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Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 31, 2017

Cavaliers paying price for LeBron's imperious actions

When you declare yourself the king, as LeBron James did and Henry VIII in England, and it looks like Donald Trump in the United States these days, then you'll probably act like the world is your kingdom — heck, LeBron calls it the (his?) Land — and your actions will be erratic and often damaging...
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 31, 2017

Despite tough rules in Canada, illegal guns within reach

Canada's gun control laws ban dozens of assault rifles, but some permitted firearms are easily modified for greater damage, and more lax regulations in the United States make smuggled weapons accessible, experts said after a rare Canadian mass shooting on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2017

How dangerous is Putin?

Sooner rather than later, Russian President Vladimir Putin's economic incompetence will catch up with him.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2017

Trump's tough talk on China may be a positive for the greenback

One clear takeaway from Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davis was that U.S. President Donald Trump has him on the defensive.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 30, 2017

'Unpopular' Nagoya on hunt for catchphrase, logo to pitch its appeal to tourists

In an effort to become a travel destination instead of a mere transit point, Nagoya is asking the public to help create a slogan or catchphrase the city can use for tourism posters and websites to improve its appeal.
Reader Mail
Jan 27, 2017

Rall wrongheaded on women's march

Of all the wonderful articles printed about the women's march, how did you decide to run such a misleading, misogynistic piece of opinion by a man ("Failure and hope in Women's March," by Ted Rall in the Jan. 25 edition)?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2017

America starts making China great again

By pulling the U.S. out of the TPP, Trump has hurt American business, pulled the rug out from under U.S. allies and damaged American prestige in the most economically critical region in the world.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 26, 2017

Trump owes everything to the Bank of Japan

The rise of Donald Trump serves as a warning to Shinzo Abe: Too much quantitative easing can fan the flames of populism.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2017

Failure and hope in Women's March

Coopted by the Democrats, the Women's March was doomed to join the list of fruitless liberal marches — yet it gave hint at the better country Americans could have.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2017

In Trump era, Asian states must stand together

Asia, like Europe, is now on its own.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Jan 22, 2017

Meet the man who gets frisked by the Tokyo police five times a year

'Am I the only one who gets frisked five times a year?' was a question posed on Facebook by a black man living in Tokyo last year, as he related the harassment he's received at the hands of Tokyo's finest over the years.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2017

How space could trigger an economic crisis

The World Economic Forum's annual assessment of global risks, published this month, rates extreme weather events as the most likely risk to the world.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 21, 2017

In uncertain times, Japan opts to save

A funny thing happened on the way to the marketplace. The crowd thinned out. Consumption? Been there, done that. Enough.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 21, 2017

Late slugger Daryl Spencer brought passion, pride, power to Hankyu Braves

The Baseball Bullet-In this week remembers Daryl Spencer, the former Hankyu Braves slugger who died Jan. 2 in Wichita, Kansas, at the age of 88.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 20, 2017

Sumito Yamashita claims 156th Akutagawa Prize

The 156th Akutagawa Prize was awarded to 50-year-old author Sumito Yamashita for his book "Shinsekai (New World)," which explores his teenage experiences, the selection committee of the prestigious literary award announced Thursday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 19, 2017

U.N. Charter's anachronistic enemy state clauses

It's high time the U.N. shed its image as an institution created by the victorious Allied powers and create a level playing field for all its members.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 18, 2017

Xi takes on Trump over protectionism, makes case for Chinese economic leadership

Chinese President Xi Jinping offered a vigorous defense of globalization Tuesday, pushing back against the "America first" rhetoric of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump and signaling Beijing's desire to play a bigger role on the global stage.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 17, 2017

Rose vilified for absence while LeBron given a pass

Derrick Rose last week missed one game, distraught and leaving suddenly without telling anyone after Knicks practice to attend to a family emergency back in Chicago. He returned the next day to team practice and to play the next game, was fined $200,000 and made public apologies to his teammates, the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 17, 2017

The new testament to Bowie's star power

"I was probably stupid enough to believe that having the same birthday as him actually meant something," the younger Bowie once said about "a major hero" of his, Elvis Presley.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2017

Time for U.S. to rethink its North Korea policy

Washington's refusal to negotiate with Pyongyang hasn't slowed down North Korea's military activities.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2017

Open society needs defending

Open societies are in crisis, and various forms of closed societies — from fascist dictatorships to mafia states — are on the rise.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jan 15, 2017

Examining a year in the life of the country's Diet

When not trying to get elected, Japan's 700-plus Diet members (475 in the House of Representatives, 242 in the House of Councilors) conduct the weighty business of the nation. With the 193rd session of the national legislature under the current Constitution scheduled to commence on Jan. 20, let's look...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2017

Life under Trump: What will happen next?

What happens now?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2017

Clash between Japan, U.S. casino moguls throws spotlight on gray zones in FBI bribe probe

In April 2015, a sworn statement submitted in a Nevada lawsuit between rival casino moguls Steve Wynn and Japan's Kazuo Okada contained an unusual assertion. Its author said Wynn's head of security had asked to meet him in Japan and then persuaded him to travel to the United States to talk to federal...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / PHOTO ESSAY
Jan 14, 2017

Echigo-Tsumari: Creative adventures on the art field

It's winter. Inclement weather in December far north of Tokyo should come as no surprise: the farms and forests are normally blanketed in snow. So while preparing for our stay at the "House of Light," an installation in Niigata Prefecture by U.S. conceptual artist James Turrell, we aren't deterred when...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 14, 2017

The little black screen we just can't take our eyes off

A great weight sits perched on us. It's called a head. It houses our brain and presents our face to the world. It comprises roughly 10 percent of our body weight. Heavy enough at the best of times, it grows heavier as it inclines forward. Held high, it's a 5.5-kilogram burden on the neck of a person...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 14, 2017

'Daimyo Gardens': a new perspective on Tokyo's venerable green spaces

Though overshadowed by Kyoto, which boasts more than 200 listed gardens, Tokyo likely has the foremost concentration of formal gardens of any Asian capital.
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jan 14, 2017

The evolution of the Japanese ego: Learning to say 'I'

When Adam and Eve defied God, creator and master of the universe, and ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, what did they learn? To say "I."
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2017

Trump's crazed transition is making history

Judging by his post-election transition — which has been, hands down, the strangest in U.S. history — all we really know about how Donald Trump will govern is that we must expect the unexpected.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2017

Growth prospects under a changing climate

Climate-related natural disasters are no longer one-off occurrences, rather they are systemic events that need preventive action.

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