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Japan Times
JAPAN / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Mar 9, 2014

Honda's robotics tech headed for homes of the future

As technology evolves, every household is predicted to have at least one robot in the future, just as many of today's consumers feel incomplete without Internet access or a mobile phone.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Feb 27, 2014

What we can learn from cats and dogs

Chikao Muratani is a veterinarian and owner of Anima Animal Hospital in Tokyo's Chuo Ward. Having worked in the United States for years, Dr. Muratani is fully bilingual and his spotless and beautifully designed clinic is known as a neighborhood hangout. People with pets are encouraged to pop by weekly...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2014

Pope warns of hazards in browsing 'God's gift'

Pope Francis rightly warns that although the variety of opinions being aired over the Web can be seen as helpful, it also enables people to barricade themselves behind sources of information that only confirm their own ideas.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 11, 2014

Tourists offered a rare glimpse of the Japanese dining table

For visitors to Japan, a ride on the subway or the high-speed shinkansen can take you to almost any corner of the country. But those who want to learn about the daily lives of the Japanese rather than look at temples may find it difficult to gain access to the sanctuary of a Japanese home.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 10, 2014

Tamogami finds some support in younger generation

He may have lost the Tokyo gubernatorial election Sunday, but Toshio Tamogami appears to have won over younger voters who favored the hawkish former Air Self-Defense Force general more than middle-aged and elderly voters did, according to media exit polls.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 19, 2014

Want a one-way ticket to the red planet?

Since its announcement in May 2012, the Mars One project hasn't had an easy ride. Critics have questioned all aspects, from the technical feasibility to its funding model. But recent developments from the project seem to be bringing the goal of starting a human colony on Mars by 2025 a little closer....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jan 3, 2014

Drawing out the demons and dreams of Fukushima

Artist Geoff Read is currently focused on helping Fukushima's children articulate their hopes and fears. As he explains, 'In my Strong Children Japan Project, the most important thing the pictures can do is to help these children have a safer childhood.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2013

Tokyo prepares to get schooled in the art of beats

Although the major spectacle looming on Tokyo's horizon is undoubtedly the 2020 Olympics, there is one event this year that will be eagerly anticipated by anyone who spends longer on their gym playlist than their workout: The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is set to take place here in October.
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2013

A year to become politically active

In 2014 the Japanese people risk having their rights to freedoms of the press, thought expression curtailed as a result of the state secrets protection bill that the Abe administration rushed through the Diet in December.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 29, 2013

British fears of migrant influx mirrored in Sofia

There are no anti-immigrant militia forces roaming the streets of Britain, but Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev sees clear parallels with the U.K. — indeed, in states across Europe — and he is deeply worried.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 25, 2013

Snowden declares his mission accomplished

In a candid interview, NSA leaker Edward Snowden breaks his silence on surveillance, democracy and the meaning of the top-secret documents he exposed, and says his mission is 'already accomplished.'
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 24, 2013

Why world's newest country is nearing civil war

It was considered one of the world's great successes when South Sudan became an independent nation on July 9, 2011. After many unhappy years as a region of Sudan, the new country declared its independence with crucial support from the outside world, particularly the United States.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2013

Is wife Abe's main opposition rival?

Akie Abe is Japan's first lady of conviction and action, describing herself as an 'opposition force at home' who doesn't shy away from speaking out in public against the policies of her husband, Shinzo.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Dec 18, 2013

A secrets law for whom? Look who gets a free pass

Ancient Confucian scholars regarded law as a necessary evil, something used on lower orders of people who lacked the moral refinement to act righteously without prompting. Yet this just states a basic truth about law: It is something we do to other people. You and I know how to act properly, right? It's...
EDITORIALS
Dec 6, 2013

Government without oversight

Even if the state secrets bill becomes a law, it will be important for people to continue grass-roots movements to oppose it and to prevent from being used to curb their right to know and to express their thought and opinions.
EDITORIALS
Dec 2, 2013

The politics of secrets

Flip-flops in government explanations of the contentious bill for protecting state secrets — now under deliberation in the Upper House — suggest that the government itself does not have a clear idea of how it plans to prevent the arbitrary designation of information as a special secret.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Dec 1, 2013

Crusader for social activism brings Change.org to Japan

The woman who brought Change.org to Japan says the online petition platform is just the ticket to get the normally reticent Japanese to become more active in achieving social change.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 30, 2013

HIV: 'The fire across the river'

When 44-year-old Tokyo resident Isao was struck down by chronic diarrhea in June earlier this year, AIDS was the furthest thought from his mind. "I just thought I had a regular illness," said Isao, who asked for his surname to be withheld.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 29, 2013

Islanders must think bigger to thrive, not just survive

As a resident, may I be so bold as to suggest that we don't need an NPO to save our island from aging and depopulation. What we need is for an NPO, or anyone, to save our island from itself!
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 29, 2013

Pro-democracy protest plan splits Hong Kong

After a decade of negotiations, sociology professor Chan Kin-man realized the Chinese government was not going to grant Hong Kong genuine democracy — not without a struggle, anyway.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 20, 2013

Yoji Sakate celebrates in style

To celebrate its 30th anniversary this year, the Tokyo-based Rinkogun theater company determined to present four original plays by its founder, the renowned playwright and director Yoji Sakate.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Nov 15, 2013

TELL vet helps cast net wider to reach kids, stop suicides

The Tokyo English Life Line has been providing support and counseling services to Japan's international community for 40 years. Vickie Skorji, the new director of the Lifeline hot line service, has played a pivotal role in its activities.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 12, 2013

About 40,000 Americans have reportedly signed up for plans on HealthCare.gov

Roughly 40,000 Americans have signed up for private insurance through the flawed federal online insurance marketplace since it opened six weeks ago, according to two people with access to the figures.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 9, 2013

Learning to revel in the odd with the Ig Nobel

"I noticed there was a suspicious-looking email in my in box with the subject 'Ig Nobel' and 'Congratulations.' At first I thought it was some kind of spam. I was going to disregard it, but then I recalled the famous Ig Nobel awards," relates Dr. Masanori Niimi of Teikyo University in Shukan Shincho...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Nov 8, 2013

Capturing the life and lives of Tokyo, one day at a time

Every day we presumably walk past about 2,000 or 3,000 people we don't know anything about,' French photographer Cedric Riveau says. 'But everyone has his or her story to tell.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices
Nov 4, 2013

No safe country for foreign women: the debate

Holly Lanasolyluna's article published Oct. 23 attracted an unprecedented number of online comments. More than 5,000 people also answered the accompanying poll about safety in Japan. Here are just some of the mails and comments.
WORLD / Society / FOCUS
Oct 25, 2013

Americans' debt growing faster than retirement savings, report warns

A majority of Americans with 401(k)-type savings accounts are accumulating debt faster than they are setting aside money for retirement, further undermining the nation's troubled system for old age saving, a new report has found.

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