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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2016

At Clinton Foundation, access equals corruption

More than half of the people who managed to score a personal meeting with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state donated money to the Clinton Foundation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 4, 2016

Elvis Costello: 'Don't just stick to one way of doing things'

I've just mentioned to Elvis Costello the publicity stunt he pulled on his first trip to Japan in 1978.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 3, 2016

Building a stairway to the singularity

A computer's victory over a human go master this past March reminds us of the pending "singularity" — the rapidly approaching moment in time when artificial intelligence overtakes human intelligence. Machines will learn, and we won't be their teachers. Are we prepared for it? Can we prepare for it?...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 2, 2016

Economic shift leaves many Chinese adrift

The yawning gap between winners and losers is making life much harder for a government seeking to boost growth and maintain stability.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2016

Report: White nationalists use Twitter with impunity, dwarf Islamic State's use; Trump camp no comment

White nationalists and self-identified Nazi sympathizers located mostly in the United States use Twitter with "relative impunity" and often have far more followers than militant Islamists, a study being released on Thursday found.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2016

Why Central Asia is less stable than it appears

Kept relatively peaceful by a handful of aging authoritarian leaders, the region is a ticking time bomb.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 30, 2016

Japan's defense diplomacy with ASEAN member-states

The situation in the South China Sea is prompting the Ministry of Defense and the SDF to expand Japan's presence and strengthen partnerships in the region.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 30, 2016

Bring English immersion to Japanese classrooms

Japanese students would benefit greatly from the total immersion approach to learning English.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2016

Trump has upset U.S. allies

It's time to kick America's prosperous and capable friends off the U.S. defense dole and let them take responsibility for their own security.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Aug 28, 2016

Japan fumbles for the legal path to an 'Emprexit'

The obvious route to allowing Emperor Akihito's abdication would involve amending the Imperial Household Law, not constitutional change.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 28, 2016

U.S. troubles with election and TPP could embolden China in Asia

United States Defense Secretary Ash Carter warned a few months back that China risked a "great wall of self-isolation" for its actions in the disputed South China Sea. That hasn't deterred President Xi Jinping.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 27, 2016

Japan's super-rich: fun to envy, difficult to emulate

Japanese multimillionaires are the object of intense study by members of the country's middle class, especially those who entertain probably unrealistic hopes of emulating them.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 26, 2016

Coastal land expands as construction outpaces sea level rise

The Earth has gained coastal land equivalent to the size of Jamaica in the past 30 years with man-made construction outpacing erosion caused by rising sea levels, mapping data showed on Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / TICAD VI SPECIAL
Aug 26, 2016

Home to exotic wildlife, lush nature

Kenya is popular for tourism because of a rich natural environment that can be enjoyed throughout the year. White sandy beaches on the coast, beautiful landscapes, unforgettable mountain treks and the grand beauty of many varieties of vegetation and animals are must-sees.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 25, 2016

Scientists hope new test could help contain meningitis outbreaks

A test has been developed that could help diagnose bacterial infections including meningitis in minutes, but it could take several years before a cheap testing device is available to developing countries, scientists said on Wednesday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 25, 2016

California legislature passes climate change bills

California lawmakers voted to extend the state's climate change fighting efforts to 2030 on Wednesday, giving a new lease on life to the most ambitious greenhouse gas reduction program in the country.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 24, 2016

'Black Widow Business': Never too old for the marriage con

"There's no fool like an old fool." Yasuo Tsuruhashi's comedy "Black Widow Business" is a feature-length illustration of this venerable saying, though it also reflects present-day trends in an aging Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 24, 2016

'Lights Out': A cliched glow in the dark

Being afraid of the dark is a familiar childhood anxiety that has exploited in terrifying proportions in the horror genre. "Lights Out" knows how to cash in on the panic that can assail the mind when the lights go out. Bad things happen in darkness and "Lights Out" lays it on thick, even though the story...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2016

Inventions changed our genetic code

When humans invent technology, we also reinvent ourselves.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2016

Seafloor gold rush could have alarming impact

The seafloor is home to priceless mineral deposits, but mining them could wreak havoc on the marine environment.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 20, 2016

How to teach moral education in a relative age?

The wartime moral ideal was blind obedience and self-sacrificing devotion to the nation. Could the upgrading of moral education be a first step on the road back to that?
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Aug 20, 2016

An awakening gives birth to modern medicine

Illness we share with our ancestors. Diagnosis and remedies set us and them apart.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2016

The thrill of victory, the agony of another snub

The refusal of an Egyptian athlete to shake his Israeli counterpart's hand is symbolic of the Arab street's continuing rejection of the legitimacy of the Jewish state.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 17, 2016

Koike can help Japan get serious about gender gap

Japan's efforts to promote gender mainstreaming have fallen short. Hopefully new Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike can give this vital concept a jump start.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2016

Is Donald Trump a Democratic Party plant?

Who in the end really gains from Donald Trump's paranoid, fact-free campaign style. A lot of people are saying it's Hillary Clinton.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2016

Brazil's partisans go for the Olympic gold

Brazil's fueding parties lost no time in trying to politicize a judoka's gold medal performance.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Aug 14, 2016

After 30 years in Japan, teacher from Zambia is still learning

Globe-trotting son of Zambian envoy thought he'd seen it all until he arrived on these shores.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 13, 2016

A world gone mad? That's quite absurd!

Real life is getting too absurd for absurd theater — or so reckons one absurdist playwright. Does he have a point?
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 12, 2016

The strategic logic of the Islamic State militants

To understand how to defeat IS once and for all, we first need to comprehend its strategy.

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?