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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 31, 2016

Misuzu Kaneko: A deeper empathy for the natural world

In her brief life, Japanese poet Misuzu Kaneko (1903-1930) produced a body of work with themes that are every bit as relevant today as when she first put pen to paper nearly 100 years ago. Ostensibly a writer of poems for children, Kaneko's work reveals a deep respect for the environment and an awareness...
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 30, 2016

Man claiming to be Boko Haram chief says in video group not routed from Sambisa stronghold

A man purporting to be the leader of Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, denied the jihadi group has been pushed out of its stronghold in the Sambisa forest.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2016

Full text of Emperor Akihito's message on his 83rd birthday

This is the official translation of Emperor Akihito’s message on his 83rd birthday.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Dec 21, 2016

Quotes of 2016, from 'Die, Japan' to 'Trump shock'

Some of the good, bad and ugly of what various people said or shouted out loud in 2016.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2016

Italy's was just the latest stupid referendum

Like David Cameron's Brexit fiasco, this didn't have to happen.
EDITORIALS
Dec 4, 2016

Diverse views on abdication

The government must reflect the will of the people when it decides how to respond to Emperor Akihito's desire to abdicate.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 3, 2016

Trump reportedly invites Philippines' Duterte to visit next year

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump invited Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte to the White House next year during a "very engaging, animated" phone conversation, a Duterte aide said on Friday, amid rocky relations between their two countries.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Nov 28, 2016

China eyes 'The Art of War' as Trump signals battle on trade

There's a Chinese saying that stems from the philosophy in Sun Tzu's ancient text "The Art of War": You can kill 1,000 enemies, but you would also lose 800 soldiers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Nov 27, 2016

A reading list for Japan's music scene

Sometime in the spring of 2014, a friend of mine who works for a small publishing company asked if I would write a book about the Japanese music scene for him.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 20, 2016

Toyomu imagines life after Kanye

American rapper Kanye West's seventh album, "The Life Of Pablo," felt inescapable when it emerged this past February. But that wasn't the case in Japan. Streaming music service Tidal — which initially had exclusive rights to "Pablo" — isn't available here.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 12, 2016

Remembering the forgotten woman of Japanese modernism

Chika Sagawa is an anomaly in the history of Japanese poetry. Born in Hokkaido as Aiko Kawasaki in 1911, she became one of Japan's first modernist poets, refusing to use the traditional poetic forms of tanka and haiku. The nation was changing in the early 20th century — Westernizing, nationalizing,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Nov 12, 2016

'Gardens of Gravel and Sand': The skeletal remains of Japan's ornamental landscapes

There are only a handful of foreign writers on the Japanese garden that can really be taken seriously. Among those who have applied their erudition and insight to the subject are Loraine E. Kuck, Gunter Nitschke, Marc P. Keane and David A. Slawson. Leonard Koren joins this exalted group with "Gardens...
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Nov 5, 2016

The dubious cost of sexual assault in Japan

Two recent domestic cases involving sexual assault illustrate just how far the land of the rising sun is from dealing with crimes against women.
Japan Times
Rugby
Nov 5, 2016

Brave Blossoms upbeat about opportunity to improve, grow as a unit

Despite a lopsided 54-20 loss to Argentina on Saturday afternoon, Japanese players held their heads up high at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground because they know that they can only improve by working more together in practices and games moving forward.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2016

Farmers have tech, but weeds have evolution

Some 12,000 years ago, humans started a war against weeds — and the weeds are still a step ahead.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 29, 2016

Are Japanese really 'docile'?: challenging an enduring myth

A common perception abroad is that Japanese society is docile. This is partly thanks to Western writers who tried to create a single profile of the Japanese in the early to mid-20th century, such as Ruth Benedict in her 1946 book "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword." Today, this dangerous myth of consensus...
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 29, 2016

In blow to U.S., Malaysia announces it will buy navy patrol vessels from China

Malaysia will sign a contract to purchase Littoral Mission Ships from China when Prime Minister Najib Razak visits Beijing next week, according to a Facebook posting by the country's Ministry of Defense.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 29, 2016

EU and Canada to sign trade pact after Belgians approve changes

Canada and the European Union will sign a landmark free trade deal on Sunday after key votes in Belgian regional assemblies on Friday ended opposition that had threatened to destroy the agreement.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 26, 2016

Japan scores tragic own goal

The Abe government's position on 'comfort women' is damaging Japan's international reputation and playing into China's hands.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 26, 2016

'Heart of a Dog': Living with the heartbreak of loss

I wake up on a Sunday and my friend is gone. Cancer. I had known, but it was sudden. Memories of her come in a rush, accompanied by old photos re-shared, emails lingering deep in the inbox, a handwritten note. Her absence — the knowledge that I'd never get any more of her stream-of-consciousness texts...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 25, 2016

Kyoto Experiment festival revels in breaking barriers

"Good fences make good neighbors" is an often-quoted line from Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall" about two farmers united in their effort to rebuild a wall that divides their land. Less well known is the poem's central query: "Why do good fences make good neighbors?" It's a question that seems particularly...
WORLD
Oct 22, 2016

Czech president accused of denying medal to Holocaust survivor who met Dalai Lama

Czech President Milos Zeman has decided against awarding a state medal to a Holocaust survivor whose nephew, a government minister, met exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama against the president's wishes, the minister said on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 22, 2016

Syrian government forces responsible for third gas attack, inquiry finds

An international inquiry found Syrian government forces responsible for a third toxic gas attack, according to a confidential report submitted to the U.N. Security Council on Friday, setting the stage for a showdown between Russia and western members of the UNSC over how to respond.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2016

Belgian region's rejection imperils EU-Canada trade deal

The Belgian region of Wallonia rejected new amendments to a planned EU-Canada free trade agreement on Thursday, reaffirming its opposition and so threatening the entire deal, a flagship of European Union trade policy.

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