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EDITORIALS
May 25, 2013

Challenge of a lifetime, again

Having conquered Mount Everest for the third time, Yuichiro Miura, 80, demonstrates the physical possibilities of human endurance while inspiring Japan's elderly.
EDITORIALS
May 24, 2013

An overture to Pyongyang

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent an aide, Mr. Isao Iijima — a former secretary to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi — to North Korea last week in an effort to make progress on unresolved bilateral issues, including the past abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 22, 2013

Flawed strategy, mistakes jeopardizing Tokyo's bid to host 2020 Olympics

Have you ever given your best effort while striving to achieve something but felt like what you were doing was futile?
SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
May 22, 2013

Costas lamer than the young Astros

It must irk major leaguers to no end when a media twerp like MLB-TV's Bob Costas ? the type who has never worn a protective cup ? makes snarky, disparaging remarks about their playing abilities.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2013

Substitute question marks for exclamation marks

A terrible tragedy is unfolding in (fill in the name of your favorite trouble spot). Something must be done. This (choose from sending troops, air strikes, enforcing a no fly zone, arming rebels) is something. Therefore it must be done.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
May 21, 2013

Fear and incarceration, from Kampala to Nagoya

"I was stopped by two men in a government-registered vehicle, blindfolded and dragged off the street. They took me away to a house in a place I did not know. I was forced into a room with blood all over the walls and floor, where two men lay. I couldn't tell if they were dead or alive. They had been...
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2013

Wishing for China's trade, fearing its prowess

The Southeast Asian region has been caught in a dilemma — wanting to benefit from China's economic rise but fearing its intensifying military prowess.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
May 15, 2013

Pavlicevic leaving Shimane to coach in NBL

After three seasons in charge, Zeljko Pavlicevic is leaving the Shimane Susanoo Magic.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 14, 2013

New thugs on block sidestep the usual suspects

Japan's underworld, namely the "boryokudan" (gangster organizations) better known as yakuza, have been targeted with crackdowns in recent years focused on cutting their funding and expanding their criminal liability. But a new type of thug appears to be acting with impunity by operating in a legal void....
WORLD / Science & Health
May 14, 2013

French coronavirus case points to possible limited human-to-human spread

A novel coronavirus that has killed more than half of the 38 people it is known to have infected appears capable of limited human-to-human spread, the World Health Organization said Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2013

Obama has leverage to salvage U.S.'s reputation

The Obama administration should take some of the legal ingenuity it has applied in justifying indefinite detention and apply it instead to closing Guantanamo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 12, 2013

Exploring the Northeast Asian rivalry for power, influence via official development assistance

Japan used to be the world's leading foreign aid donor in the 1990s, spreading most of its largesse around Asia. But since 2001, Japan has slipped to fifth in donor rankings as budget deficits and the absence of strong political support lead to cuts in development assistance.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2013

China's land grab in India

Stoking tensions with Japan and the Philippines over ownership of island groups has not prevented China from staging a military incursion into India-controlled territory.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 10, 2013

Ideas to trump names on TEDxTokyo stage

TEDxTokyo is set to kick off its fifth annual event on May 11 at Hikarie Hall in Shibuya Ward, featuring a bevy of talented speakers, among whom are many you've likely never heard of.
CULTURE / Music / JAZZ NOTES
May 9, 2013

Female jazz acts are the real Cool Japan

One of the highlights of my Golden Week this year was a concert by the Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Jazz Orchestra at Blue Note in Tokyo. Reuniting her big band for the first time in a decade, Akiyoshi rolled back the clock with a superb set and some witty banter. The high point of the Sunday night...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 9, 2013

Kuroda stimulus policies backfire as mortgage costs rise

Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's stimulus policies are backfiring in the housing market, where mortgage rates are rising even as the central bank floods the financial system with cash.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 6, 2013

New talks unlikely to settle Northern Territories dispute

There is little reason for optimism that new Japan-Russia talks over the fate of the Northern Territories will fare any better than previous attempts to reach a deal.
Reader Mail
May 5, 2013

Viewing the enemy as we are

Regarding Hiroaki Sato's April 29 article, "Photos of carnage would check war sentiment": This is very true. So many "armchair warrior" Americans seem to revel in war sentiment. Case in point: the iconic photo of a badly burned Vietnamese girl running naked down a highway after her village was hit by...
Japan Times
WORLD
May 4, 2013

Immigration shows no impact on U.K. violence

Crime in British neighborhoods that have experienced mass immigration from Eastern Europe over the last 10 years has fallen significantly, according to research that challenges a widely held view over the impact of foreigners in the United Kingdom.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 3, 2013

Roppongi Hills gets love on its 10th anniversary

Roppongi Hills was unlike anything Tokyo had ever seen before. Until it opened 10 years ago, Roppongi was more often seen as a 'High Touch Town,' where businessmen partied with foreign hostesses and off-duty soldiers packed the nightclubs.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 3, 2013

Ghost of Iraq looms as U.N. evaluates Syria

A few days ago, a little-known Swedish scientist with a career devoted to studying lethal warfare agents paid a quiet visit to London. He was there to examine evidence that British officials believe shows that Syrian forces used chemical weapons against their own people.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 2, 2013

'Shigeru Kashima Collection: Barbier et Laboureur and Art Deco Illustration'

Art Deco is often associated with architecture and design products, but it was equally influential in the field of visual arts. This exhibition presents the illustrations of artists George Barbier and Jean-Emile Laboureur, with 120 prints from the collection of scholar of French literature, Shigeru Kashima....

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