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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2014

Ukraine's uneasy compromises please no one

The concessions Kiev made to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine come at an enormous cost in human lives, lost trust and broken relationships between Ukraine and Russia.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 16, 2014

Obama is getting 'trolled' by the Islamic State

U.S. President Barack Obama's over-reaction to the videos of two American journalists getting beheaded gives one the uncomfortable feeling that the war-weary American people are again getting the bum's rush into playing the bad guy in the Mideast.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 16, 2014

The ghost of Emperor Hirohito

The recently completed 61-volume record of the life of Emperor Hirohito shows him hopelessly ambivalent about how to end Word War II as he sought 'another brilliant military gain' for Japan so that it would have diplomatic clout in negotiating a settlement.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Sep 16, 2014

The raw appeal of eggs

The average Japanese person eats around 320 eggs (tamago) per year, according to the International Egg Commission, placing it in the Top 3 worldwide. (In comparison, the average American eats around 250 eggs per year.) Eggs are enjoyed in many sweet and savory dishes, such as the famous (or infamous)...
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 15, 2014

Ocean algae can evolve fast to tackle climate change, study finds

Tiny marine algae can evolve fast enough to cope with climate change in a sign that some ocean life may be more resilient than thought to rising temperatures and acidification, a study showed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 13, 2014

A world of fear for Japan's shut-ins

Several years ago, a vogue of interest in shut-ins, or hikikomori, saw researchers from France touring Japan and meeting reclusive youths. Such was the prevalence of the disorder, said psychologist Nicolas Tajan, that "if you ask people in Japan about hikikomori, almost everyone will say, 'I know somebody...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Sep 13, 2014

Low City, High City

Best known for his translations of "The Tale of Genji" and the fiction of Yasunari Kawabata, for which the author won a Nobel Prize, Edward G. Seidensticker was also an accomplished essayist and historian.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 13, 2014

Millennium Snow vol. 1-2

Bisco Hatori, author of the popular manga series and anime "Ouran High School Host Club," delivers a romantic comedy with a supernatural twist with "Millennium Snow," a series that will make any fan of shōjo (young girl) manga blush.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 12, 2014

Warmer air caused ice shelf collapse off Antarctica

Warmer air triggered the collapse of a huge ice shelf off Antarctica in 2002, according to a report on Thursday that may help scientists predict future break-ups around the frozen continent.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 11, 2014

Police in Indian Kashmir collect bodies floating in worst floods in years

Authorities in Indian Kashmir collected the bodies of women and children floating in the streets on Thursday as anger mounted over what many survivors said was a bungled operation to help those caught in the region's worst flooding in 50 years.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 10, 2014

New Cabinet ministers' pasts coming back to haunt Abe

One week after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled his Cabinet with an eye to the future, the past is coming back to haunt him: Revelations of controversial past statements and actions by his newly appointed ministers are drawing criticism abroad.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2014

Which countries will NATO protect from Putin?

There is logic to the U.S. and EU response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's Soviet revanchism that even Putin appears to accept, if not acknowledge. It is that European countries have been divided into three levels of NATO 'protection.'
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2014

Dolphin-defenders' 'tweetstorm' campaign raises levels of annoyance

Celebrities and companies were almost universally annoyed to discover their Twitter accounts were being bombarded with messages by activists seeking an end to Japan's dolphin hunts.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2014

City rankings out of touch with 21st century reality

These days there are so many news stories about disease, disaster, doom and death that some media apparently want to lighten the gloom by reporting silly surveys on the most pleasant city to live in.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2014

Stupid advice for women worried about rape

Anyone who doubts that politically correct online activitists are out to lunch need only read up on their reaction to a nail polish that allows women to discreetly discover whether their drink has been spiked by one of several common 'date rape' drugs.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2014

As the chances of a U.K. split grow, the true costs become more clear

Until last week, almost nobody outside Scotland took very seriously the possibility that Europe's most stable and durable nation — the only big country not to have suffered invasion, revolution or civil war at any time in the past 300 years — might soon be wiped off the map.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Sep 8, 2014

Letters: the history, challenges and rewards of adoption in Japan

Readers respond to a recent article on foreign residents adopting children in Japan.
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 8, 2014

California blue whales, once almost extinct, now back at historical levels

California blue whales, the largest animals on Earth once driven to near extinction by whaling, have made a remarkable comeback to near historic, 19th century levels, according to a University of Washington study released on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2014

The ethics of managing anti-Ebola treatments

As the Ebola virus grips an unprecedentedly wide swath of Africa, many are asking whether it is ethical to begin administering untested drugs and vaccines, and to decide who should receive them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 6, 2014

Veteran Tokyo editor turns his mind to crime

"Japan has her secrets, as you well know," a Kyoto art dealer named Takahashi tells American Jim Brodie. "Many are open secrets. We Japanese are aware of them, are ashamed of them, and don't speak of them often, if ever. Our embarrassing moments remain, for the most part, confined to these shores. The...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 6, 2014

Abe steals a march on China with South Asia tour

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe flies to Bangladesh for a two-stop tour of South Asia to assert Tokyo's interests in a region where it has ceded influence to China.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2014

Give Putin's peace a chance to aid Ukrainians

Following Russian President Vladimir Putin's seven-point plan would at least stave off the defeat of Ukraine's ragtag army at the hands of crack Russian troops and bring some order to eastern Ukraine. The U.S. and Europe should back the plan.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2014

Beijing's Humpty Dumpty mindset damages Hong Kong

Hong Kong people may soon be able to choose their chief executive, but they will not have a real democratic choice in who can be a candidate for office.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 2, 2014

Moscow views world as war theater

Even if Ukraine is defeated militarily, that's just one small battle won in an eternal, multi-modal war that Russia is fighting against the West because Russia's leadership is convinced the West is waging one against Russia.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 2, 2014

Crossing paths with James Foley in Syria's war

A former independent reporter in Syria recalls the last times he saw freelance journalist James Foley — whom the Islamic State beheaded last month — and a helpful middle-aged tailor fighting for the Free Syrian Army.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 2, 2014

Review: Lisa Loeb at Billboard Live

Everyone has probably heard at least one Lisa Loeb song, and most likely it was her debut single "Stay (I Missed You)" — a worldwide hit exactly 20 years ago. Loeb remains thrilled with the song's continued success.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2014

Italy's decline masks loss of competitiveness

There is no other way for Italy to correct its price differential with Germany and other EU members than to carry out a real depreciation, something that is easier said than done.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 1, 2014

After STAP scandal, Riken plots its future

With recent revelations of misconduct involving its research on so-called STAP cells, stem cell researcher Haruko Obokata and her employer, Riken Institute, have come under intense scrutiny and criticism.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Aug 31, 2014

China seeks to better protect South China Sea submarine gateway in face of U.S. surveillance flights

China's efforts to protect its submarine gateway to the South China Sea could broaden from standoffs with U.S. military planes to announcing an air defense identification zone, according to two retired People's Liberation Army officers.
COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 30, 2014

Richard Katz on the failures of 'Voodoo Abenomics'

Richard Katz, editor-in-chief at The Oriental Economist, is the author of "Voodoo Abenomics: Japan's Failed Comeback Plan," an article published in the July/August issue of Foreign Affairs magazine. Katz went into more detail about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" policy in a recent email interview...

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan