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COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2013

Dictatorship of the majority

Japanese civic movements conspicuously picked up steam to oppose the state secrets bill just before its enactment into law, illustrating that many Japanese voters become critical of the Abe administration when it takes up issues other than the economy.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2013

Behind the Pyongyang purge

So far, only two aides of Jang Song Thaek, the late No. 2 of North Korea, have been killed, but hundreds or thousands of other people thought to be linked to him may also be executed.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2013

Challenges highlight need for better government

U.S. President Ronald Reagan famously insisted that 'government is not the solution to our problem.' Today we know better: If government is not part of the solution, our problems will only get bigger.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 20, 2013

Haiyan victims still suffering as Christmas nears

More than a month has passed since Typhoon Haiyan demolished a large number of towns and villages in the central Philippines, and the people now have sufficient supplies of food and other basics. But most lost their homes and are now having to live in the open, according to the International Children's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2013

'Matsuri no Uma (The Horses of Fukushima)'

The earthquake, tsunami and reactor meltdowns of March 2011 may have faded from the world's consciousness, but for many Japanese filmmakers, both young and old, it has been a life- and career-defining event. Documentary makers, especially, have gone north by the dozens to film the aftermath and interview...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2013

Acura gets U.S. twist in bid for pizazz

Honda Motor Co.'s No. 2 executive, asked to identify the automaker's weak spot, spoke bluntly: Acura luxury sedans have to get better.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2013

Is a U.K. breakup in sight?

The white paper that the Scottish government has produced in favor of independence is long on aspirations and short on detailed responses to the problems that an independent Scotland would face.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 17, 2013

The best Japanese albums of 2013: Church of Misery, ‘Thy Kingdom Scum’

This year, the Ozzy Osbourne-fronted Black Sabbath released its first studio album since 1978, and while it was a fine album, I think they may have been "out-Sabbathed" by Japan's very own doom-metal band, Church Of Misery, who released its fourth album, "Thy Kingdom Scum," in June.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 17, 2013

Ishin loses control of Osaka Prefectural Assembly

Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka), a local political group that is part of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), has lost its majority in the Osaka Prefectural Assembly after four members were expelled Monday for voting against the group's proposal to privatize a local railway.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2013

Osaka drops railway sale after nixing Lone Star

Osaka Prefecture has canceled the ¥78.1 billion sale of a commuter rail line after local lawmakers rejected U.S.-based Lone Star Funds as the winning bidder, according to a source.
BASEBALL
Dec 16, 2013

Oka looking to rein in knuckleball

The last few years have seen a small group of pitchers trying to master the knuckleball in an attempt to revive or extend their careers.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 16, 2013

Abe shows totalitarian bent

The president of a Japanese university classifies the Abe administration as neither conservative nor liberal. Instead, he calls it 'totalitarian' and suggests that Japan is drifting away from European ideals based on democracy and individualism.
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2013

Defaulting to the old ways

The Abe administration seems to be reverting to an old energy policy by revisiting an old policymaking process, despite the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant disaster.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2013

Turkey playing 'orientalism' card against West

For many years, most Western journalists defended the Turkish government against the the suspicions of secular Turks who worried about radical Islamic or authoritarian agenda. But the liberal reforms stopped several years ago.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 16, 2013

Two U.S. senators vow support in Ukraine

A showdown between Russia on one side and the United States and the European Union on the other drew closer Sunday, as two American senators told a crowd of hundreds of thousands of protesters that Ukraine's future lies to the west, not east.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 14, 2013

The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya

Released in English last month, "The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya" is the 10th in the (currently) 11-volume "Haruhi Suzumiya" series of light-novels, written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 14, 2013

Japan, ASEAN tie up on flight rights

Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed Saturday to bolster cooperation on ensuring "the freedom of overflight and civil aviation safety," alluding to the risks posed by China's new air defense identification zone over the East China Sea.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2013

In search of Himalayan Yetis and global citizens

The educated 'global citizen' is like the Himalayan Yeti: a figment of the imaginations of a few, not a living member of the political fauna of the world. It isn't something we should try to create.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2013

Cameron eats humble pie in China

British Prime Minister David Cameron was feted by China's leaders during his recent three-day trip to the country, but much of his diet consisted of humble pie.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 13, 2013

Hoax photo of Mandela after death brings anger

The South African government said Thursday it would not release photographs of former President Nelson Mandela lying in state, and urged people to shun a hoax image purporting to be of the dead president that was posted on the Internet.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 12, 2013

Government to promulgate new secrets law quickly

The government will promulgate the contentious state secrets law Friday, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet will be tested in its ability to create viable independent overseers to check how the state classifies and declassifies information before the law takes effect within a year.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes