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JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 22, 2014

Airport facial recognition system eyed but only for Japanese

As Japan braces for a surge in foreign visitors in the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, pressure is mounting to expedite how visitors are processed at airports.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2014

Conservative Abe's secrecy law doesn't hold a candle to Seoul's press suppression

For people concerned with the weakening of press freedoms under the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, its criticism of Asahi Shimbun and the new state secrets law, there should still be a sense of relief that media suppression in Japan has not quite reached the levels now being seen in South Korea.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 22, 2014

India tables nuclear power insurance plan, hoping to attract U.S. firms

India is offering to set up an insurance pool to indemnify global nuclear suppliers against liability in the case of a nuclear accident, in a bid to unblock billions of dollars in trade held up by concerns over exposure to risk.
WORLD
Dec 22, 2014

U.S. firm finds malware targeting visitors to Afghan state websites, suspects China

Malicious software likely linked to China is being used to infect visitors to a wide range of official Afghan government websites, U.S. cybersecurity researchers say.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2014

Why the U.S.-Cuba talks had to be kept secret

When reporters needled her for details of delicate Israeli-Syrian talks 15 years ago, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright replied: "Sometimes talks, like mushrooms, do better in the dark."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Dec 21, 2014

Newly paired

Sox was last featured here in December 2012 and, perhaps because he is a very shy cat, had been unable to find a home — that is, until he met Jane Aliga-Caparroso and her husband, Ernie Caparroso. Shortly after losing their cat Tango to illness, the couple moved from New Jersey to Japan.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 21, 2014

10 years on, tsunami warning stumbles at the 'last mile'

In April 2012, Indonesia's Banda Aceh, the city worst hit by the tsunami that killed nearly 230,000 people on Dec. 26, 2004, received a terrifying reminder of how unprepared it was for the next disaster.
LIFE
Dec 20, 2014

Public protest in Japan: Power to the people?

"Freedom of assembly and association as well as speech, press and all other forms of expression are guaranteed." — Article 21, Constitution of Japan
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 20, 2014

Soaking up the very best of Wakayama's hot springs

The two sounds occur almost simultaneously: Just as my cellphone alarm begins its melodious chime to rouse me from sleep, the dark clouds above my guesthouse in the town of Tanabe on the Kii Peninsula burst forth with a pounding rain. Within minutes, it's clear that my plans of spending three days hiking...
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2014

Japan deports dozens of Sri Lankan, Vietnamese asylum seekers

Japan deports dozens of foreigners who were seeking asylum in a third round of mass deportations conducted by a specially chartered plane.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Dec 19, 2014

Navigator of the travel labyrinth is big fan of Japan

In Tokyo, Wang Jia Liang is well-known as a trusted travel agent and a most patient concierge who saves travelers time, money and lots of stress.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 19, 2014

Google planning built-in Android system for cars

Google is laying the groundwork for a version of Android that will be built directly into cars, sources said, allowing drivers to enjoy all the benefits of the Internet without even plugging in their smartphones.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 18, 2014

Sculpting the uncanny space between permanence and evanescence

Sculpture is supposedly the most solid and permanent of the creative arts, so it is a paradox that an artist like Junichi Mori — whose work often focuses on impermanence and evanescence — has chosen to work in this style, using materials like marble and wood, instead of something more fleeting and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 18, 2014

'Lyota Yagi Solo Exhibition: Science / Fiction'

Since its foundation in 1975, the Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery has gained a reputation of impressively utilizing its 1,300-sq.-meter space to effectively showcase contemporary art exhibitions.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 18, 2014

U.S. fears Sony hackers may never be caught, law enforcement official says

Government investigators fear the hackers behind the unprecedented attack on Sony's Hollywood studio may never be caught if they are under the protection of North Korea, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 18, 2014

Dramatic U.S. shift: Obama moves to normalize relations with Havana, end Cuba's isolation

Cuba and the U.S. will begin to normalize relations in a surprising move Wednesday by the Obama administration that will loosen a trade and travel embargo that is among the last remnants of Cold War policy.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 16, 2014

About 300 Chinese said fighting alongside Islamic State in Mideast

About 300 Chinese people are fighting alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a Chinese state-run newspaper said on Monday, a rare tally that is likely to fuel worry in China that militants pose a threat to security.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2014

Why CIA torturers won't be punished

U.S. Department of Justice memos gave CIA a free pass to torture without being punished. Serious crimes were committed, but interrogators will go unpunished.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 15, 2014

Deflation Watch: bean sprouts

Bean sprout producers are demanding retailers pay higher prices than the retailers are willing to pay.
WORLD
Dec 15, 2014

Hundreds missing after boat sinks in Lake Tanganyika

More than two hundred people were believed missing after a boat sank in Democratic Republic of Congo's waters on Lake Tanganyika on Thursday night, a senior Tanzanian official said on Sunday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 14, 2014

JCN on mission to tackle Japan's stray-cat problem

Japan Cat Network rescues abandoned felines and advocates for spaying and neutering as a means of cutting the country's stray cat population.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 14, 2014

American in North Korea reportedly denounces U.S., seeks asylum in Venezuela

A U.S. citizen who illegally entered North Korea delivered a lengthy denunciation of U.S. domestic and foreign policy Sunday and said he was seeking political asylum in Venezuela, the North's official media said.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Dec 13, 2014

Twelve ways to spend 2015 with nature

As 2014 winds down and the promise of another year lies ahead, it's time to come up with a few New Year's resolutions. Instead of planning for the future or trying some new-fad diets or exercise regimes, how about a resolution to spend a little more time connecting with our wonderful natural world?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 13, 2014

Night train to Shimane's land of the gods

The 10th month of the lunar calendar is known throughout most of Japan as Kannazuki, or the "month of no gods." During this time, Okuninushi, the kami (Shinto god) enshrined at the renowned Izumo Taisha shrine, summons myriad deities to decide the fate of all people for the year ahead. For this reason,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 13, 2014

Fight or flight: Narita's history of conflict

The recent increase in international flights in and out of Haneda Airport has clearly pleased Tokyo residents, who, since the late 1970s, have had to trek out to Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture when they wanted to go overseas.

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