof that women were involved in creating medieval texts

The discovery of traces of semiprecious gems in the teeth of a 1,000-year-old female skeleton proved women were more widely involved in creating medieval manuscripts than previously thought, a group of international historians said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 10, 2019

Venezuela defense minister asked Maduro to resign over alleged sham re-election: Washington Post

Venezuela's defense minister told socialist President Nicolas Maduro to step down last month, and said he would offer his own resignation if he did not, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing an anonymous U.S. intelligence official.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2019

New documents link Huawei to suspected front companies in Iran and Syria

The U.S. case against the chief financial officer of China's Huawei Technologies, who was arrested in Canada last month, centers on the company's suspected ties to two obscure companies. One is a telecom equipment seller that operated in Tehran; the other is that firm's owner, a holding company registered...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2019

Think small to denuclearize North Korea

New Year's traditions differ across the Pacific. Americans break out bottles of champagne and wake up with headaches and fuzzy memories. Koreans try to maintain sobriety in order to bow to family elders on Jan. 1 and receive blessings for the peace, prosperity and health of their entire clan. Such cultural...
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 8, 2019

'Crime and Punishment': The crime you'll be glad you were a witness to

In a scoop for Tokyo, Theatre Cocoon in Shibuya Ward is set to mark the new year with the world premiere of a new production of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" in an original production by English director Phillip Breen with a Japanese cast.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 8, 2019

'Beyond the End: Ruins in Art History': What kind of beauty lies beneath ruins?

The exploration of the subject of ruins — their romanticization and fantasization — raises questions about the relationship between art, beauty and disaster.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 8, 2019

North Korea's Kim travels to Beijing for meeting with Xi after warning of alternative path

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was spending his birthday in Beijing after arriving in the Chinese capital Tuesday — which was believed to be his 35th birthday — for his fourth summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping as talks on a second meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump gather steam.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 7, 2019

Thailand halts plan to expel Saudi teen barricaded in her hotel room

Thailand halted plans Monday to expel an 18-year-old Saudi woman fleeing her family after she barricaded herself inside an airport hotel to prevent immigration officials putting her on a flight to Kuwait.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2019

Japan's government plans to test systems that detect dangerous objects on train passengers

Looking to improve security on public transportation, the government plans to conduct tests at a rail station by the end of March on an electronic system designed to detect dangerous objects on train passengers, a transport ministry official said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2019

Tabloid mag under fire for publishing list of Japanese colleges where girls are 'easily available' for sex at drinking parties

A tabloid magazine has ignited intense backlash on social media after it published a list of colleges whose students are "easily available" for sex after drinking, underscoring what critics described as the country's systematic objectification of women.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Jan 7, 2019

'Tattoos OK' hot spring map released for Rugby World Cup

A hot spring map proves to be a hot topic in the news. Read about how the city of Beppu is making efforts to welcome tourists with tattoos.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2019

Bailed out or not, Carlos Ghosn's role at Renault becomes more untenable

Carlos Ghosn will get a chance Tuesday to make his case to the Tokyo District Court that he should be released on bail from his 50-day detention. But 9,500 km away in Paris, his future as head of Renault SA is increasingly in doubt.
WORLD
Jan 7, 2019

WikiLeaks tells reporters 140 'false and defamatory' things not to say about Julian Assange

WikiLeaks on Sunday advised journalists not to report 140 different "false and defamatory" statements about its founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since June 2012.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 6, 2019

It's 2019 and it's time to hit those Japanese textbooks — for real

Whether you've been here for several days or several decades, listening to fellow expats, immigrants and other non-Japanese residents groaning about their dissatisfaction with their language abilities is nothing new. The advice I've received on how to improve, however, sometimes skews toward the exasperating....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jan 5, 2019

Survey on commuting gripes in Japan spurs wider societal complaints

Nothing unites Tokyoites together quite like complaining about daily commuting by train. And it’s a worthy gripe — morning and evening rides practically dispose of the idea of personal space altogether. Being packed tightly with other people also exposes us to all sorts of oddball and annoying behavior,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 5, 2019

Buoys, fisheries and aquaculture join the internet of things

Combining technology and data, the 'internet of things' matches supply and demand, increasing the chances of unwanted fish being returned to the sea alive and making seafood more sustainable.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2019

Why people fall for fake news isn't simple

Scientists are weirdly divided over what seems like common sense.
Reader Mail
Jan 4, 2019

Single-handedly reviving one slice of Japan

In my optimistic youth, I promised my Japanese wife that we would return to Japan someday to care for her aging parents. Twenty years later, she reminded me of my promise and that is how I came to be living in Yamanashi Prefecture at the age of 52.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 4, 2019

Saudi prosecutor seeks death for five of 11 suspects in Jamal Khashoggi slaying

Saudi Arabian prosecutors is seeking the death penalty for five of the 11 suspects detained over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the state news agency SPA said on Thursday, as a Saudi court held a first hearing on the case.
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 3, 2019

Comedian Akira Ohashi 100% reveals his naked ambition

His naked tray act may not be to everyone's liking, but Akira Ohashi is too focused on the positives to worry about that. The Saitama-born, 44-year-old comedian, who is better known by his stage name Akira 100%, clearly loves being in the public eye, and after more than two decades struggling to make...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 3, 2019

U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters seen quitting flash-point Syrian area near Manbij

A convoy of Syrian Kurdish fighters has pulled out of the flash-point area of Manbij in northern Syria, close to territory controlled by Turkey, Syria's defense ministry said on Wednesday.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years