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COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
May 7, 2014

Iwate: Do you think the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will have any positive effect on Tohoku?

Interviewees in Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture, are divided on the whether any of the promised 2020 Tokyo Olympic feelgood factor will touch Tohoku.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 7, 2014

Pioneering woman leads London's Royal Court Theatre into new realms

Since she took a first degree in drama at Manchester University, then a master's in directing after she realized she wasn't cut out to be an actress, Vicky Featherstone — the first female artistic director of London's hugely prestigious Royal Court Theatre in the heart of upper-crust Chelsea — has...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 5, 2014

Ukraine moves special forces into wayward Odessa

Ukraine's Interior Minister said Monday that he had drafted a new special forces unit into the southern port city of Odessa after the "outrageous" failure of the police to counter pro-Russian separatists during a weekend of violence that killed dozens.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
May 4, 2014

Cameron settles in quickly as Frontiers thrash Hurricanes

The Fujitsu Frontiers might just have found the quarterback to solve their long-lasting problems at the position.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 4, 2014

Astronauts plan to grow lettuce for rocket salad

Most people associate NASA with rocket science, but now the U.S. space agency has turned its attention to rocket salad. A portable greenhouse to grow lettuce was taken to the International Space Station (ISS) during last week's supply mission.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
May 4, 2014

How consumerism turns babies into monsters

If you have been planning a shopping trip with the kids, you might not want to read any further, because teaching your children consumerism is helping to turn them into selfish, immoral creatures without a streak of empathy, according to a new study.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 4, 2014

Swallows' Milledge faces up to more time on sideline

Lastings Milledge knew something was wrong almost from the day he set foot in spring camp. His right shoulder was sore, and while that's not a most unusual thing for a professional baseball player, something just felt off.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
May 4, 2014

Rifōmu-suru rashii-no-yo. It seems they are having their house remodeled

Rifōmu-suru rashii-no-yo. (It seems they are having their house remodeled.)
Japan Times
LIFE / ADOPT ME!
May 4, 2014

A dog named Oboro: Tell me about it

When life weighs heavy and you're tired of two-way talk, there is nothing better to come home to than someone you can throw your arms around, snuggle up against and talk your heart out to. This golden retriever is perfect for just that.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 3, 2014

Pop star gaffes no sweat to Cool Japan

Whatever you want to say about Justin Bieber's lack of common sense, as either a pop star or a mortal, you have to admit he has incredible timing. He managed to capture the attention of the world with his impromptu visit to Yasukuni Shrine by posting photos of it the day after more than 100 Japanese...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
May 3, 2014

Golden Week activity influenced more by logistics than by economics

This year's Golden Week holiday isn't as golden as it normally is owing to the way the national holidays that make it possible fall in relation to the days of the week.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2014

N. Korea won't disarm nukes so stop pushing it

Why shouldn't the U.S. and South Korea grudgingly accept the North's nuclear weapons status and focus on what they might actually be able to change: Pyongyang's belligerent behavior?
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2014

Freedom of expression under fire in America

If you can lose your job in the U.S. as Mozilla's CEO did — because those in charge found his politics repugnant — there are only two options available to those of us who need to earn a living: Keep our opinions to ourselves, or lie about them.
LIFE / Digital
May 2, 2014

The robots are taking over, and it won't be pretty

Not often do you hear a "Newsnight" presenter using an arcane mathematical term, but last week was an exception. The culprit was David Grossman, who made an excellent film for "Newsnight" about the threat to employment from advanced robotics. In the course of this, he made the standard pilgrimage to...
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
May 1, 2014

Austrian drag queen to contest Eurovision crown

Drag queen Conchita Wurst will take to the European stage as Austria's contender for Eurovision, the song contest that pits nation versus nation and launched the global careers of ABBA and Celine Dion — Wurst's idol.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 1, 2014

This tale of brutal vengeance is no fantasy

A thousand things can go wrong in a kidnapping investigation, and "Prisoners" goes through about 100 of them before you lose count. After that it's easy to blackout under the chokehold of desperation that defines both the film and its protagonist, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman).
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Apr 30, 2014

Shiga, Osaka, Hamamatsu, Fukuoka aiming for long postseason run

The Ryukyu Golden Kings ruled the Western Conference, setting a league record with a 43-win season as new bench boss Tsutomu Isa put his stamp on the team after six seasons as a well-respected assistant.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Apr 30, 2014

Akita-Aomori, Shinshu-Niigata playoff matchups should produce lively drama

The defending champion Yokohama B-Corsairs failed to qualify for the bj-league playoffs, ensuring that a new finalist from the Eastern Conference will step onto the court on May 25 at Ariake Colosseum with a shot at winning the league’s ninth title.
JAPAN / Media
Apr 30, 2014

Advisers assess Japan Times performance after INYT tie-up

Now that The Japan Times is being distributed together with the International New York Times, the advisory board members agreed that there should be a newsroom shift toward even more coverage of Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Apr 30, 2014

Tackling the 'empathy deficit' toward non-Japanese

Sympathy is not the same as empathy, and that is one reason why discrimination against foreigners and minorities is so hard to combat in Japan. Japanese society is good at sympathy, but empathy? Less so.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2014

Populist Hashimoto a true 'yankii'?

In Japanese politics, someone labeled a 'yankii' is something of a populist who disdains cosmopolitanism and intellectual elitism. But does that apply to outspoken Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto?
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 29, 2014

Nagoya ends losing streak with victory over FC Tokyo

Kisho Yano scored three minutes into the second half to give Nagoya Grampus a 1-0 win over FC Tokyo on Tuesday and end a run of five straight defeats.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 29, 2014

Indie band The fin. is just getting started

"There's this idea (among Japanese bands) that you have to make something different from the Western music you listen to," says Yuto Uchino, singer for indie rock band The fin. "I was really trying hard to write in Japanese, but it was awkward. The words just didn't fit and I could never really say what...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2014

Unfortunately torture is an all-American value

Even when Americans rose up in 2011 to protest their government as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement, torture was less than an afterthought on activists' menu of complaints.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Apr 29, 2014

Music curators deserve credit for keeping local scenes alive

The term "cultural curator" is one that tends to provoke reactions ranging from sneers to rage. It really is a horrible term in some ways, with problematic embedded associations.

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