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EDITORIALS
Oct 8, 2013

Destroying Syria's chemical weapons

A team of nearly two-dozen chemical weapons specialists begin the critical, and Herculean, task of dismantling Syria's chemical weapons program and stockpiles by yearend.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2013

Keep Asia in the forefront of U.S. foreign policy

U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to cancel his visits to the economic and political summits in Asia is a setback for the U.S. position in the region.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 8, 2013

U.K. political pledges reveal divide

After a year that saw him lead the charge for gay marriage in Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron seemed to go back to his roots this week. Serving up red meat to his base at the Conservative Party's annual conference, Cameron repeatedly blasted the left and offered a core vision of tax cuts, reduced...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 7, 2013

Pakistan Army chief announces he will retire next month

Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, the powerful head of the Pakistan Army, said Sunday he will retire at the end of November, clearing the way for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to select a replacement while maintaining the balance of power between civilian and military leadership.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 6, 2013

Female novelist says pregnant women should quit work

The plight of Japan's working women is a subject that often pops up in the media. Female politicians and company executives voice the opinion that it would be good to harness the power of women in Japan, and that the garasu no tenjō (ガラスの天井, glass ceiling) needs to be smashed. But meanwhile,...
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2013

Japanese language diplomacy

An expert panel has proposed increasing the number of Japanese teachers sent abroad to teach the Japanese language as a way of improving relations with Southeast Asian nations.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2013

Foreigners to get info on 'sento' etiquette

Tokyo's "sento" public bathhouses are making an effort to become foreigner-friendly by printing multilingual brochures and posters to explain Japan's communal bathing etiquette ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 4, 2013

Passion for swords led Briton to forge career as expert

Tucked away in a quiet residential street in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, the Japanese Sword Museum offers a glimpse into an era where men staked their honor and their lives on the blade.
EDITORIALS
Oct 3, 2013

Outlook dims for a greater Osaka

The defeat of an Osaka Ishin no Kai candidate in a mayoral election Sunday has dimmed the outlook for Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's idea of creating a greater Osaka administrative area.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2013

The type who dare risk a government shutdown

Don't look for the refinement of public views in the U.S. Congress unless the most extreme members of the Republican Party feel they can risk moving out of their echo chambers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Oct 2, 2013

Households to take hit from tax hike

The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people's financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Oct 2, 2013

True tradition would be preferable to an 'Idolympics' in 2020

Ten-thousand Kumamons doing an elaborate Busby Berkeley-style dance routine to Kyu Sakamoto's international 1963 hit "Sukiyaki"? A 100-meter Hatsune Miku towering over the stadium while 80,000 spectators crane their necks for a glimpse up her skirt? Newly elected Prime Minister Pamyu Pamyu speeding up...
EDITORIALS
Oct 2, 2013

Consumption tax raise misdirected

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirms that the government will raise the sales tax from 5 to 8 percent beginning in April. But will the tax hike lead to an economic downturn

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past