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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 28, 2018

Launch a tourist-friendly Seto Inland Sea ferry system and they will come

The 250 or so inhabited islands scattered like pebbles between Honshu and Shikoku have been unfairly relegated to guidebook sidebars labeled 'Off the beaten track.'
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 26, 2018

Proposed Kibo no To policy criticizes Abe-backed security laws, but conservative members may balk

The leadership of Kibo no To (Party of Hope) on Friday proposed to rank-and-file members that the opposition party strongly criticize the controversial 2015 security laws pushed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a senior member and media reports said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 25, 2018

Reflecting on 20 years of female roles in 'The Ring'

In Japan, the "lord of the rings" is female, dressed in white with long black hair. The girl's name is Sadako, an evil ghost child who first appeared in Koji Suzuki's 1991 horror novel "The Ring" and went on to lead one of the biggest horror franchises of all time.
BUSINESS / DAVOS SPECIAL 2018
Jan 23, 2018

Innovative maps show relationships among key issues

In 2016, World Economic Forum (WEF) founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab proclaimed the fourth industrial revolution as a distinct evolution from its predecessor because of the rapid onset of ubiquitous change.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 22, 2018

Even a final, irreversible deal can be broken

Japan and South Korea are wrangling again over an apology for 'comfort women.' That tells us something about international law.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 21, 2018

Media firm adapts to an ever-shifting Brazilian community in Japan

IPC serves the huge Portuguese-speaking community with radio, TV, mags and more.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 16, 2018

Nigeria summons U.S. ambassador over Trump's reported racial slur

Nigeria's government on Monday summoned the United States ambassador to explain reported remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump that some immigrants from Africa and Haiti come from "shithole" countries, Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jan 15, 2018

Let's discuss the big earthquake that never came

Across the Kanto region and in parts of Fukushima Prefecture on Jan. 5, alarms suddenly rang out at 11:02 a.m. from cellphones and public speakers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2018

False-alarm missile alert spooks Hawaii residents but Japanese sanguine

A false alarm warning of an incoming ballistic missile sent Hawaii — a popular destination for Japanese — into a panic Saturday, with some residents and visitors scrambling for safety in bathtubs, basements and even sewers until officials admitted the cellphone alert was a mistake.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 14, 2018

Japan still has much to learn from Martin Luther King's nonviolent struggle

Could Dr. King's nonviolent methods work in Japan, a country with a completely different relationship between government and citizen than in America?
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2018

The roles of the Emperor

The issue of Imperial abdication appears to have exposed people's diverse views on what an emperor should be and what roles he should play.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jan 8, 2018

Iran bans English in primary schools after leaders' warning of 'cultural invasion'

Iran has banned the teaching of English in primary schools, a senior education official said, after Islamic leaders warned that early learning of the language opened the way to a Western "cultural invasion."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2018

Earthquake warnings leave Kanto jolted, but the big shake never came

An erroneous earthquake warning in the Kanto region and Fukushima Prefecture came as a result of two temblors being processed by the prediction system as one event.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jan 2, 2018

Can agriculture stem its effects on climate in 2018?

After Rene Castro-Salazar attended the first U.N.-led climate talks in Berlin in 1985 as Costa Rica's environment and energy minister, he tried to talk about agriculture and climate change — but few wanted to join the conversation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 30, 2017

This no garden variety book on Zen practice

The over-application of the term Zen to describe everything from interior design to restaurant menus pored over by celebrities and fashionistas to the expression a "Zen moment" can be tiresome.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 30, 2017

'Wagohan: The ABCs of Japanese Cuisine': Reiko Yamada's ode to Japanese comfort food

Food is "the most basic form of diplomacy" for cooking adviser Reiko Yamada. With this philosophy in mind, "Wagohan: The ABCs of Japanese Cuisine" aims to bridge cultures and present the "versatility and beauty of Japanese cuisine."
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Dec 25, 2017

Tracing Christmas traditions to Scripture

When I taught Sunday school to a precocious bunch of fifth- and sixth-graders, I used to ask, "What about Christmas is not in the Bible?" They were quick to go for the obvious: Santa, the reindeer, stockings, the sleigh.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 23, 2017

'The Great Passage': Shion Miura's dictionary of life

First published in 2011, Shion Miura's "The Great Passage" still rides high in popularity today. Miura brings together a cast of eccentric characters, united in their aim to publish a comprehensive dictionary despite the cost, reluctance from their publishing firm and the monumental effort involved....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Dec 23, 2017

A year of discoveries gives scientists something to aim for in 2018

In my round up of this year's science stories I'm going to choose some big ones as well as some stories that made less of an impact but still resonated with me.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2017

May forces her most senior deputy to resign amid pornography on computer scandal

British Prime Minister Theresa May forced her most senior minister, Damian Green, to resign on Thursday after an internal investigation found that he had made misleading comments about pornography found on computers in his parliamentary office.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2017

GOP-led House panels to quiz FBI deputy director in closed interviews on Clinton email probe

The FBI'S deputy director, Andrew McCabe, will appear for a closed-door interview on Thursday with two key U.S. congressional committees, after Republicans asked him to discuss the bureau's handling of its Hillary Clinton email probe.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 20, 2017

Electronic evidence trail: Malta court told bomb that killed blogger probably triggered from boat at sea

The bomb used to kill Maltese anti-corruption blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia was probably triggered by a call from a boat off Malta, an investigator said on Tuesday, laying out initial evidence against three suspects.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Dec 11, 2017

Philippines snubbed advice of experts to tread incrementally in pursuing child dengue immunizations

As she announced in January 2016 that the Philippines would immunize 1 million children with a new dengue vaccine, the nation's then health secretary Janette Garin boasted it was a world-first and a tribute to her country's "expertise" in research.
JAPAN / History
Dec 7, 2017

Cosmetic surgeon Katsuya Takasu pays $275,000 for Emperor Hirohito memoir at NY auction

The bid, for the only-known World War II memoirs of late Emperor, was nearly double higher pre-auction estimates, which ranged from $100,000 to $150,000, according to auction house Bonhams.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 5, 2017

Ibsen's 'Peer Gynt' gets a cultural twist when director Yang Jung-ung teams up with actor Kenji Urai

South Korean director Yang Jung-ung's career has spanned several continents. From his theater work, with casts of numerous nationalities, to his role as artistic director for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, it's clear he has long had the world in his sights.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 4, 2017

Frederik Schodt recalls the 'different world' of manga translation in the 1970s

'I loved manga but there was no way to make a living (with it),' recalls manga translation pioneer Frederik Schodt.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 30, 2017

Uber's use of Wickr encrypted messaging system may set legal precedents

Top executives at Uber Technologies Inc. used the encrypted chat app Wickr to hold secret conversations, current and former workers testified in court this week, setting up what could be the first major legal test of the issues raised by the use of encrypted apps inside companies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2017

U.S. Supreme Court wary about widening corporate whistle-blower protections

Conservative and liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared reluctant to broaden protections for corporate insiders who blow the whistle on securities law violations or fraud by their companies.

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