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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 31, 2016

China announces complete ban on domestic ivory trade by end of 2017

China will slap a total ban on the domestic ivory trade within a year, the government announced Friday, shutting the door to the world's biggest end market for poached ivory.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Dec 30, 2016

The top entertainment stories of 2016

The Japan Times newsroom selected these culture stories as the most important of 2016.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 30, 2016

Change — the only constant for Tokyo restaurants in 2016

What a year it has been. Thankfully, the world of gastronomy hasn't followed the same spiral of sadness, frustration and despair as the political and popular music arenas. Even so, it's high time to get the Year of the Monkey off our backs with a rundown of some of the ups, downs, ins and outs at Tokyo's...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2016

U.S.-China drone spat: more than meets the eye

Both the U.S. and China are pushing — and even tearing — the legal envelope as they jockey for advantage in the South China Sea.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 29, 2016

First sunrise of the year brings luck

The sight of a sunrise is familiar to early risers. On New Year's Day the experience takes on a more special meaning — legend has it the sun goddess Amaterasu created this country after all.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Dec 28, 2016

What's in a surname? It depends on who you ask

Some women want to keep their maiden names after marriage, yet many others choose not to.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 26, 2016

2016: The year Japan said 'sayonara' to some sexist terms

What a year 2016 has been. Recently, a usually frugal girlfriend of mine drained her bank account by moving into a new, swanky apartment, and by buying a bag and shoes from Prada.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 25, 2016

PISA confirms excellence of a handful of nations

The obsession with rankings on international student assessment tests may be counterproductive.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Dec 24, 2016

It's a small world after all in Komagome

On a crisp and cloudless winter morning, the streets outside Komagome Station in Tokyo's Toshima Ward scintillate with shards of sunlight cutting between sharp shadows. I bundle up against the cold, and set off to seek out an artisan that I heard tell of on a backstreet last summer. It's a luxury to...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Dec 23, 2016

China's name-and-shame campaign fails to deter polluters

China has publicly named more than 20 enterprises it says broke environmental rules during this week's outbreak of hazardous smog in the country's north, its latest attempt to bring lawbreaking firms to account by shaming them.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2016

Full text of Emperor Akihito's message on his 83rd birthday

This is the official translation of Emperor Akihito’s message on his 83rd birthday.
Japan Times
LIFE
Dec 22, 2016

Get in touch with your spiritual side at churches across Japan this Christmas

While it can be relatively easy to celebrate Christmas in Japan with all the seasonal illumination, food options and perhaps a visit from Santa Claus, finding a spiritual option is not always obvious.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2016

Terrorism: a small threat designed to look big

The sensible response to terrorist attacks is prevention: good intelligence-gathering and smarter security measures, not mass arrests and foreign wars.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 22, 2016

Trump: Berlin truck massacre 'an attack against humanity'

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump condemned the attack at a Christmas market in Berlin as "an attack against humanity" on Wednesday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2016

Ban Ki-moon's mixed legacy

The United Nations has become less relevant after a decade of leadership by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2016

As test scores slip, China must rethink schools

Unequal access to education is a centuries-old challenge in China that remains just as vexing today.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2016

Slow progress for Japan and Russia

Siberian energy deals are set to warm Japan-Russia ties while the peace treaty is put on ice.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 19, 2016

Japanese buzzwords capture the zeitgeist of then, now and what's to come

Take a journey through the buzzwords of years past and present — and hazard a guess at what's coming in 2017.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 19, 2016

Aichi volunteers carve wooden tribute to first Toyota Corolla

A group of volunteers in Aichi Prefecture has made a life-sized replica of the first-generation Toyota Corolla using thinned wood sourced from Toyota Motor Corp.'s namesake city.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 19, 2016

Leaders gather in Ashgabat to discus issue pivotal to prosperity

The issue of transport lies at the very heart of human prosperity, productivity and well-being.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2016

Holiday lights burn bright along Meguro River thanks to biodiesel fuel initiative

Organizers of an elaborate midwinter light display running until January along the Meguro River in downtown Tokyo, a popular cherry blossom viewing spot in spring, are going off the grid as a way to limit harm to the environment.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 17, 2016

Natsume Soseki and 'The Orient's No. 1 Elevator'

What is the top tourist destination in the Kansai region? Is it Kyoto's geisha district? Is it the temples and bamboo forests of Arashiyama? Is it the town of Yoshino, with Japan's most famous cherry blossoms? The majestic views from Mount Rokko in Kobe? Or Lake Biwa, the country's largest freshwater...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 17, 2016

Sonya Park: The styling of Arts & Science

Pajamas may sound like an unlikely creative catalyst for a business. For Sonya Park, however, it made perfect sense: She was determined to create a pair of comfortable, luxurious pajamas that she would want to wear herself.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Dec 17, 2016

Kansai towns gear up for the 'Pork Barrel-ympics'

Aware that voters outside of the capital may lack the degree of anticipation for the 2020 Olympics that can be felt among Tokyo politicians and corporations who will directly profit from the games, and sensitive to rumors that taxpayers elsewhere will get stuck with a post-Olympics tax bill, the government...

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