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BUSINESS / Taking the Lead
Nov 17, 2017

Yoshihiko Miyauchi, Orix ex-CEO and former head of deregulation panel, knows what it takes to change Japan

Yoshihiko Miyauchi, 82, may not be your average business leader.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 17, 2017

Takeda Pharmaceutical seeks deals as it cultivates global identity

Japan's biggest drugmaker is hunting for partnerships and deals — at the right price — as it seeks to build an identity beyond the pharmacy shelves of its home market.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Nov 13, 2017

Introducing adverbs 'atarimae' and 'tozen'

How do you say 'It's only natural that she got angry' in Japanese?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 11, 2017

Kenny Fries: From memoir to mortality and impermanence

When asked about his affection for Pikachu, American author Kenny Fries breaks into laughter. No, he says in an interview via Skype, the iconic Pokemon character had nothing to do with his decision to come to Japan. He came initially because, after applying for various fellowships, he was awarded the...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 2017

Couch surfers should compete in Olympics

While the idea of handing out medals for pushing buttons may sound ludicrous to many, it's an overdue development.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2017

Rape and sexual harassment cut across gender

In the United States, one out of 10 rape victims is male.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Nov 4, 2017

Balanced scoring powers Albirex past Grouses

The Niigata Albirex BB's offense performed at a high level on Saturday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 1, 2017

Toyota's solid-state battery to power future as automaker readies 'game-changer' for mass market

Toyota Motor Corp. is scrambling to solve outstanding issues as it races to commercialize a battery breakthrough during the first half of the 2020s with the potential to cut the cost of making electric cars.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2017

Manafort indictment begins complicated story

Democrats who are getting revved up for special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation to follow the money from Russia to the Trump campaign shouldn't get too excited yet.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 31, 2017

Catalonia's independence movement unravels as Rajoy prevails; Puigdemont flees to Belgium

As Spain seized control of Catalonia's government, the independence movement was left leaderless and struggling for a way forward, with grass-roots supporters enraged by the betrayal of their cause.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 30, 2017

Abe confirms ¥1 trillion aid package with Duterte as Tokyo races Beijing for Manila's support

Japan is looking for cooperation from the Philippines in dealing with China's aggressive territorial ambitions.
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Oct 29, 2017

Nippon Ishin ponders its fate after brutal defeat in Lower House election

Five years after Nippon Ishin no Kai first appeared on the national stage with promises of changing the country through an Osaka-based revolution, the party's future is in doubt following a crushing defeat in the Oct. 22 Lower House election.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Oct 27, 2017

Research into reverse-sex genitalia deserved award

In caves in Brazil there lives a tiny insect with the most extraordinary story. It feeds on bat droppings and chews on the dead carcasses of fallen bats. When it copulates, it does so slowly — a single sexual act takes up to 70 hours, or three full days. But that's not even the oddest thing about it....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2017

Small Japanese credit union outperforms mega-banks by lending to geisha and local startups

Kikuno Kashima, a Tokyo geisha, couldn't get a bank loan to open a club for her patrons and select guests until a tiny credit union agreed to lend her the money. Now she's part of a lending model that's doling out cash to startup companies and yielding surprisingly high profits in the process.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Oct 26, 2017

EU too? Lawmakers denounce harassment in Brussels

EU lawmakers accused their own parliament on Wednesday of failing to protect staff from sexual harassment, as allegations of abuse in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein case have raised questions over standards also in Brussels' institutions.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 25, 2017

Look for Tehran to emerge dominant in post-IS Middle East

The changing balance of power in the Middle East threatens to leave the U.S. on the sidelines.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 25, 2017

Myanmar and Bangladesh agree to 'halt outflow' of Rohingya refugees and begin repatriations

Myanmar and Bangladesh on Tuesday agreed to cooperate on the repatriation of Rohingya refugees and took steps to boost border security as relations between the neighbors have been strained by the continuing flow of refugees into Bangladesh.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2017

What electric vehicles portend for the future

The widespread use of electric vehicles would be good for the environment, but could be bad news for millions of workers in the automotive industry.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 20, 2017

The wisdom of Tanzan Ishibashi

Japan might be a very different country today if Prime Minister Tanzan Ishibahi hadn't handed the reins of power over to Nobusuke Kishi after just 65 days in office.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2017

Hurricanes' unnatural toll

The world spends far more on post-disaster aid and reconstruction than it does on mitigation even though the latter would save many lives and is far more cost-effective.
JAPAN / Politics / Decision 2017
Oct 19, 2017

'Manifesto' era may be over but election campaigns still rife with rosy pledges and vague bottom lines

Eight years is a long time in Japanese politics and people are quick to forget, but things were vastly different then.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 19, 2017

A new front opens in Asia's water war

In a water-stressed Asia, taming China's hegemonic ambition is now the biggest strategic challenge.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Oct 17, 2017

A divided Iraq tests U.S. influence as fight against Islamic State wanes

After years of focusing divided Iraq on a shared fight against the Islamic State group, the United States is now straining to leverage its limited influence to avoid a full-blown conflict between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces it has armed and trained.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Oct 14, 2017

Japan's 'way of the sword' baffles foreign observers

All cultures present aspects that cannot but baffle the foreign observer. For example: nothing in the native tradition equips a Japanese to grasp the concept of the blood of the crucified son of the one God washing believers clean of sin.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 14, 2017

Freed Canadian says Afghan kidnappers killed one child and raped his American wife

A U.S.-Canadian couple freed in Pakistan this week, nearly five years after being abducted in Afghanistan, returned to Canada on Friday where the husband said one of his children had been murdered and his wife had been raped.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 13, 2017

Richard Branson takes another bet on the future with Hyperloop One

British billionaire Richard Branson on Thursday placed another bet on the future with an investment in Hyperloop One, which is developing super high-speed transportation systems.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 12, 2017

It's more than 400 years old, but 'Richard III' is just as relevant today

Romanian theater director Silviu Purcarete has staged several plays in this country before, but now he's working with an all-Japanese cast for the first time as he prepares to present his brand-new "Richard III" at Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre in Ikebukuro from Oct. 18 to 30, ahead of a three-city tour....
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 11, 2017

U.S. flies powerful bombers over Korean Peninsula as Trump discusses 'range of options'

The U.S. sent powerful B-1B bombers from Guam for joint exercises with the South Korean Air Force over the Korean Peninsula late Tuesday as President Donald Trump gathered his top national security advisers to discuss "a range of options" for dealing with North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.