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SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Feb 28, 2014

Another nail in the coffin of amateur sumo

Sumo currently exists in two forms around the world. Most famous, of course, is the Tokyo-based professional sport led by yokozuna Hakuho, et al. However, the amateur version, often termed “amasumo” in abbreviated form, is of interest to many in nations that lack direct access to Japanese broadcasts....
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Feb 22, 2014

Arisugawa-no-Miya's no mere people's park

Tokyo's weather in February is unpredictable, so when the day I have set aside for exploring features a record-breaking blizzard, I'm not surprised. So, bundled up like Everest conqueror Edmund Hillary, I exit Hiroo Station in Minato Ward to find the air feathered with swirling flakes and the streets...
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2014

Abe guts constitutional government

People should realize that Japan's prime minister has a shallow understanding of constitutional government. Shinzo Abe thinks he is the 'highest responsible person' for interpreting Japan's right to a collective self-defense, and that's dangerous.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 18, 2014

NHK's neutrality is essential

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's expression of right-wing extremism has not aroused much attention in British media so far, but if the risks of a confrontation with China escalate, memories of the maltreatment of British POWs during the Pacific War are certain to be revived.
Japan Times
LIFE
Feb 15, 2014

Euthanasia: the dilemma of choice

Euthanasia is an emotionally charged issue for people on both sides of the debate. Proponents of euthanasia argue that a person suffering from terminal illness should be given the freedom to choose how and when they die. Such discourse is given weight by the Japanese term for the practice — anrakushi,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Feb 9, 2014

Globally focused International Baccalaureate diploma needs local-level support

The education think tanks were busy in 2013. As the Year of the Snake slithered to a close, the education ministry made headlines by announcing bolstered English education plans — again — in an attempt to better prepare Japanese students for an increasingly connected world.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2014

New boss to steer Keidanren back to politics?

Sadayuki Sakakibara, the incoming chairman of Keidanren, says his priority in leading the nation's top business lobby is to help get Japan back on a growth track, but observers say he may also try to re-establish the organization's influence in politics.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2014

NHK governors reveal rightist views

A member of NHK's board of governors has written an essay praising a right-wing activist who committed suicide in the Asau00adhi Shimu00adbun building in 1993, raising questions about the public broadcaster's political neutrality.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2014

Diet grills NHK boss on remarks

In a bid to dodge criticism that he is unqualified to lead NHK, its embattled president, Katsuto Momii, tells the Diet the contentious remarks at his first official press conference were not the broadcaster's official views but his own.
EDITORIALS
Jan 26, 2014

Leadership change at Keidanren

Keidanren has selected a new leader just as its clout declines and it faces challenges to its role as the nation's most powerful business lobby.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 25, 2014

'Abe-genda': nuclear export superpower

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is now in New Delhi to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Indian Republic. His presence speaks volumes about closer diplomatic, security and economic ties and, at least from Tokyo's perspective, a common agenda on responding to the rise of China. India remains...
Japan Times
JAPAN / DAVOS SPECIAL 2014
Jan 23, 2014

Japan's economy strong enough to weather tax hike storm

Last year Japan's economy finally refound some backbone, with strong growth, better company earnings, falling unemployment and the key stock index soaring by a half to a six-year high, thanks mainly to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic measures, the so-called "Abenomics."
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jan 20, 2014

'Mr. Basketball' back on court in new role

Putting his honorable nickname behind him, Kenichi Sako is beginning a new adventure, though it may not proceed as smoothly as it did when he was a player.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2014

Time to speak up in defense of Thai democracy

Thailand, Southeast Asia's most developed and sophisticated economy, is teetering on the edge of the political abyss. Yet most of the rest of Asia appears to be averting its eyes from its anarchic unrest.
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 18, 2014

Will Japan prepared mean nature ruined?

"Resilience" is a hot topic these days — not in self-help books, but among policymakers worldwide. As governments become convinced that climate change is a real threat, they are taking steps to ensure communities can bounce back from the increasing impact of floods, storms, fires and droughts they...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 10, 2014

Looming economic problems

The major uncertainty facing the world today, says George Soros, is not the euro but the future direction of China. The growth model that drove China's rapid rise appears to have run out of steam.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2014

Xi Jinping facing three key challenges in 2014

Chinese President Xi Jinping has tightened the Communist Party's control over ideology, cracked down on official corruption, repressed dissent and championed a more nationalistic foreign policy. The world will soon find out whether this politically conservative course is intended to ease unusally bold economic reforms.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 5, 2014

English fluency hopes rest on an education overhaul

Ringing in 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a dream: One nation that will actively re-engage with the global marketplace.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2014

Let's score leaders by deeds

2013 has too many anti-heroes. We need to have leading newspapers, universities or think tanks judge world leaders' performances as if they were in a league.
COMMENTARY
Dec 30, 2013

Rescue of Europe must involve reform of euro

Eurozone members whose path to regaining competitiveness through price and wage reductions is too long and grueling, and whose societies risk being rent asunder by the imposition of austerity, may have to temporarily exit the monetary union.

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