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Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Mar 14, 2015

Cult attraction: Aum Shinrikyo's power of persuasion

Ahead of the 20th anniversary of Aum Shinrikyo's deadly sarin attack in Tokyo, we talk to three people with intimate knowledge of the cult in a bid to find out how it was able to exert so much influence over its followers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2015

Sinking under debt, Kansai airport privatization will be test for Abe

After building an artificial island in Osaka Bay to host a gleaming new airport, officials discovered it was sinking into the sea; plans to privatize it may do likewise.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2015

The 'next America' is testing U.S. governance

Both major American parties have had a hard time creating agendas that appeal across ideological, racial and ethnic lines. The fragmentation of power and purpose transcends the defects of political leaders.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 9, 2015

Nomura, Daiwa boost hiring of grads as stock market climbs

Nomura Holdings Inc. and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased hiring of university graduates this year as a stock market rally brightens prospects for the nation's biggest securities firms.
EDITORIALS
Mar 6, 2015

A brutal murder in Moscow

The assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov last week shows that Nemtsov himself might have overestimated the state of affairs when he said in an interview the day before his death that Russia's opposition was at the absolute low point.
EDITORIALS
Mar 5, 2015

Political funding law needs review

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has joined several other members of his Cabinet plus the opposition leader in admitting receipt of donations from businesses that have been granted government subsidies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2015

Joining Islamic State is stupid, but why is it illegal?

As with so many other basic legal precepts, the right of Americans to serve in a foreign army has been eroded since 9/11.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 3, 2015

Deforestation could shift monsoons, leaving India high and dry, research finds

Large-scale deforestation could cause monsoon rains to shift south, cutting rainfall in India by nearly a fifth, scientists say.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Mar 3, 2015

U.S. judge rules Nebraska same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional

A federal judge on Monday ruled Nebraska's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional in a decision that could allow same-sex couples to marry in the state within a week.
EDITORIALS
Mar 2, 2015

New phase of the Ebola battle

As the spread of Ebola slows, the Japan Social Development Fund, on the ground in Liberia, has announced the start of an effort to battle the psychological effects of the virus.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2015

The Russia that died with Nemtsov

Boris Nemtsov knew he was in danger. His name was on every list of 'traitors' — those who protested against the annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine — aired on state TV.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 1, 2015

Russians march in memory of murdered Putin critic

Holding placards declaring "I am not afraid," thousands of Russians marched in Moscow on Sunday in memory of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, whose murder has widened a split in society that some say could threaten Russia's future.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 28, 2015

China inadvertently promotes Islamic extremism

March 1, 2014, was China's 9/11. That was the day Islamic Uighur terrorists slashed their way into the collective consciousness of the country's ethnic Han majority.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 28, 2015

Shimada Kenji: Scholar, Thinker, Reader

Shimada Kenji, a Japanese scholar of China's intellectual history who died in 2000, is endearingly represented in this short, incisive and, at times, personal book. In bringing together examples of Kenji's writing with an interview and other critical texts, it provides a comprehensive, albeit brief overview...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 28, 2015

Flood of retired numbers can lessen significance

You probably saw the article last week with the news the New York Yankees will retire the uniform numbers of former players Andy Pettitte (46), Jorge Posada (20) and Bernie Williams (51). That brings to 20 the total of retired numbers by the Yanks, and Derek Jeter's No. 2 will follow and that means no...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 25, 2015

Visionary firms on the wrong side of 'Abenomics'

The Abe adminstration's retrograde focus on a lower exchange rate is arguably doing the economy more harm than good.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 25, 2015

Sony taps Tom Rothman of 'Titanic' fame to head movie studio

Sony Pictures Entertainment has named veteran film executive Tom Rothman, a force behind all-time top-grossing blockbusters "Titanic" and "Avatar," to head its movie studio in a shuffle prompted by the fallout from the recent cyberattack.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 24, 2015

Tokyo's elderly turned away amid labor crunch, funding cuts

Tokyo's elderly population is ballooning, waiting lists for nursing homes run a mile long, and there's a fierce scramble for free beds. So why are these businesses catering to the city's aging denizens scaling back?
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 24, 2015

Child dies of measles in Berlin; Germany vows to boost vaccinations

An 18-month-old boy who was not vaccinated against measles has died of the virus in Berlin, health officials said on Monday, adding they would try to boost vaccination rates and increase checks on children's status.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Feb 23, 2015

'Abenomics' divides Japan's stocks as small shares left behind

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to revive the nation's economy is leaving small companies behind.
EDITORIALS
Feb 22, 2015

Nuclear waste disposal problem

Even as the Abe administration pushes for the reactivation of idled nuclear power reactors once they're declared safe, it has yet to address the question of how Japan will dispose of highly radioactive nuclear waste so as not to endanger future generations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Feb 21, 2015

The Roads to Sata: A 2000-Mile Walk Through Japan

There are only a handful of travel accounts about modern Japan of truly literary quality. There is Donald Richie's magisterial "The Inland Sea," Angus Waycott's "Sado: Japan's Island in Exile," Will Ferguson's "Hokkaido Highway Blues" and a clutch of other titles, before the genre runs into the sand....
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
Feb 21, 2015

Tokyo Dome a worthy option for basketball

One of the key selling points of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic bid was its compact plan, which called for 85 percent of the venues to be within 8 km of the Olympic Village.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 20, 2015

New tech isn't paying off as much as before

We are not getting our money's worth from the 'creative destruction' process that the economist Joseph Schumpeter trumpeted. For example, the technology that makes social networking possible monetizes activities that used to be outside the market's purview, while leaving us open to criminal and governmental cyber assaults.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 20, 2015

Kuroda ally says weak yen shouldn't stop more stimulus if needed

Concern about weakening the yen should not prevent the Bank of Japan from easing monetary policy further if necessary, said Masahiro Kawai, a university professor who has collaborated on research with Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda.
EDITORIALS
Feb 18, 2015

Blight of research misconduct

Strong pressure on scientists to make notable achievements — and thereby secure research funds — is fueling research misconduct.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat