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Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Dec 20, 2013

Odds on Ando making Olympic team for Sochi very long

"Do you believe in miracles?"
EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2013

Misguided focus on test results

Reversing its traditional position, the education ministry has decided to let municipal boards of education publicize the results for individual schools in the achievement tests taken by sixth and ninth graders nationwide. An even worse obsession with test scores could follow.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2013

Is a U.K. breakup in sight?

The white paper that the Scottish government has produced in favor of independence is long on aspirations and short on detailed responses to the problems that an independent Scotland would face.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Dec 14, 2013

2013: A year to clone in Japanese science

In a year when the science news in Japan is still dominated by Fukushima, there have also been plenty of inspirational stories. For this final column of 2013, I have picked a few of my favorites.
EDITORIALS
Dec 10, 2013

Karzai balks on a deal

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is playing a dangerous game. His term in office expires next April, yet he is balking on a security deal with the U.S. to try to preserve his political leverage.
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2013

Tokyo restaurants loses Michelin three-star ranking

The Michelin Guide has cut the number of Tokyo restaurants with its top rank by one, reducing the city's three-star winners for the second year in a row.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2013

Russia's economic model losing potential for growth

In the absence of genuine political reform in Russia, there will be no end to capital drain and no adequate stimuli for invigorating a massive influx of investment capital.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 30, 2013

Expect greater influx of Latinos in NPB

Fan Dayan Viera was born in Cuba and currently lives in Miami, Florida. He emailed to say, "As a Cuban, I wonder if Japanese teams will be taking advantage of the new policy change where Cuban players are going to be allowed to play in foreign leagues without needing to defect from Cuba."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 26, 2013

CSS, Makoto Ozone and Shonen Knife get a round of shows in before New Year's

With the year winding down and the holiday season approaching, the concert scene in Japan gets pretty quiet. Although there will be a few international acts headed here in the middle of December, your best shot for a live performance might be checking out local acts before they go into hibernation for...
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 24, 2013

Twitter beefs up users' data security

Twitter has announced a significant increase in its data security as it moves to protect users from attacks by the "apex predators" of the Internet.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 18, 2013

India, U.S. sup with the devil

Lost in India and the U.S.' diplomatic maneuvers with the Taliban is the age-old wisdom: He who sups with the devil should have a long spoon.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 17, 2013

Engine economics limit biofuels in U.S.

When it comes to ethanol, the United States may have reached its limit — at least for now.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Nov 12, 2013

Has anime lost its cachet in America?

I had been invited to host a Q&A with renowned "Gundam" creator and sci-fi novelist Yoshiyuki Tomino at The New York Anime Festival. But when my handler and I arrived at the designated room, we found it empty and dark. "Over here," a staffer called from across the hall. "Too many people."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / TRAVEL INSIDER
Nov 12, 2013

United's electronics friendly cabins; BA holiday offer; Cathay gift voucher

Electronics friendly cabins
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 5, 2013

One Direction takes the J-pop path to success

By the group's standards, it was a low-key finale. When One Direction completed its eight-month Take Me Home Tour at the second of two Makuhari Messe shows last Sunday in Chiba, it was in front of a relatively compact audience of 12,000 Japanese fans, whose adoration seemed good-humored rather than hysterical....
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 2, 2013

Japan and Korea slide down gender-index ranking

The Swiss-based nonprofit World Economic Forum recently released its Gender Gap Report for 2013, in which Japan ranked 105 out of 136 countries — a plunge of 25 places from its ranking when the report was inaugurated in 2006. South Korea rates even worse, coming in at 111 in 2013, down from 92nd place...
EDITORIALS
Oct 29, 2013

Nobel Peace Prize sends messages

In choosing this year's Peace Prize recipient, the Nobel Committee hoped to accelerate global efforts to eliminate chemical weapons, which are relatively cheap and easy to produce.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 27, 2013

Scientists now creating 'app-style' life-forms

For scientist Jack Newman, creating a new life-form has become as simple as this: He types out a DNA sequence on his laptop, and clicks "send." And nearby in the laboratory, robotic arms start to mix together some compounds to produce the desired cells.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 26, 2013

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo: Bold direction

Just as Tokyo is synonymous with manga, sushi and cute robotic playmates, so has fashion been a reigning symbol of the city's creative prowess.
COMMENTARY
Oct 24, 2013

New lever for reducing the U.S. nuclear arsenal

The threat of the continuing U.S. budget sequester could succeed in yielding rational changes to the U.S. nuclear weapons program — a goal that simple logic has failed to achieve.
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2013

U.S. deal is made

It is reflective of the mindset in Washington that the budget sequester — a solution that was intended to be punishment for lawmakers' failure to compromise — is the new normal.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2013

Fukushima 2020: Will Japan be able to keep the nuclear situation under control?

Thirty seconds into what may ultimately be regarded as one of the defining speeches of his career, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe slowly raised his hands chest high, then spread them out sideways in a gesture of confidence.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?