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JAPAN
Apr 1, 2015

Tokyo amends noise-pollution rules in bid to draw more nurseries

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government amended its rules on noise pollution on Wednesday in an effort to make it easier for nurseries to open in the capital, where the number of children yet to find a day care facility is the largest among all prefectures.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2015

Fukushima crisis was a hard lesson but one vital to share, groups say

When professional boxer and model Tomomi Takano heard that children in Fukushima Prefecture were becoming unfit and overweight because the 2011 nuclear crisis limited the time they could play outside, she decided to use her skills to help.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Japan Pulse
Apr 1, 2015

Flushed with success: Innovative new toilet accessory to offer full body wash

Bidet-type commodes equipped with built-in washers and pre-warmed seats made news after Japan's media reported that they were enjoying heady demand.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2015

Osaka minds the nationwide escalator gap and considers shifting left

The Osaka Metropolitan Government is considering an ordinance that would compel people in this city to stand on the left side of escalators and use the right when passing others.
MULTIMEDIA
Mar 31, 2015

Anti-censorship group: China behind cyberattacks on U.S. sites

Chinese authorities have taken over computers both inside and outside the country to launch cyberattacks against the website of an anti-online censorship group and a U.S.-based Web resource that hosts some of the group's data, according to an analysis released by the group.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2015

Soros says ready to invest $1 billlion in Ukraine if West helps

Billionaire financier George Soros is ready to invest $1 billion in Ukraine if Western countries help private investment there, and sees a 1 in 3 chance Greece will leave the euro, he told Austrian newspaper Der Standard.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 31, 2015

Germanwings crash co-pilot had been treated for suicidal tendencies

The German pilot suspected of deliberately crashing a plane in the French Alps last week was treated for suicidal tendencies years ago before he received his pilot's license, German prosecutors said on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 31, 2015

BOJ should play mysterious

Arguably no central banker in the world has been bolder and more aggressive about quantitative easing than Japan's Haruhiko Kuroda.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2015

Are we sure co-pilot was the killer?

News reports on accusations that Andreas Lubitz, the Germanwings co-pilot, purposely brought down Flight 9525 over the French Alps have rushed to convict him.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2015

Low-cost airlines elevate stress levels for pilots

Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot who steered a Germanwings flight into a mountainside, had a history of depression so debilitating that he left his pilot training program for six months in the late 2000s, reports Germany's Bild newspaper.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 30, 2015

Industrial output takes larger drop

Japan’s industrial production fell more than forecast in February, adding to pressure from a drop in consumer spending and faltering inflation.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 29, 2015

Diplomats, U.N. staffers flee Yemen as Houthis target Aden

Saudi Arabia's navy evacuated dozens of diplomats from Yemen on Saturday and the United Nations pulled out international staff after a third night of Saudi-led airstrikes trying to stem advances by Iranian-allied Houthi fighters.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Mar 29, 2015

Dreamy: a cat named Mignon

Mignon loves people and would make a very special companion for someone who appreciates beauty both inside and out.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 28, 2015

Soraku-en: Kobe's well-grounded garden

On Jan. 17, 1995, as the city of Kobe suffered one of the country's worst earthquakes in living memory, the rocks, artificial hills and root systems of Soraku-en, a Meiji period (1868-1912) circuit garden, held firm.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Mar 27, 2015

AnimeJapan 2015 sees the big picture

For most in Japan, April marks the start of the new working year. But for the anime and manga industries, it all begins in March.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2015

Oil leaps 5%, most in a month, on Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen

Oil jumped about 5 percent on Thursday, the biggest daily gain in a month, as airstrikes in Yemen by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies sparked fears that escalation of the Middle East battle could disrupt world crude supplies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 26, 2015

Twenty years of 'Riverdance' and it's never been out of step

"Riverdance" is returning to Japan. Twenty years on from its debut as an interval in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994, the Irish step-dancing show that revamped and massively expanded the genre's global appeal is returning to Japan for its sixth tour.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 26, 2015

Bottura brings Italian 'culinary stories' to Tokyo

Massimo Bottura's enthusiasm is infectious. The Italian chef has a way of speaking that brings you in on his schemes and sends you chasing multiple trains of thought.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2015

Foreigners urged to swap alien certificates for new cards by July deadline

The Immigration Bureau is calling on foreigners who have not done so to exchange their old-style Alien Registration Certificate cards for new Residence Cards before the transition period ends in July.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2015

Otsuka Kagu familial feud nears climax

A battle between the founder of Otsuka Kagu Ltd. and its current president, who also happen to be father and daughter, is expected to turn into a proxy fight at the company's annual shareholders' meeting scheduled for Friday, with the result deciding the fate of the struggling furniture giant.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2015

From nuclear safety to nuclear security

Japan's nuclear disaster has spurred reforms in the field of nuclear safety. But when it comes to nuclear security, complacency remains a major problem.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 24, 2015

America's bickering allies

After spending the last six decades defending South Korea and Japan, the U.S. has every reason to demand that its two longtime allies enhance their military cooperation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2015

Russia's air corps is a powerful but fading force

The modernization of Russia's still formidable but rapidly aging air force will be a daunting task.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2015

Tourism agency to tout historic venues for international conferences

The Japan Tourism Agency is going to publish a list of 85 historic buildings suitable for use as conference venues in the hopes of luring more foreign professionals who might then become tourists, officials said Tuesday.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan