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JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Feb 15, 2014

Stem-cell leap defied Japanese norms

It's not surprising that last week Haruko Obokata issued a plea for privacy. On Jan. 29 she published a scientific paper on stem cells that could revolutionize medicine, and overnight the researcher based at the Riken Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) in Kobe became a domestic and international...
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Feb 15, 2014

The Pornographers

Akiyuki Nosaka's "Grave of the Fireflies," a harrowing, semi-autobiographical tale of two young siblings fending for survival in the aftermath of World War II, helped him win the prestigious Naoki Prize for literature in 1967.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 15, 2014

I Hear Them Cry

In her debut novel, "I Hear Them Cry," award-winning author Shiho Kishimoto explores how the pattern of violent behavior can be inherited from parent to child and how love and violence are often connected.
BUSINESS
Feb 15, 2014

Sure winners in 2020 Tokyo Olympics? Gangsters

As Japan bets on a big economic boost from the 2020 Olympics, it might be dismayed by what's happening right now in Russia. Moody's doubts the Sochi Games will be much of a plus for that economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2014

Drift rightward has been building for years

Fashion model Junko Amo made headlines on Aug. 15, 2002, when she initiated a visit to controversial Yasukuni Shrine with a group of some 180 people she met via 2channel, Japan's biggest Internet forum.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Feb 13, 2014

The symbiotic relationship between anime and games

Japan excels at making you play. From its flower arrangements to tea ceremonies to karaoke, nothing much happens until you get into the game, and a big part of Japan's appeal to non-natives is its invitation to engage.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 11, 2014

Big money backs wrong man in India

There is a great, virtual storm blowing through India today to make Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat, seem like the nation's natural and inevitable leader.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 10, 2014

Abe should visit Nanjing instead of Yasukuni

If Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered a war apology with sincere contrition and humility in Nanjing, it might ease his goal of shifting Japan toward a 'normal' country in foreign policy and defense.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 8, 2014

Is wealth inequality near a tipping point?

Today's vast wealth inequality probably isn't the result of any economic conspiracy, or of vast differences in human skills. It's more likely the banal outcome of a fairly mechanical process that, unless altered, could easily carry us into a place where most of us would rather not be.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Feb 8, 2014

Weather in Japan: from balmy to barmy

The division of Japan into distinct climatic zones means that anyone traveling around the country will normally encounter quite predictable demands in terms of clothing requirements; while for those in any one area the local weather forecast will be correct more often than not.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2014

Russia's Potemkin Olympic village

Even if the Sochi Games pass off successfully and, despite the security restrictions and official bigotry, athletes and visitors enjoy their stay, will Russia's brief display of national pride really be worth the financial and political cost?
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 6, 2014

Happy 30th to a California apple that changed life to the core

Almost exactly 30 years ago (on Jan. 24, 1984), a quirky little computer company launched a new product and in the process changed lives and maybe the world. The company was called Apple and the product was named after a type of Californian apple — the Macintosh.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Feb 5, 2014

Herb Brown to receive NABC Lifetime Achievement Award

Herb Brown, a longtime fixture in the NBA and global basketball, has been tabbed for special recognition by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Feb 4, 2014

Stern retires as pro sports' best commissioner ever

David Stern left his job, his passion really, as NBA commissioner last Saturday after 30 years as the league's top executive.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Feb 4, 2014

Eating Hawaiian in Japan, with or without the pancakes

Something newsworthy has happened (well, newsworthy if you follow dining micro-trends): A new restaurant from Hawaii has opened in Tokyo and it doesn't serve pancakes.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 2, 2014

It's never too early to start juken

It's that time of year again, when hundreds of thousands of soon-to-be high school graduates are busy taking university entrance exams for the coming academic year. This activity is commonly known as juken (受験), and usually translated into English as "taking an examination." The translation is somewhat...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 2, 2014

Should we be scared by the rise of Zuck?

On Tuesday, Facebook will turn 10 years old. It has 1.23 billion users. Ponder those two facts for a moment. A company that did not exist 10 years ago now has as many users as India has people.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 1, 2014

Bending Adversity: Japan and the Art of Survival

The title of "Bending Adversity: Japan and the Art of Survival" refers to an old Japanese proverb about making the best of a bad situation or transforming crisis into opportunity. Japan is no stranger to crisis, or to monumental "bending," but will the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 serve...
CULTURE / Books
Feb 1, 2014

Heart of a Samurai

Heart of a Samurai, Margi Preus, AMULET BOOKS
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 31, 2014

Asia's emerging democratic axis

A Japan-India democratic axis, with U.S. support, could reshape the Asian strategic landscape and block the rise of a Sino-centric Asia. A rudderless India is in search of its own Shinzo Abe.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2014

Concerns of G-20 leadership

Having assumed the presidency of the Group of 20 nations, Australia should identify one core concern for each summit beyond economic matters.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NATURE'S PANTRY
Jan 28, 2014

Local pioneers of natural farming strong after 60 years

"Soil is a living thing" is almost a mantra for Sakae Suka, wife of Kazuo Suka, who has practiced shizen nōhō (natural farming) in Kamisato-machi, Saitama Prefecture, for more than 60 years. Truly the father of natural farming in our Kanto area, Kazuo has quietly and gently mentored most of the organic...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2014

At last, Yale surrenders to technology

Yale University ran up the white flag last week in its battle to keep twin seniors Peter Xu and Harry Yu from creating an easier-to-use and more informative version of its online course catalog. As the school's real battle was against technological change, defeat was inevitable.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2014

China makes sure Putin knows who his friends are

The scale of a Chinese reporter's pained obsequiousness in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi last week was a visible reminder of just how important Russia has become to Chinese policymakers, and how few risks the Chinese media will take in covering the country.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 27, 2014

Have your say on English education

Letters and online responses to the Jan. 6, 13 and 20 Learning Curve columns by Teru Clavel on English education.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2014

War appetite outlasts an era

If there is no longer a British Empire and the American effort to sustain Europe while creating a new, balanced, Israel-friendly greater Middle East has failed, does the continued appetite for war and conquest mean that Darwin was wrong?
CULTURE / Books
Jan 25, 2014

In Pursuit of Lavender

Akutagawa-prize-winning author, Akiko Itoyama, is known to focus on human relations in her work and with "In Pursuit of Lavender" she explores the relationship between two mentally unstable people as they hit the road together on a journey across Japan.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake