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Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 24, 2014

2014: New horizons opened up in Japan's theater world

Looking back over the past 12 months in Japan's theater world, it's clear that one encouraging trend is a lessening of the capital's dominance.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 23, 2014

Still haunted by WWII, Asia looks for Abe atonement in 2015

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's election victory means he will helm Japan into the 70th anniversary of its World War II defeat in 2015, a watershed year that will set the tone for Tokyo's fraught ties with Beijing and Seoul.
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.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2014

Sino-U.S. climate deal mainly a political triumph

The U.S.-China emissions deal is a huge political triumph, but whether it alters the world's climate is an open question.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2014

Japan helps too few refugees: UNHCR chief

The ongoing conflicts in Syria and Iraq have produced more than 12 million refugees and internally displaced people. They are flooding across borders in the region, and some neighboring states have reached their limit. One-third of Lebanon's population now comprises refugees.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 11, 2014

China unveils sophisticated stealth fighter aircraft

China unveiled a sophisticated new stealth fighter jet at an air show Tuesday, a show of muscle during a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama for an Asia-Pacific summit.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2014

Obama faulted over thinning bench of China policy experts

Three years after President Barack Obama vowed to shift his focus toward Asia in response to China's growing power, the advisers who set that policy in motion are gone. So is their expertise.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 6, 2014

An opportunity for Abe and Xi

One reason for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping's newfound flexibility toward each other may be domestic political shifts in both countries that have created a more equal balance between conservative, nationalist groups and more internationally oriented business interests.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Oct 26, 2014

StartEd offers a legal leg-up for tech startups

Every so often, Japanese- and English-speaking legal advisers meet with entrepreneurs in Tokyo to dispense free one-on-one legal guidance.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2014

China need not dominate new bank for Asia

If America's allies — and even the U.S. itself — would join China's initiative for an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Beijing could not dominate it as some fear.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 11, 2014

Kim is still in charge of North Korea, injured leg in military drill: source

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in firm control of his government but hurt his leg taking part in a military drill, a source with access to the secretive nation's leadership said, playing down speculation over the 31-year-old's health and grip on power in the nuclear-capable nation.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 30, 2014

U.S. takes cautious line in response to Hong Kong protests

The United States is carefully calibrating its response to pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, showing support for peaceful protests while signaling it has little interest in seeing the situation escalate and risk a harsher crackdown by Chinese authorities.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 21, 2014

Thai junta hounds opposition across borders

Even as the Thai junta claims to promote democracy despite having overthrown the previous elected government, its representatives hound anti-coup groups in Thai neighborhoods across borders.
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
Sep 20, 2014

Legendary gymnast Uchimura preparing to defend world title

Kohei Uchimura will return to the spotlight after the Asian Games.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Sep 11, 2014

Vietnam creating submarine deterrent to Chinese expansionist efforts in South China Sea

Vietnam will soon have a credible naval deterrent to China in the South China Sea in the form of Kilo-class submarines from Russia, which experts say could make Beijing think twice before pushing its much smaller neighbor around in disputed waters.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 21, 2014

Liberian police shoot to disperse Ebola quarantine protest; virus deaths reach 1,350

Police in the Liberian capital Monrovia fired live rounds and teargas on Wednesday to disperse a stone-throwing crowd trying to break an Ebola quarantine imposed on their neighborhood, as the death toll from the epidemic in West Africa hit 1,350.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 9, 2014

Okinawa: pocket of resistance

The battle over Henoko Bay looks set to challenge the power of the archipelago's protest movement.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2014

Success of Chinese reform is key to BRICS' rise

Last week, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) took a decisive step toward building institutions that could plausibly challenge the long geopolitical and economic ascendancy of the West. But Vladimir Putin's posturing at the meeting just hours before a Malaysia Airlines jetliner was shot down in Ukraine was one indication of the group's inability to offer an acceptable moral and political alternative to Western hegemony.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2014

World needs to right Israel's wrongs

The Israeli bombardment of the Palestinians has proven a policy failure, demonstrated by the Israeli government's resumption of bombing. The Israelis tried to give up, but failed.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 15, 2014

U.S. policy triggered latest border crisis

The U.S. does everything it can to screw up the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, then acts surprised when desperate people from there, including thousands of children, show up at the U.S. border, trying to escape the carnage.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 11, 2014

Megacities offer toxic mix of modern apocalypse

Exhibits at the 14th Venice Biennale of Architecture demonstrate that the urgent challenge for many societies is to prevent the megacity from becoming a byword for multifaceted apoclypse, mashinging together poverty, corruption, violence and fundamentalism.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 5, 2014

Ongoing Obokata story seeks out scandal

The paper, titled "Stimulus-triggered fate conversion of somatic cells into pluripotency," was accepted by the British science journal Nature on Dec. 20, 2013, and published online on Jan. 29, 2014. The authors were listed as Haruko Obokata, Teruhiko Wakayama, Yoshiki Sasai, Koji Kojima, Martin P. Vacanti,...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 30, 2014

China suffers karoshi, as white-collar workers die from overwork

Chinese banking regulator Li Jianhua literally worked himself to death. After 26 years of "always putting the cause of the party and the people" first, his employer said this month, the 48-year-old official died rushing to finish a report before the sun came up.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 23, 2014

Abe hopes to roll out red carpet for foreign startups

Japan wants to lure more foreign entrepreneurs by easing visa requirements only in special zones, but experts doubt that will be enough incentive to make a difference.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2014

Corruption rumors sideline Beautiful Game's rewards

New squalid facts, claims and rumors are emerging every week suggesting that the game of soccer may be beautiful but some of its leading figures are too close to dark and shadowy criminal forces.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 10, 2014

U.S. man held in North Korea 'was on vacation tour'

The U.S. citizen detained in North Korea, Jeffrey Fowle, 56, is a father of three with a passion for adventure who was in the country as part of a vacation tour, his lawyer said Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2014

Too high a price for Sherpas

The 16 Sherpa lives lost in an avalanche on Everest six weeks ago highlight the growing divide between well-heeled climbing expedition members and the mountaineering guides. Sherpas must re-articulate their concerns and establish a sensible code of operation.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2014

Understanding Boko Haram

Action against the senseless violence of the so-called Boko Haram movement without understanding the group's attraction risks backfiring, as much of the Nigerian government's response to Boko Haram has done to date.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji