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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 18, 2017

Top Trump adviser Bolton backs U.S. forces in Taiwan, says move could lessen Okinawa burden

Amid increasingly tense Sino-U.S. ties, John Bolton, a former American ambassador to the U.N. and a top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, has called for a closer U.S. military relationship with Taiwan to help counter a "belligerent" Beijing.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 31, 2016

Chinese state media calls Australia 'an ideal target to strike' in event of South China Sea patrol

Chinese state-run media has called Australia "an ideal target for China to warn and strike" if it ventures into the contested South China Sea.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 8, 2016

Beijing turns on Japanese judge as Hague tribunal ruling over South China Sea nears

Beijing has been taking a multipronged approach to softening the blow from the verdict, including targeting the nationality of the judge who oversaw the tribunal's formation.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
May 31, 2016

Simmering South China Sea dispute expected to boil after court ruling: experts

The simmering dispute in the contested South China Sea is about to turn to a boil.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2015

China investigates second top military officer for gaft

China is investigating a second former top military officer on suspicion of corruption, two independent sources said, as President Xi Jinping widens his campaign against deep-rooted graft in the country.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 14, 2014

Hong Kong a growing thorn in Sino-American relations

Just as China and the U.S. are preparing for another Xi Jinping-Barack Obama summit, this time in Beijing for the annual APEC leaders meeting, China is stepping up charges that Washington is secretly supporting student-led pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 28, 2013

It's risky business updating authorities on intelligence

Updating the authorities with knowledge of their Western enemies led to the death by disembowelment of one of the more farsighted Japanese intellects in 1841.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2013

Newspaper rescue defines today's good citizen

It would appear that Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos wants less to own The Washington Post than to set its values free financially, for at least a generation or two.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 14, 2013

Somali-American is caught up in U.S. counterpropaganda campaign

Two days after he became a U.S. citizen, Abdiwali Warsame embraced the First Amendment by creating a raucous website about his native Somalia. Packed with news and controversial opinions, it rapidly became a magnet for Somalis dispersed around the world, including tens of thousands in Minnesota.
COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2012

Nationalists making waves in Japan-China ties

Forty years ago this month, Japan and China established diplomatic relations. However, the two countries are clearly in no mood to celebrate because of a heated territorial dispute over tiny uninhabited islands called the Senkakus by Japan and the Diaoyus by China. They are under Japanese control but...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Sep 30, 2011

Average Joes become champions on 'Sasuke'

"Pole dancer! Pole dancer!! Pole dancer!!!" From the bellowing announcement thumping through the speakers, you might think we're in a night club. We're not. But, without doubt, the location is just as fabled as many nocturnal haunts, and the atmosphere is just as electric.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 17, 2010

Racist undercurrents taint whaling rhetoric

Sea Shepherd's Web site describes him as "the first New Zealander to be taken as a prisoner of war from the Southern Ocean to Japan," and there is no doubting Peter Bethune's popularity in this country. His trial in Tokyo earlier this year for interfering with Japan's annual whale hunt dominated New...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 2009

F-35's superiority in the Japan-U.S. alliance

CANBERRA — I enjoyed reading the newspaper commentary in mid-May by Weston Konishi and Robert Dujarric on the hurdles to Japan's acquisition of F-22 aircraft, and broadly agreed with the thrust of their argument.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 26, 2007

Demented in NY

It's almost counterintuitive — in the midst of the glorious chaos that is China as it modernizes itself, Chinese painters are technically spotless. In their hands, paint has been tamed, a tool with which they slickly create canvases with flawless surfaces that almost hide their workmanship.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 17, 2006

Self-censorship conjures ominous echoes of the past

These days a simple but potent Japanese word is appearing in the media with inordinate frequency. It is hannichi, which means "anti-Japanese." An incident last month brought to mind an earlier era, when the word hannichi was also in common currency. Some words skip decades, returning to haunt the national...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 25, 2004

Rugby fans send JSports to sin bin over Bledisloe Cup fiasco

Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!
LIFE / Digital
Jul 4, 2002

The Simpsons on DVD -- hi-fi Americana

Fox Home Video has just released "The Simpsons Season Two DVD Collection." If you have not heard of the Simpsons, you have a little catching up to do.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 21, 2022

Culture in 2022: Good books, outdoor art and 'Tokyo Vice'

Culture editor Alyssa I. Smith talks to culture critic Thu-Huong Ha about the books they read, the festivals they went to and how Japanese stories are currently capturing Hollywood's attention.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2022

Can China win its ‘people’s war’ against the pandemic without 'zero-COVID'?

Easing COVID-19 restrictions and shifting messaging are the easy part for China. Preventing a public health disaster will be harder.
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 6, 2022

As Japan exits the World Cup, eyes turn to the team's future

Veterans are set to step back, head coach Hajime Moriyasu's future is uncertain and the country waits to see if the next star player is waiting in the ranks of the J. League.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 10, 2022

JSA taps veteran presenter for new English-language YouTube channel

Hiroshi Morita, who has been in the commentary booth for NHK since 1999, is the face of professional sumo's biggest effort yet to market to international fans in the internet era.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 2, 2022

Labeled a ‘challenge’ by NATO, China signals its own hard-line worldview

The alliance's forceful declaration in its mission statement reinforced Beijing's belief that hostile powers are bent on hobbling the country's ascent.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 20, 2022

Suspect admits guilt over attack against Thai monarchy critic in Kyoto home invasion

Pavin Chachavalpongpun, whose criticisms of the monarchy have garnered him a large social media following, has linked the July 2019 attack to the Thai government.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 5, 2022

‘Master Dogen’s Zazen Meditation Handbook’: Are you searching for enlightenment? Take a seat.

Tuttle's recent translation of Zen master Eihei Dogen's writings and accompanying commentary serve as a helpful guide to the origins of Zen in Japan and the benefits of seated meditation.

Longform

Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick