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Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 12, 2013

Sophistication is duo's craft

While the phrase "Cool Japan" seems to only get used for things that are kawaii (cute) and technologically forward, people tend to overlook the cool in handcrafted products.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2013

MMC on verge of ¥200 billion public share offering

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is nearing a decision to raise as much as ¥200 billion via a public offering of new shares as it seeks to reduce preferred stock held by other group companies, two sources with direct knowledge of the plan said.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 12, 2013

Roomba rules with working moms

Don't diss working mothers. They boost the economy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 11, 2013

Real-world validations of our digital realm

"We are now living in a super, hyper-extended information society," says curator Masafumi Fukugawa, "and that idea was the starting point for our new exhibition."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 11, 2013

Seiji Ozawa makes a triumphant return to Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto

There's nothing like a comeback story. This summer, Japan saw a return to the stage by Seiji Ozawa, one of the country's most celebrated musicians.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 11, 2013

The tireless patience of a behavioral photographer

In Wim Wenders' 1984 film "Paris, Texas," Walt (Dean Stockwell) picks up his younger brother Travis (Harry Dean Stanton), who had disappeared in the desert four years earlier, to drive him back to Los Angeles. As Walt drives, Travis shows him a weathered picture of an empty plot of land he bought in...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 11, 2013

Why the Syrian crisis matters for Japan

U.S. President Barack Obama's weeks of fumbling during the Syrian crisis may create dangerous uncertainties for Japan during the rest of his presidency.
Reader Mail
Sep 11, 2013

America's love of war

Regarding the Sept. 5 commentary by Henry Allen titled "Tragedy of America's 'good and virtuous wars' ": All wars are tragic, perhaps none more so than those fought in the name of civic virtue. The U.S. Navy's new recruiting slogan boasts that it's a global force for good! The American writer historian...
Reader Mail
Sep 11, 2013

What 'evidence' on Pope Francis?

Regarding the Sept. 8 book review titled "The murky past of Pope Francis: Is he really so humble?": There are loads of things wrong with the allegations made against Pope Francis by Paul Vallely, author of the book "Pope Francis: Untying the Knots," and by Hugh O'Shaughnessy in his review of the book....
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 11, 2013

Kerry's offhand remark on crisis has long reach

While making a case for military strikes in Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry became an inadvertent peacemaker this week, and highlighted the risks and rewards of a chief diplomat who loves to talk but does not love the talking point.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2013

A weak air strike is better than none

The U.S. has important national interests in weakening Iran's most important ally in the Levant, ensuring that Lebanese Hezbollah's first invasion of another country fails and showing Iran that even the deployment of Revolution Guard training teams cannot save Tehran's proxies.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Sep 10, 2013

Is sumo’s lost decade finally coming to an end?

Many long-time sumo fans trace the origins of the decline of sumo in the modern era back to a decision made in January 2003 by Takanohana to call it quits and hang up his mawashi.
BUSINESS / Economy / 'SUMMER DAVOS' SPECIAL 2013
Sep 10, 2013

Advising visitors to truly see Japan with their own eyes

Last summer at age 66, Seiichi Kondo climbed Mount Fuji for the first time in his life. Friends warned it wouldn't be an easy expedition, and it wasn't. But conquering Japan's highest mountain was essential for what he was about to do next.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / 'SUMMER DAVOS' SPECIAL 2013
Sep 10, 2013

Seeking to change men's mind-sets to spur on prosperity for all Japanese

When Upper House lawmaker Masako Mori became a state minister for measures for declining birthrate, gender equality and consumer affairs and food safety last December, one of the first things she did was to announce that she would promote male staff within her ministries if they take child-care leave....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Sep 9, 2013

If you're jōzu and you know it, hold your ground

Communicating in Japanese is not all that difficult. What's difficult is communicating with Japanese people, writes Debito Arudou.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Sep 9, 2013

Tokyo: Have you ever had any trouble with immigration in Japan?

Tokyo residents share their stories about their dealings with Japan's Immigration Bureau on entry, exit and at visa-renewal time
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 9, 2013

Reactor makers look abroad as home market fizzles

The Fukushima meltdowns and the continuing radiation crisis may have turned the public off of atomic energy at home, but it's full steam ahead for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Japan's heavy industries when it comes to exporting that technology to power-hungry economies abroad.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 7, 2013

The message in recent food-garbage films doesn't go to waste

For those who still take in movies at theaters it's a great season for garbage, and I'm not talking about the usual summer blockbuster fare. Last month, Fatih Akin's documentary "Garbage in the Garden of Eden" (aka "Polluting Paradise"), about a landfill project in the beautiful Cambrunu region of Turkey,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Sep 7, 2013

Fukushima: health disaster or PR fail?

One thing about having a nuclear accident in a rich country is that at least there is going to be good medical care and long-term monitoring. The repair and clean-up operation is another matter, of course — which is why Japan is currently under pressure to accept help from abroad in fixing the appalling...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 7, 2013

Saving the smiles of Nepal with good dental care

It was pouring rain in the Nepali village of Kaskikot, which was bad news for Laura Spero and the ceremony she had planned.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 7, 2013

Amusing graphic novel about bipolar disorder

Until she was 30, Ellen Forney, an award-winning Seattle-based artist, took her slightly unusual personality for granted. Her obsession with exercise, her impulsive sexuality, her bouts of ecstasy: she considered these things, however uncomfortable, a major part of who she was. After all, aren't all...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2013

How Congress can limit Obama's war on Syria

If Congress wants to limit President Barack Obama's ability to wage war on Syria, it must use its appropriations power.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 7, 2013

True faces of celebrities, Beat Takeshi on internationalization, CM of the week: an

SMAP leader Masahiro Nakai hosts a late-night talk show, "Nakai no Mado" ("Nakai's Window"; Nippon TV, Wed., 12:13 a.m.), that attempts to get more candid with both the questions and the answers. The point is to reveal the "true face" of his celebrity guests.
WORLD / Society
Sep 7, 2013

A 'he or she' may actually prefer to be called 'ze'

As Nicholas Gumas settles into his third year at George Washington University in the U.S. capital, he won't just ask incoming students for names, majors and hometowns. If the situation calls for it, he will ask for preferred gender pronouns (PGPs).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 6, 2013

How Marvel's film magic made us true believers

Marvel Comics revolutionized the superhero genre in the 1960s with comic book characters such as Spider-Man, Thor, Iron-Man and The Hulk. Colorfully costumed adventurers who fought criminals and alien monsters primarily on the streets of New York City, and who, despite their incredible superpowers, struggled...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 6, 2013

Science's great unknowns: 20 unsolved questions

What is the universe made of? Astronomers face an embarrassing conundrum: they don't know what 95 percent of the universe is made of. Atoms, which form everything we see around us, only account for a measly 5 percent. Over the past 80 years it has become clear that the substantial remainder is comprised...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 6, 2013

With too many titles to list on 'meishi,' Amari is linchpin of 'Abenomics'

Akira Amari, minister for economic and fiscal policy, has so much on his plate that all of his titles don't fit on his business card. He's also the minister in charge of economic revitalization and reforming social security and taxes, and the head negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade...

Longform

A mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing on Hiroshima taken from a U.S. military aircraft on Aug. 6, 1945. Copying the photo without permission is prohibited.
80 years on, a Japanese American hibakusha recalls the day the bomb dropped