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COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2014

The once-mighty U.S. is in decline: Get used to it

Like fourth-century Romans, Americans are beginning to realize that they are no longer citizens of an unrivaled superpower. And they're kind of freaking out about it.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
May 15, 2014

Ryukyu strong bet for return to final

During the six seasons in which franchise cornerstones Jeff Newton and Anthony McHenry have teamed up to lead the Ryukyu Golden Kings to extraordinary success, the Okinawan powerhouse is the undisputed model franchise for the bj-league.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2014

Blanchett channels Blanche for Oscar-winning role in 'Blue Jasmine'

When actress Cate Blanchett took to the stage at this year's Academy Awards, winning the best actress Oscar for her performance in "Blue Jasmine," she delivered a memorable and eloquent speech.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2014

Ukraine begins peace talks without separatists

European-backed peace talks on ending Ukraine's crisis began with little promise Wednesday when pro-Russian insurgents — who weren't even invited to the session — demanded that the Kiev government recognize their sovereignty.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
May 14, 2014

From NHK, an offer you can't refuse

The state broadcaster's approach to separating the Japanese public from its money is legally and ethically troublesome, writes Colin P.A. Jones.
Reader Mail
May 14, 2014

Effects of bullying as bad as ever

Regarding the May 9 article "LGBT bullying rife in schools": Bullying is something that many people who are reading this can relate to. It's not limited only to children in schools, because it can easily transition into the workplace.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
May 14, 2014

Zaccheroni sticks to his guns despite surprise Okubo choice

Yoshito Okubo's dramatic World Cup recall may have grabbed the headlines when national team manager Alberto Zaccheroni unveiled his squad for Brazil on Monday, but the Italian's final roster was anything but impulsive.
JAPAN
May 12, 2014

Journalist now stands by Nanjing book

In a reversal, journalist Henry S. Stokes stands by the revisionist conclusion of his Japanese book that the Nanjing Massacre never occurred, after accusing his translator of right-wing sabotage.
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
May 12, 2014

World Cup 2014 views from Tokyo: Germany and England

A German and an Englishman in Tokyo discuss the prospects for their teams and Japan in next month's FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 11, 2014

Biologists invent new DNA letters for life's alphabet

Scientists have taken the first steps toward writing the blueprint of life in an alphabet unknown to nature, they have reported in the journal Nature.
JAPAN / History
May 10, 2014

Going nuclear: How close has Japan come?

We examine the historical debate on the country's nuclear ambitions
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 10, 2014

Takachiho: Gods and gorges in divine Miyazaki

The already cloudy sky darkens perceptibly as our car descends into Takachiho Gorge. This area of extreme scenic beauty — carved out of the earth by lava flow from Kyushu's volatile Mount Aso and further eroded by local rivers such as the Gokase — is already fairly hidden, in an untrampled corner...
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
May 10, 2014

Kokoro

Peering into the great human divide between the isolated self and the need for emotional validation, Natsume Soseki's "Kokoro" is a psychological glimpse into the "heart of things" that defies easy categorization: It is not a love story, although it retells a love story; it's not a coming-of-age tale,...
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
May 10, 2014

Industry 4.0: Germany rethinks manufacturing

Last month, the chief executive officer of one of the country's largest manufacturers spoke in a closed-door meeting to a group of Japanese executives on his company's global strategy. Remarkably, he spend 20 percent of his time praising German companies, from traditional heavyweights such as Siemens...
Reader Mail
May 10, 2014

Deniers won't let war wounds heal

Regarding Koichi Katsuta's May 8 letter, "Fictions aimed at milking Japan": Nationalists like Katsuta love to claim that Japan was the victim nation in World War II and that [claims of atrocities] were all lies to hurt Japan. He says the use of the term "sex slave" is incorrect, because no women were...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 10, 2014

New York City man named world's oldest at 111

The world's oldest living man is a 111-year-old scholar of the occult who calls New York City his home.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 9, 2014

Sleepy New Mexico town gears up for commercial launches as Spaceport America's moment of truth nears

After passing a sign reading, "Danger: falling aliens," New Mexico artist Roy Lohr and his dog, Yoda, lead visitors to the "spaceport" he has built in his backyard out of wine bottles and cement.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 9, 2014

Women go medieval as Dark Age combat-fest turns politically correct

For the first time, two women are now free to whack each other with swords until one of them falls down in internationally sanctioned competition. This is progress.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
May 9, 2014

Labor shortage cutting across all industries

Reliance on part-timers has left many companies struggling to fill positions.
LIFE / Digital
May 9, 2014

The Twitter paradox: the pros and cons of being free

Life is so unfair. Consider the humble newt — which, in case you're wondering, is an aquatic amphibian of the family Salamandridae. He has had such a bad press over the years. When PG Wodehouse, for example, was looking for a way of signaling that Bertie Wooster's chum Gussie Fink-Nottle was a feeble...
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 9, 2014

Japan should treat test scores with discretion

Although the education ministry's decision to allow local boards of education in Japan to make public the results of achievement tests for individual schools appeals to those who are frustrated by what they perceive as a lowering of standards, the tests are far too unstable to be considered reliable or fair.
Japan Times
WORLD / EU SPECIAL 2014
May 9, 2014

EU logos aim to ensure food quality

The European Union participated in the 39th International Food and Beverage Exhibition, known as Foodex Japan, at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, from March 4 to 7. The European contingent was there to introduce and promote a variety of high-quality European food and beverage products carrying special...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / NFL NOTEBOOK
May 8, 2014

Teams facing tough strategic choices in draft

Best or bust?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2014

Nintendo to target emerging markets in '15

Nintendo, which has been struggling to win over consumers with its latest generation of game consoles, plans to expand in emerging markets with new devices starting next year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 8, 2014

'Blue Jasmine'

We love watching rich people be rich and happy, but maybe we love it more when the cash stops flowing. There's a Japanese phrase for that, and roughly translated, it goes like this: "The unhappiness of others tastes of honey." In that vein, Woody Allen's newest work, "Blue Jasmine" — a film that stirred...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 8, 2014

the Hiatus to swap guitars for synths on 'Keeper of the Flame' tour

Who says you can't go home again? After breaking from what it knows best, the Hiatus is set to return to the live-house venues that it built itself on, following a nationwide tour that took it in a different direction.
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
May 7, 2014

Most NFL draft experts as clueless as the rest of us

Few things make MAS chuckle — and also irritate him — the way "NFL draft gurus" on TV do.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person