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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2017

Remembering Helmut Kohl's unfinished business

The late German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was the man who put German history to bed, and helped lay the groundwork for the current confrontation between Russia and the West.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Jun 10, 2017

Misa Kuranaga: Dancing up a storm in Boston

After being nominated for one of the highest global honors in ballet in May, Misa Kuranaga could be forgiven for relaxing her gruelling training regime. But the 34-year-old from Osaka remains as motivated as ever.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 14, 2017

Can Japan, land of lifetime employment, handle the rise of freelancers?

For public relations specialist Mari Hirata, the perks that drew her into the world of freelancing were the flexible working hours and the opportunity to work for various companies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2017

Land of fear, under Vajiralongkorn

Loathed by the public, Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn is seeking to win over his subjects not by reverence, but fear.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 25, 2017

Kaiho Yusho: painting privilege

The Momoyama Period (1573-1615) artist Kaiho Yusho (1533-1615) was renowned among the elite painters of his time, and still is. More remarkable, however, is that fame came when he was in his 60s during what is called his "early" period. Over the following two decades, he went from painting for priests...
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Apr 18, 2017

Angelic Mao's legacy will be part of skating forever

The news hit Japan and the skating world like a thunderbolt last Monday night when Mao Asada announced she was retiring from the sport.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 11, 2017

'Marie Laurencin: A Journey for Love'

April 14-June 18
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Apr 8, 2017

Suzuki shines for South Georgia Tech

The South Georgia Technical College women's basketball team has quietly built a stellar program in recent years. With a vision and purposeful planning, coach James Frey, in his fifth season at the helm, and his staff have recruited smartly and found players, from near and far, including Japan, who fit...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 18, 2017

Playground legend 'Bone Collector' brings his talent back to Japan

Streetball fanatics revel with delight when rattling off names of legends who competed at New York's famed Rucker Park in the 20th century.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 16, 2017

Radwimps were the perfect choice when it came to soundtracking 'Your Name.'

Yokohama Arena feels special on this chilly Tuesday night in early March. It's here that Radwimps — a rock outfit from Kanagawa Prefecture whose members could bike to this very venue when they were teens — are playing the first of two sold-out shows.
Japan Times
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 10, 2017

Wenger's long run with Arsenal likely near the end

When you are a multimillionaire and you are two years past the retirement age with most of those who judge your work urging you to leave your job, why not call it a day?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 11, 2017

Crafts and coral of an embattled coast

A little north of the massive Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, a slew of scattered residential settlements and visitor sites are pincered between the Torii Station Army Base and an ammunition storage facility situated in Yomitan, a region of the southern mainland, where a massive U.S. amphibious landing took...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 8, 2017

'Otaku' gather to celebrate the obsessive at Nerd Nite Tokyo

At Nerd Nite Tokyo, self-confessed nerds from all walks of life gather once a month to loosen their anoraks, sup a beverage or two and feed on the niche knowledge of three quietly obsessive speakers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 4, 2017

Bathing in the French culture of Tokyo's Kagurazaka district

"To err is human. To loaf is Parisian," said the French writer Victor Hugo. Although seasoned in erring and loafing, I cannot attest that he nailed Paris. But loafing is tres a la mode in Kagurazaka, a shopping and dining area in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward that is famed for its touch of French culture.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 1, 2017

Trump's court pick conservative but not extremist

Democrats should think hard before trying to depict Neil Gorsuch as a radical conservative — a bruising confirmation fight could push him in the wrong direction.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 25, 2017

North Korean elite turning against leader Kim, high-level defector says

The North Korean elite are outwardly expressing their discontent toward young leader Kim Jong Un and his government as more outside information trickles into the isolated country, North Korea's former deputy ambassador to London said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 25, 2017

'Honnouji Hotel': Drama on the wrong side of history

Is Haruka Ayase the Japanese version of Anne Hathaway? In everything from their perky public personas and sterling work ethic to their toothy smiles and flawless complexions, the two stars symbolize a type of good-girl perfection. And yet they also rub some imperfect types the wrong way, though Hathaway...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 23, 2016

'Born to be Blue': Biopic goes free-form on Chet Baker's story

For casual fans or people who have yet to encounter Baker, 'Born To Be Blue' is a good place to start, perfectly encapsulating the fragility and self-destructive urges that underlined his uniquely beautiful and melancholic music.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 22, 2016

Overwork sanctioned by both firms and unions, with dim prospects for state intervention: expert

When the suicide of a female worker at ad giant Dentsu Inc. was recognized as karoshi, or death from overwork, many blamed a corporate culture that glorifies the "warrior" workers who sacrifice themselves for the good of the firm.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Nov 20, 2016

We Americans are 'baka' but we ain't that baka ... ?

After the euphoria of Barack Obama's tenure, it's back to politics as usual — but at least Donald Trump's open about his racism.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2016

Little blue dots in a big red sea

The Democrat foisted the tired Clinton dynasty on a struggling rust-belt nation and stumbled badly.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Oct 23, 2016

Time to consign 'death by overwork' to Japan's history

As 'karoshi' continues to steal young lives, workers must stand up for their own rights and watch out for their colleagues' wellbeing.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 22, 2016

Taiji's dolphin hunters have a new voice

It's not often a documentary is made in response to another documentary, but this year two movies have addressed the 2009 Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove," which was about the capture and killing of wild dolphins in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture. First-time filmmaker Keiko Yagi's "Behind the Cove" came...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 17, 2016

Why hasn't the CEO of Takata Corp. been fired?

The longer Shigehisa Takada keeps his job, the more investors will roll eyes at claims Japan is 'open for business.'
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 11, 2016

Once-powerful Philippine Catholic Church divided, subdued over drug killings

Philippine priests of the Roman Catholic Church, an institution that helped to oust two of the country's leaders in the past, say they are afraid and unsure how to speak out against the war on drugs unleashed by new President Rodrigo Duterte.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2016

Thai monarchy could be heading for a crisis

The Thai monarchy is ill-prepared to cope with the uncertainties that will accompany the next king.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2016

Putin picks new wave of ideological cronies

Russia's president is doing his best to fill the ideological vacuum created by the fall of communism.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 13, 2016

Team Clinton attacking Trump's lies with ... lies

Why are Hillary Clinton's people resorting to the exact same style of lying that they claim to criticize about Donald Trump?

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake