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LIFE / Digital
Sep 3, 2013

Web giants pumping us for data

Should you be looking for an example of hucksterish cynicism, then the mantra that "data is the new oil" is as good as they come. Although its first recorded uttering goes as far back as 2006, in recent times it has achieved the status of an approved corporate cliche, though nowadays "data" is generally...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2013

A danger in trying to transform Mideast

Big bets in foreign policy should have at least a reasonable prospect of success, but that is not the case in today's Middle East.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2013

Don't break law to swipe at Assad

How can a U.S. attack send the message that Syria must obey international law if the bombing itself violates the U.N. Charter
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Sep 1, 2013

Poison gas viewed as uniquely horrible

After the guns of World War I fell silent, the world's nations convened in Geneva to outlaw for the first time an entire class of weapons. Barely 1 percent of the war's battlefield deaths had come from toxic chemicals, yet these had evoked greater horror than the blast wounds, shrapnel and bullets that...
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Aug 31, 2013

Japan's nuclear comedy just goes on and on

What has been will be again,
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 31, 2013

Remarkable story of the independence, dedication of Isamu Noguchi's mother

Like many people, I like soft light and use lampshades of Japanese paper from the successful Akari series designed by the American sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), certainly the artist's greatest influence on individual lives, especially at home. Some of his own upbringing is described in this book,...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 31, 2013

Nearly 50 years after epic win, Mills backs Tokyo for 2020

Billy Mills' rise to prominence began nearly 50 years ago. Now, as he looks back on his highly successful career as a distance runner, author, humanitarian and motivational speaker, he reflects on how significant a role the 1964 Tokyo Olympics played in his life.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 31, 2013

Skipping a meal may help some lose weight

For years, we have been told that three square meals a day are essential to health. But popular dieting advice suggests that eating more often in small amounts may be a better approach. Some new diets advocate going the other way: consuming only one small meal a couple of days a week, followed by days...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 29, 2013

'On the Road'

How do you make a movie version of "On the Road," author Jack Kerouac's near stream-of-consciousness ode to bumming back and forth across Eisenhower-era 1950s America and Mexico in hitched rides, purloined cars and hobo boxcars in a blur of jazz joints, poetry and longing? The book is all about first-hand,...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2013

Obama's great Asian dawdle

The U.S. has sent out a contradictory message: It takes a hands-off approach to the Senkaku territorial dispute yet it scowls at Japan's interest in acquiring offensive capability to deter aggression.
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2013

Western behavior back home

It's rather unfortunate that Chavez's message has been rather misinterpreted by some readers. The message is not "Westerners are discriminated against in Japan just like African-Americans and Muslims in the U.S." That would be a daft thing to say.
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2013

Something valuable to take away

I appreciate Chavez's article very much, as my hardships of being a foreigner in Japan were hardships I had never experienced in my home country, which then allowed me to put myself in the shoes of minorities elsewhere.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2013

CCP's plan for pro-democracy voices: repression

A semisecret directive from the senior members of the Chinese Communist Party tells us how President Xi Jinping plans to manage pro-democracy voices in China: by shutting them down.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 26, 2013

The age of 3-D printers has arrived, for better and worse

The 3-D printer boom in the United States is spreading to Japan as prices decline, but some fear the devices could break the mold, jobwise.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2013

On guard against worker betrayal

The debacle of Edward Snowden walking away with electronic copies of thousands of classified documents illustrates the challenge of trusting people in any organization.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2013

Ivory tower types press for higher inflation fix

People who experienced 1970s-style inflation must wonder why anyone would wish even a trace of that upon future generations. Some economists want to take that risk.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2013

Cancer metaphor unmasks Egypt's liberalism

A Lebanese scholar admits being taken by surprise at the tide of Egyptian 'liberalism' now calling for the excision of the Muslim Brotherhood as if it were a cancer.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 24, 2013

It only takes one 'Barefoot' step to cross the line into censorship

If you want people to pay attention to a point you're making, try to bring the subject of children into the debate. Right now, the media is discussing a decision made by the board of education of Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, to limit student access to the manga "Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen)," first published...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 24, 2013

Chilling tales are tops when trying to beat the heat

Perhaps stemming from the belief that hearing a scary story will send a chill down the spine and provide welcome relief from the summer heat, August is Japan's favorite season for traditional tales of horror. At local festivals and in theme parks, the obake yashiki (haunted house) is a standby for dating...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2013

Science and politics make for a poisonous mix

Why would a psychology professor believe that science is under attack for its arrogance, vulgarity and narrow vision — from intellectuals and anti-intellectuals alike
JAPAN / History / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 23, 2013

Was Fellers friend of Japan or master manipulator?

A Nagoya University professor is working on a book about the life of the late U.S. Brig. Gen. Bonner Fellers, who played a major role in absolving Emperor Hirohito (known posthumously as Emperor Showa) of responsibility for Japan’s wartime aggression across Asia.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 23, 2013

After 18.7 billion km, Voyager 1 boldly goes on ... but just where in space is it?

It's 36 years since Voyager 1 was dispatched in 1977 on a mission to send back images of Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere and volcanic eruptions on one of its moons, Io. Then it was due to travel on to Saturn to examine that planet's intricate system of rings and moons. But after traveling more than 18...
WORLD / Crime & Legal / ANALYSIS
Aug 23, 2013

Transgender community unsure whether Manning's move will be blessing or curse

"I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female."
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Aug 22, 2013

Translating Japan's top cooking site

The Internet isn't all kitten videos and saucy stuff, you know. In Japan, food and cooking makes up a large part of the Net — and recipe-sharing site Cookpad is its biggest juggernaut. With 20 million users — including an astonishing 80 to 90 percent of all Japanese women in their 20s and 30s —...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 22, 2013

'Natsu no Owari (The End of Summer)'

First published in 1963, Jakucho Setouchi's "Natsu no Owari (The End of Summer)" was the "Fifty Shades of Grey" of its day: a best-selling novel written by a woman that viewed the unconventional love life of its 38-year-old heroine with the sort of matter-of-factness then considered daring. But the story,...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2013

Deflating the hype on big data

Big data holds the promise of harnessing huge amounts of information to help us better understand the world. But the hype is causing contrarians to fall into hyberbole.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2013

Manning and Snowden made secrecy impossible

To whom do U.S. Army privates and intelligence contractors owe their loyalty? To country? To the national security apparatus? Or to the people the apparatus protects
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2013

Why U.S. government is afraid of itself

The U.S. war on leaks has degenerated to a government deliberately destroying its property to keep its staffers from catching sight of publicly available information.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 19, 2013

Larry Summers and a tale of two Harvard professors

It is hard to imagine any private bankers being so callous and socially unconscionable as Larry Summers, a leading candidate to be the next chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2013

Attempt to bury monetarist garners no praise

rican economist Paul Krugman is jumping the gun in suggesting that the late monetarist Milton Friedman will be regarded as just a footnote decades from now.

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