Search - long form

 
 
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jan 26, 2015

Sex slave wrangling misses human picture

When a dispute arises between the South Korea and Japan, such as the 'comfort women' controversy, the South Koreans who most fiercely criticize Japan are 'liberals' while the Japanese who criticize South Korea are 'conservative rightists.'
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 25, 2015

Pro-Russian rebels attack key Ukrainian port; at least 30 reported dead

Pro-Russian rebels launched an offensive against the strategic port of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, prompting the European Union's foreign policy chief to warn of a further "grave deterioration" in EU-Russian relations.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / NFL NOTEBOOK
Jan 21, 2015

Manning can thrive in Kubiak's system

My first impression when I heard the news that the Denver Broncos had hired Gary Kubiak to replace John Fox as the 15th head coach in team history was that Peyton Manning is one step closer to retirement.
EDITORIALS
Jan 20, 2015

Shocking Switzerland

The Swiss National Bank's move to abandon currency market intervention has profound implications for the international financial system.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jan 19, 2015

Explaining the cause of the problem with sei

Today, we will introduce the meanings and usages of the noun u305bu3044 (because of), which expresses someone's belief about the cause of something.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 17, 2015

The City that Silk Built

Kyoto has long been generous to its writers, stretching from Murasaki Shikibu, with "The Tale of Genji," right through to Yukio Mishima, with "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion." The poet Matsuo Basho also penned several memorable haiku while decamped here.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 16, 2015

Uniqlo vows reforms as NGO deplores factory conditions in China

Fast Retailing moves to improve poor working conditions at Uniqlo's clothing plants in China after being confronted by an NGO in Hong Kong.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 15, 2015

Carnivorous plant fine-tunes the slipperiness of its trap to kill ants en masse

A tricky insect-eating plant from Borneo proves that one need not have a brain to outsmart the opposition.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jan 13, 2015

Research institute makes sake a little easier to understand

For the past few years, I've harbored a secret dream — an extremely nerdy ambition unlikely to be shared by anyone other than the hardest of hard-core sake and wine geeks. That dream is to become a master taster.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 10, 2015

Dull and authentic beats out polished TV

Another New Year's break, another two-week onslaught of inconsequential television programs based on the variety show model of comedians talking about themselves, watching videos of other people doing supposedly interesting things and playing games whose main entertainment function is humiliation. The...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 10, 2015

Cataloging the creatures of the unknown

"Yokai dwell in the contact zone between fact and fiction, between belief and doubt ... Yokai begin where language ends," says Michael Dylan Foster in the introduction to "The Book of Yokai," summing up what words often fail to conjure. His book takes readers on a journey into the inexplicable, mysterious,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 10, 2015

Life of a Counterfeiter

Yasushi Inoue's "Life of a Counterfeiter," translated by Michael Emmerich, contains three stories: the eponymous novella and two shorter pieces, "Reeds" and "Mr Goodall's Gloves."
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 9, 2015

Don't fight trips to the gym: Take it outside

It's January. The bars are empty and the gyms are full of people with good intentions. By February or March, of course, that situation will reverse, as new year resolutions begin to flag and it becomes increasingly difficult to justify that extortionate gym membership.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jan 7, 2015

Never mind the facts — logic alone demolishes 'comfort women' deniers' case

Never mind all the living and documentary proof — the idea that 'comfort women' were somehow exempt from wartime coercion and organization is absurd.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 5, 2015

Prince Andrew steps up denial of underage sex with U.S. girl

Buckingham Palace stepped up its denial that Prince Andrew had sex with an underage girl introduced to him by a disgraced U.S. financier, and named the alleged victim whose anonymity was preserved in court documents filed last week.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 3, 2015

Novelist Mizumura fights to arrest fall of Japanese literature

The abiding belief among some native English speakers in Japan is that Japanese people need to use more English instead of sheltering in the comfort of a mother tongue barely spoken beyond their archipelago.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 1, 2015

What if 'The Interview' had been made in Japan?

It couldn't happen here — that was my first takeaway from the massive cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment prompted by the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy "The Interview." In the film, the two heroes journey to North Korea ostensibly to interview its real-life leader, Kim Jong Un, but in fact,...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jan 1, 2015

Most read Culture stories of 2014

OK Go's Japanese-inspired music video and Sailor Moon's special birthday were some of the most read and shared Culture articles of 2014.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 30, 2014

Komeito backtracks on Osaka merger referendum

In a surprise move, the Osaka chapter of Komeito will cooperate with Mayor Toru Hashimoto to hold a referendum on whether to integrate the Osaka city and prefecture.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Dec 29, 2014

Discussing sex crimes and Japan's 'safety myth'

A selection of responses to Rachel Halle's recent column, 'Foreign student's account of treatment in rape case points to gaps in Japan's safety myth.'
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 27, 2014

Homage to a beautiful dog named Rhubarb

Earlier this month, our 15-year-old dog died, leaving our household grieving and heartbroken.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2014

Now boastful Japan not really in tune with what visitors want, foreign expert warns

Japan's self-professed "omotenashi" (spirit of selfless hospitality) is often misinterpreted to force predetermined services on foreign visitors, says one longtime observer.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Dec 22, 2014

Jeers, apologies and silence: Japan's 2014 in quotes

First of all, we're sorry. Everybody is sorry. This was the year that everyone apologized and everyone was sorry about something. The Asahi Shimbun was sorry so many times (even when maybe they shouldn't have been) that we're omitting them from the list. There's not enough space.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Dec 20, 2014

Little sizzle found during NPB winter

Where will Chihiro Kaneko and Takashi Toritani be playing next season?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2014

Pakistan's new war on the Taliban may ensnare U.S.

The massacre earlier this week at a school in Pakistan not only is likely to set off a new round of fighting between the country's army and the Taliban but also may push U.S. President Barack Obama to renew the counter-terrorism partnership with Pakistan that has deteriorated since the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 18, 2014

Health teams scour Sierra Leone capital in Ebola drive

Health workers in Sierra Leone began combing the streets of Freetown for Ebola patients on Wednesday, moving house-to-house as the government launched a major operation to contain infections in West Africa's worst-hit country.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 16, 2014

Unlocking growth potential is top task for Abenomics 2.0

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's election win strengthened his hand to move beyond the fiscal and monetary stimulus that brought an end to deflation in his first two years. The tougher task for "Abenomics 2.0" will be to boost Japan's growth potential.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2014

Why CIA torturers won't be punished

U.S. Department of Justice memos gave CIA a free pass to torture without being punished. Serious crimes were committed, but interrogators will go unpunished.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Dec 14, 2014

Readers' letters: Hague abduction pamphlets, East Asia ties, temping teachers and learning English

Some emails received in response to recent Community articles.

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.