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Feb 15, 2018

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Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 15, 2018

Don't fall for charm offensive, keep North 'under siege': chief of Lower House foreign affairs panel

South Korea must stay in line with U.S. and Japanese plans to keep North Korea "under siege," the chairman of the Lower House committee on foreign affairs said, referring to the policy of maintaining maximum pressure on Kim Jong Un's regime.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 15, 2018

U.N. says bombs will litter Mosul for more than a decade

The Iraqi city of Mosul will remain strewn with unexploded bombs for a decade, endangering a million or more civilians who want to return home following the end of three years of Islamic State occupation, a U.N. demining expert said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 15, 2018

Terrorism ruled out as trio held after trying to drive onto National Security Agency campus, drawing fire

Three people who tried to drive onto the campus of the U.S. National Security Agency near Washington, drawing gunfire from guards, were taken into custody on Wednesday in an incident the FBI said had no link to terrorism.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 14, 2018

From Russia with love: OAR skier weds skeleton racer not invited to Winter Games

Russian freestyle skier Semen Denshchikov on Wednesday married a skeleton racer who was not invited to compete in Pyeongchang in a Valentine's Day ceremony meant to lighten the mood around Russian sports.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 14, 2018

How Asia won the rights to host three Olympics in a row

Think back to 2009: The West was in no condition to take on expensive projects.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2018

Japan's national J-Village soccer center in Fukushima to partially reopen in July

The J-Village national soccer training center in Fukushima Prefecture will partially reopen on July 28, more than seven years after the facility was forced to close due to the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that devastated parts of the Tohoku region , its operator said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2018

Colorado closes funeral biz run by body parts broker after cremated remains turn out to be concrete

Colorado officials indefinitely shut down the funeral home and crematory this week of a woman who runs a side business selling donated body parts from the same building.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 13, 2018

Disgraced senior Chinese politician Sun Zhengcai charged with bribery

Chinese prosecutors have charged disgraced senior politician Sun Zhengcai with bribery, state media said Tuesday, the latest development in a corruption probe into a man once considered a contender for top leadership.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 13, 2018

North Korea dials down border propaganda after Olympics open

North Korea has lowered the volume of its border propaganda broadcasts at the inter-Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) since Friday's Winter Olympics opening ceremony, a senior military official stationed at the border said Tuesday.
OLYMPICS
Feb 13, 2018

Yuzuru Hanyu ready to give 'dream performance' at Pyeongchang Olympics

Yuzuru Hanyu went through a 40-minute practice on the main rink at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Tuesday morning and then met the media afterward to provide an update on his condition.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 12, 2018

Pence raises prospect of U.S. talks with North Korea amid pressure campaign

In what could amount to a significant recalibration of its stance toward nuclear-armed North Korea, the United States has said it is open to talks with the isolated country, Vice President Mike Pence said in an interview published Sunday.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 12, 2018

NBC boots Ramo over insensitive comment on Japanese-Korean ties at Pyeongchang Games

NBC commentator Joshua Cooper Ramo, who offended residents during coverage of the Pyeongchang Olympics opening ceremony, has been taken off the air.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 11, 2018

Divide and conquer? North Korean 'charm offensive' likely to exacerbate fissures in U.S. alliance

Divide and conquer? Maybe not, but North Korea's "charm offensive" and leader Kim Jong Un's invitation to South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Pyongyang "in the near future" will exacerbate existing fissures in Washington's alliance with Seoul as Pyongyang seeks to further chip away at the relationship....
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Feb 11, 2018

Don't mention the nukes: At Olympics, South Koreans learn how to talk to the enemy

When a hotel on South Korea's east coast was asked at short notice to host nearly 280 North Korean visitors, the problem wasn't finding enough rooms.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 10, 2018

Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics Day 1: Korean athletes parade in peace

The first day of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics was full of drama both on the ice and behind the scenes. Team Japan had a strong showing during the skating competitions, particularly Shoma Uno who rose above the rest as America's Nathan Chen suffered several mishaps.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 10, 2018

As Trump attacks U.S. law enforcement, another top official quits

The U.S. Justice Department's third-ranking official, Rachel Brand, will resign and take a senior job at Walmart Inc., with sources familiar with her decision saying on Friday that she had grown increasingly uncomfortable with President Donald Trump's attacks on her department and the FBI.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 9, 2018

Japanese consumers increasingly face stealth price hikes via 'shrinkflation'

In Japan, a phenomenon known as "shrinkflation" — an important economic countermeasure against inflation for businesses — has been catching the attention of consumers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2018

Japanese 26-year-old who doesn't code creates Asia's hottest game with 'Tabi Kaeru'

Japanese frogs are proliferating across Asia. The good news is, they're not an invasive species, nor are they real.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Feb 9, 2018

Okinawa tourist numbers top those of Hawaii for first time

While Hawaii has long been one of the most popular go-to destinations for tourists from Japan, Okinawa has finally caught up to outshine the rival resort island chain.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 9, 2018

U.S. and China reaffirm commitment to pressure North Korea

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, reaffirmed their countries' commitment to exert pressure on Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons on Thursday, the U.S. State Department said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 9, 2018

Gravediggers say Myanmar forces and Buddhist villagers executed Rohingya after torching their homes

Bound together, the 10 Rohingya captives watched their Buddhist neighbors dig a grave. Soon afterward, on the morning of Sept. 2, all 10 lay dead. At least two were hacked to death by Buddhist villagers. The rest were shot by soldiers, two of the gravediggers said.

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