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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 23, 2013

Taking the long Trans-Siberian road to Japan

In the late summer of 2009, while standing hung over on a pier at Fushiki Port in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, one of those little-visited industrial cities on the west coast of Honshu, I suddenly found myself staring into the eyes of a tiger. This came as no surprise: It seemed a quite proper way to...
Reader Mail
Jun 23, 2013

Right to express religious views

When I noticed Drusilla de Lanor's June 13 letter, "No offense taken to 'that guy' " (which was a reaction to Brian Redmond's June 9 letter, "An offensive religious reference"), I thought of how enlightened De Lanor must be.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 22, 2013

Syrian rebels claim to receive heavy weapons

The rebels in Syria say they are starting to receive heavy weaponry that could swing the civil war their way after a shift in U.S. policy opens the door for others to send them arms.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jun 22, 2013

Vienna embraces the culture of the bicycle

On the Praterstern, where cars, buses and trams converge from several busy streets on a road that loops around Vienna's central train station, a new digital counter stands under the eye of the Riesenrad Ferris wheel.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 22, 2013

Robotics about to transform our notion of what is 'human'

Bertolt Meyer is used to being viewed as not fully human. Born with a stump where his left hand should have been, he spent his childhood wearing a hook connected to an elaborate pulley and harness. "To open the hook and grasp things I had to flex my shoulders like this," he says, striking a he-man pose....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 22, 2013

Tourism goal within reach, JTA chief says

The rapid drop in the yen helped lure a record 3.17 million tourists to Japan from January to April, but achieving the government's goal of 10 million this year will require more work, Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Norifumi Ide said.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 22, 2013

To be or not to be? — they simply can't decide

Japan is often criticized for the time it takes to make decisions. The government drags on making decisions from natural disasters to nuclear power and whether to allow gambling casinos.
WORLD
Jun 22, 2013

Senate backs border security boost

Prospects for the contentious immigration bill that has been working its way through the Senate for months vastly improved Thursday after senators agreed to spend several billion more to fortify the U.S.-Mexico border.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Jun 21, 2013

Lefty starter Kikuchi thriving for Lions

Yusei Kikuchi is scheduled to toe the rubber for the Seibu Lions Friday night against the Orix Buffaloes as Japanese baseball gets back to intraleague competition this weekend.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 21, 2013

How top lowbrow U.S. humor translates in Japan

Somewhere in the history of American cinema, someone (maybe John Waters?) decided that gross and profane and funny could all sit on the same park bench and start up a friendship. That was way back in the 1970s.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 21, 2013

June blooms decorate Japan

While the ongoing rainy season means staying indoors to some people, for others, it is a chance to get out and enjoy the beautiful tapestry of ajisai (hydrangeas), whose colors vary from white to blue to pink to purple — and all shades in between.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Jun 21, 2013

In search of a steamed morsel or two of Hong Kong fare

Bamboo baskets of steaming dumplings, fluffy buns stuffed with sweet-and-savory barbecued pork, crisp spring rolls and endless pots of jasmine tea ... Dim sum (or yum cha), that Hong Kong tradition, is a staple of Chinatowns the world over. Except, it seems, in Japan. However, if (like many people I...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2013

New censors of Web media

The Internet has proved to be a powerful tool for overcoming media restrictions and censorship worldwide. But new restrictions on Web-based news media, such as those in Jordan, threaten to reverse the progress that the Internet has enabled.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 20, 2013

Are we all blinded by our sense of beauty?

Sophie Calle is an enigma. She is an artist, writer, photographer and filmmaker yet doesn't work exclusively in any of these areas. She has become famous for her work in photography but her objects and later films have drawn equal attention — work that carries with it the curiosity of a detective who...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / IN THE RECORD
Jun 20, 2013

In the record bag: Mark Birtles

Born in Nottingham, England, Mark Birtles began DJing in Leeds before coming to Japan in 2008. He is one half of the Tokyo Indie events team, which has hosted DJ gigs with touring bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Metronomy, Mystery Jets and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He let us have a look in his record bag and...
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 20, 2013

April sales tax hike a given: Amari

Japan will answer the world's call and present a credible midterm fiscal plan by implementing the sales tax hike as planned next April, economic revitalization minister Akira Amari said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2013

'Abenomics' in a race against clock

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party is headed for victory in July's Upper House election, yet the batteries to Abe's revival plan are running out.
Reader Mail
Jun 20, 2013

India and Japan are different

Regarding the May 29 article "Japan and India are 'natural' partners, [Manmohan] Singh says in Tokyo": We have been hearing that Japan and India are "natural partners" for decades. As a serious admirer of Japan, I do hope things turn out well in the near future for both countries, although trade stands...
EDITORIALS
Jun 19, 2013

Ova bank presents legal issues

If things go smoothly, a Kobe-based private network will begin in vitro fertilization with ova from donors by yearend. Some legal problems are expected.
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Jun 19, 2013

Web company IPOs in Japan pick up pace

What Web services are hot in Japan? One indicator that a company's business is growing and that it's expecting more growth is when it lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) with an IPO (Initial Public Offering).
BUSINESS / NOTEBOOK
Jun 19, 2013

'Matcha' on the go

NEW PRODUCTS
SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Jun 19, 2013

Washington skipper a cool customer

When a man is in the eye of the hurricane, he is sometimes blissfully unaware of the turbulence all around him.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / ABE'S PROMISES
Jun 18, 2013

Maternity leave, day care still elude many working mothers

Like many full-time working mothers in Japan, Eriko Soyama, 36, had a tough time getting her children into day care to continue her career.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 18, 2013

Research suggests fathers can nurture too

Unlike the male pundits, politicians and even financiers who have recently opined freely about what they consider "natural" roles for mothers and fathers, with mom at home and dad at work, behavioral neuroscientist Kelly Lambert's methodical approach has led her to a much more complicated conclusion....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 18, 2013

Democracy, interrupted: How local voices were silenced in Tokyo's first referendum

On Sunday, May 26, something quite remarkable happened in Kodaira city, western Tokyo: Over 50,000 citizens voted in Tokyo's very first local referendum (jūmin tōhyō) on the issue of whether a 50-year-old plan to construct a road should be reviewed or not.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Jun 18, 2013

Mr. Mayor, tear down this smoking area and make Toshima a true 'safe community'

To Yukio Takano, Mayor of Toshima Ward, Tokyo:
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 18, 2013

Quickies on bringing in psychotropics and bags, calling Japan, buying shoes

A variety of queries from readers have arrived at Lifelines over the last few weeks, so we'll address some of them in this column.

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