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CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 18, 2013

¥100 store recipes; the 33 steps to Freemasonry; CM of the week: Nihon Seimei Hoken

The government continues to chip away at the welfare state, reducing benefits for poor families and forcing them to find new ways of saving what little money they have. Luckily the variety show "Ikinari! Ogon Densetsu" ("Suddenly! The Legend of Money"; TV Asahi, Thurs., 7 p.m.) is always there to help....
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Aug 17, 2013

Image-flip for male rhythmic gymnasts

Smirks and snickering tend to greet any mention of "men's rhythmic gymnastics," as the phrase conjures up images of chaps in tights prancing around swinging ribbons or clutching squeezy balls to their chests like the sport's female exponents.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Aug 17, 2013

Trekking back in time among Okinawa's fronded wonders

A heavy fog hangs around the forested area of Yambaru in the northern hills of Okinawa. On this rainy-season morning in June, there's a steady dripping all around, though what I can see of the sky is cloudless. Instead, this "rain" is droplets that the trees have garnered into their canopies from...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2013

Hope for amnesty bill as Thai protests return

The Thai government finds itself beset by renewed street protests as an amnesty bill, for those involved in political violence since 2006, is debated in Parliament.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 17, 2013

China hit by rash of fake officials peddling 'power'

He had the swagger and trappings of a senior party cadre, and a natural authority that made him hard to contradict. The walls of his office in the heart of the Chinese capital were adorned with photographs of him next to retired generals and government officials. He drove a top of the range Audi and...
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2013

Southern All Stars' latest hit delves into foreign relations

A chart-topping song by the Southern All Stars is stirring talk over its political content as Japan experiences heightened tensions with both China and South Korea over historical and territorial disputes.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2013

Foreign colleges feel globalization-excluded

As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pursues deregulation, the "third arrow" of his "Abenomics" economic plan, Temple University's Japan campus is closely watching to see if he will create a more favorable situation for foreign schools here by granting them the same tax perks and credits as Japanese universities,...
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 16, 2013

NSA broke privacy rules repeatedly, audit finds

The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 16, 2013

Race to build water-grab dams endangers Himalayas

The future of the world's most famous mountain-range could be endangered by a vast dam-building project, as a risky regional race for water resources takes place in Asia.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2013

War dead kin waged peace since '45

Tamami Watanabe was 7 when her father died in 1945 in the Philippines while fighting for Japan, and her memories of him are fading.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 15, 2013

Jackson, wife given jail terms

Jesse Jackson Jr., a once-promising Illinois congressman, was sentenced to 30 months in prison Wednesday for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign money to fund an extravagant lifestyle.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 15, 2013

Booker on track to reach Washington

Newark Mayor Cory Booker took another step toward the Senate on Tuesday when he easily won the Democratic nomination in New Jersey. Republican nominee Steve Lonegan isn't expected to be more than an also-ran against Booker, meaning the Newark mayor has basically punched his ticket to Washington.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 15, 2013

'White House Down'

Hollywood movies are all starting to feel the same these days, but in some cases almost literally. Just check out "White House Down," a "Die Hard"-in-D.C. popcorn flick that is almost exactly the same movie as "Olympus Has Fallen," which was released earlier this summer. Great minds think alike, as...
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 15, 2013

Abe proxy, Cabinet trio visit Yasukuni

Three Cabinet ministers went to war-related Yasukuni Shrine on Thursday to mark the 68th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instead made a ritual offering in an apparent effort to avoid more diplomatic friction with China and South Korea.
EDITORIALS
Aug 14, 2013

Future of military self-restraint

This year's anniversary marking the end of World War II comes as the Abe administration appears girding to discard the postwar principle of military self-restraint.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 13, 2013

Ota named to International Fencing Federation leadership post

Fencer Yuki Ota, a two-time Olympic silver medalist, was selected as one of six members of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) Athletes Commission, it was announced on Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Aug 13, 2013

Otakon celebrates 20 years of anime fandom in the U.S.

The American anime convention, Otakon ("Otaku Convention"), begins with a costume parade before it officially opens. Last week I had a bird's-eye view of the spectacle from my 14th-floor hotel room in Baltimore, Maryland. An endless army of imaginary characters trudged across the elevated concourse and...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 12, 2013

Defense firms pushing to boost role

With pressure mounting from U.S. defense officials and the powerful Keidanren business group on the government to relax arms export restrictions, the military-industrial lobbies in Washington and Tokyo hope the future bilateral security relationship will incorporate their interests more robustly.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 12, 2013

Hashimoto advocate Sakaiya to advise Abe

Taichi Sakaiya, 78, the man credited with persuading Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Toru Hashimoto to trade the world of television punditry for the world of politics, has been appointed as an adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2013

Dethroning King Coal for the sake of the planet

Our continued high level of greenhouse-gas emissions protects the interests of one group of humans — mainly affluent people alive today — at the cost of others.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 10, 2013

Manual issued for Hague treaty child retrievals

Supreme Court issues manual for court-appointed administrators on how to retrieve children in parental cross-border abduction cases under the Hague Convention.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 8, 2013

Marr's new message

"What I've done is revert to type. I've gone back to my nature." It has taken 26 years, but Johnny Marr is finally ready to embrace his past. It is a legacy of immense weight: The five years he spent as guitarist and co-songwriter with The Smiths, the most influential and enduring British indie band...
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Aug 8, 2013

African group drums up a party

The African drumming theater is back, providing people with a fun and entertaining way of letting off some steam and experiencing a new culture.

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