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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 7, 2018

Clint Eastwood's Japan critics are always there to make his day

"Everybody knocks out a flop every now and then," quipped Clint Eastwood during a recent interview to promote his latest movie, "The 15:17 to Paris."
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 7, 2018

All 39 aboard confirmed killed in crash of Russian military plane at Syria base

A Russian military transport plane crashed in Syria on Tuesday, killing all 39 people on board, Russian officials said, an incident that sharply raised the death toll from the Kremlin's intervention in the Syrian war.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 6, 2018

Two Koreas agree to leaders' summit as North voices openness to denuclearization

In stunning and unexpected announcement late Tuesday, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to a deal that could see South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet for a rare leaders' summit at the two countries' heavily armed border next month.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2018

Italy's election was actually quite traditional

The nation's voters favor weak central governments for a reason.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Mar 5, 2018

Managing great (and not so great) expectations with 'dake atte' and 'dake ni'

Introducing Xu3060u3051u3042u3063u3066Y and its related expressions.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 5, 2018

Weakened Merkel tasked with performing delicate balancing act to keep coalition intact

Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) have bought Chancellor Angela Merkel time with their vote to join her conservatives in another coalition, but she risks losing her long grip on power if she fails to balance the awkward allies' conflicting demands.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Mar 1, 2018

Can Japan's women skaters catch up with Russians?

In the wake of Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva winning the gold and silver medals in such dominating fashion at the Pyeongchang Games, many are wondering how the Japanese women can close the gap on the powerful Russians going forward.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2018

Journalist murders are a major EU problem

Clearly not all European Union members are enforcing the bloc's stated values.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2018

China faces the downsides of dictatorship

The period of term-limited presidents corresponded with unprecedented growth. Now Xi Jinping is changing the rules
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 27, 2018

Japan asks wrong question about Olympic Games

Only bold reforms, not sporting events, will ensure the big wins that Abenomics promises
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 27, 2018

Rock act Joy Opposites detail infamous low points on ‘Find Hell’

When was the last time you found yourself "in hell"? For Adam Graham, frontman for Japanese rock act Joy Opposites, it was last year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Feb 25, 2018

Japan Inc. seen embracing change slowly but surely

Sitting in a Shibuya meeting room at the Tokyo headquarters of human resources and specialist recruitment consultancy Robert Walters Japan, David Swan cuts a swarthy, muscular figure.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 23, 2018

Pyongyang says U.N. chief is 'picking a quarrel' with sanctions remarks

North Korea on Thursday accused United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of "picking a quarrel" with Pyongyang by praising international sanctions for putting pressure on the country over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2018

NRA chief slams Democrat anti-gun 'elites' after Florida school massacre

The head of the National Rifle Association lashed out at gun control advocates on Thursday, saying Democratic elites are politicizing the latest mass school shooting in the United States to erode the country's constitutionally guaranteed gun rights.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 22, 2018

U.S. women beat Canada in dramatic fashion in shootout to capture gold medal

A goal by Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson in the sixth round of the shootout gave the United States a dramatic 3-2 victory over Canada in the women's gold-medal game at Gangneung Hockey Centre on Thursday afternoon.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Feb 21, 2018

The false promise of missile defense

Excessive spending on missile defense could be detrimental to other defense programs, leading to a weakening of the nation's overall defense capabilities.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Feb 21, 2018

Japan Times readers sound off on courtesy, blackface and education

A selection of letters about recent stories on the Community pages.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2018

How information technology poses a threat to democracy

Social media could be just the start of a slippery slope leading to an Orwellian world controlled by Big Data Brother, accelerated by convergence with the sensors in our devices and rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2018

Will the Olympics go bust?

While the costs of hosting the Olympics are going up, the prestige and long-term economic benefits seem to be going down.
Reader Mail
Feb 15, 2018

Strategies for increasing tourism

Regarding the story "Japan Tourism Agency aims to draw more Western tourists amid boom in Asian visitors" in the Feb. 7 edition, Japan has always been ranked high among Asian tourists, and in the not so distant past, among Western European and American tourists. That is before the rise of China and South...
Reader Mail
Feb 15, 2018

In Japan, drive as fast as you want

Japan has made a new law. Increased speed limits now say we can all drive up to 200 km per hour on any street. Furthermore, if you can afford to buy a Ferrari, there is no speed limit, you can drive as fast as you want, and its legal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 15, 2018

Don't fall for charm offensive, keep North 'under siege': chief of Lower House foreign affairs panel

South Korea must stay in line with U.S. and Japanese plans to keep North Korea "under siege," the chairman of the Lower House committee on foreign affairs said, referring to the policy of maintaining maximum pressure on Kim Jong Un's regime.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 14, 2018

Chinese newspaper says Britain is 'trying to validate its existence and grab attention' with South China Sea patrol

Chinese state-run media has blasted London for its plans to send a warship through the disputed South China Sea next month, saying that "by acting tough against China, Britain's Ministry of Defence is trying to validate its existence and grab attention."
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2018

North Korean charm sure beats the alternative

Engaging with Pyongyang may encourage the regime down the path of liberalization.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2018

Japan saw record number of refugee applicants in 2017, Justice Ministry says

The ministry attributes the surge to a rise in economic immigrants — what the government calls those who apply for refugee status to land jobs.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 12, 2018

The point of sharp power

The view that despotism is incompatible with 'soft power is a popular one. Yet Russia and China are projecting more influence beyond their borders than at any time in recent memory.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Feb 3, 2018

Japan Times 1993: Female workers don't like to drink with boss

Japanese women love to drink with friends — provided they are not office colleagues — and hate to drink with their bosses, according to a survey released Sunday.

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