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JAPAN
May 8, 2014

Most shared Japan Times stories from April

In case you missed them, here are the most shared stories from The Japan Times for April 2014.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2014

Sunni-Shiite divide pre-empts tranquil future

As long as Sunnis and Shiites refuse to think about their past together, it is difficult to foresee a tranquil future for Iraq.
JAPAN / Politics
May 7, 2014

Kada bows out of Shiga race

Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada announces she will not seek a third term but will instead team up with a Lower House member to form a local, anti-nuclear political party.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 7, 2014

Group taps 'vibrant' youth for '20 Games

A college student in Tokyo has a lofty Olympic goal: to recruit half the 80,000 volunteers that the organizing committee for the 2020 Games and Paralympics hopes to enlist.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
May 5, 2014

English morris dancing hits Japan, with all the bells and whistles

The English form of folk dancing known as morris dates back to the Middle Ages and involves costumed groups of dancers stepping in time to music. Barely seen in Japan before, this traditional art can now be experienced in the most unexpected of locations: Shikoku.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 4, 2014

In your wildest lucid dreams: scientists' interest in sleep world grows

One of our most mysterious and intriguing states of consciousness is the dream. We lose consciousness when we enter the deep waters of sleep, only to regain it as we emerge into a series of uncanny private realities.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 3, 2014

Japanese-Style Management

Shigeo Shimizu, former managing director of Toray Industries and a life-long veteran of Japan's management culture, was so troubled by the financial scandal that brought down Olympus Corp. in 2011, that he decided something needed to done to avoid such scandals being repeated.
EDITORIALS
May 3, 2014

Test problems here and abroad

Recent news that two of the most popular English-language proficiency tests in Japan, TOEIC and TOEFL, can no longer be accepted for obtaining visas to Britain may have come as a shock to students, parents and test administrators.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 2, 2014

Gerrard may end up tragic figure in Liverpool's title bid

One mistake during a 38-game season does not decide who wins the title, but Steven Gerrard will be haunted for the rest of his life if Liverpool does not win the Premier League.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
May 1, 2014

Toyama's Joho named league MVP

Shooting guard Masashi Joho and forward Ira Brown form a dynamic one-two punch for the Toyama Grouses, a partnership that has helped the Hokuriku-based team make significant improvements — notably a steady increase in wins — in each of their three seasons together.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 1, 2014

Team to hunt shipwreck gold off U.S. coast

A deep-sea exploration company is seeking to recover a lucrative haul of gold aboard the shipwreck of the SS Central America nearly 160 years after it sank off the coast of South Carolina in a hurricane.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
May 1, 2014

U.K. scientists hope for graphene revolution

It is mega-strong, ultralight and superstretchy, and if things work out, the wonder material could change many aspects of human existence — starting with people's sex lives.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 30, 2014

Injuries reported after explosion in capital of China's Xinjiang region

An explosion at a railway station in Urumqi, the capital of China's restive far western region of Xinjiang, on Wednesday injured some people, state media said.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 28, 2014

Tokyo's Morishige too focused to dream of World Cup

FC Tokyo defender Masato Morishige insists he has no time to dream of World Cup glory with the capital-city club still adapting to life under new manager Massimo Ficcadenti.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 27, 2014

Seikatsu-shūkan-byō-ni naru-nowa, chūkōnen-towakagiranai- sō-yo

Today, we introduce Xu3068u306fu9650uff08u304bu304euff09u3089u306au3044, which shows partial negation. Xu3068u306fu9650uff08u304bu304euff09u3089u306au3044 means that X is not necessarily the case, and is used when the speaker shows that X is not always true even though it is generally thought that X is true.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 26, 2014

Aloha gozaimasu: Japan's influence on Hawaiian culture

In 1868, the first year of the Meiji Era, 148 Japanese men, mainly from the Kanto area, set sail from Yokohama on the British ship Scrito, bound for Honolulu in the Kingdom of Hawaii.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 25, 2014

Abe sought to boast better U.S. ties

For Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Thursday's summit with U.S. President Barack Obama should have been a big moment to trumpet the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance, which he claimed has greatly improved after relations soured under the Democratic Party of Japan-led administration that preceded his.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 22, 2014

The second opening of Japan

To make a proactive contribution to peace, Japan will bear its share of responsibility for assuring the security that supports global prosperity and stability, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declares.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 21, 2014

Adopting a child from Japan: one U.S. couple's story

Chicago residents Mari, a Japanese national, and Jonathon, an American, considered adopting from the U.S. or South Korea, but cultural and citizenship concerns sealed their decision to adopt from Japan. The new addition is one of only a handful of children adopted from Japan into the U.S. each year.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 21, 2014

How U.S. worsened its Putin problem

In September 2001, as the U.S. reeled from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Vladimir Putin supported Washington's imminent invasion of Afghanistan in ways that would have been inconceivable during the Cold War.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 21, 2014

Artists' mission to revitalize an onsen town

It begins with a long, slow hiss. The valves open, and a thick fog is released into the air, pouring from the roof of Dogo Onsen Honkan, the famous three-tiered bathhouse built in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, in 1894. It flows down the side of the building, past bathers in bathrobes on the open balcony...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 17, 2014

For China's Xi, purging corruption a means to install loyalists

Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to use a purge of high-ranking officials suspected of corruption to instal people close to him and reform-minded bureaucrats into critical positions across the Communist Party, the government and the military, sources say.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 12, 2014

Loss of after-school program in Osaka will hurt poor kids

In February, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was castigated by local media for keeping public schools open during a snowstorm. One of his reasons for not closing schools was that many parents relied on them not only to look after their kids during the day, but also to feed them. The U.S. Department of...
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2014

Congress top obstacle to TPP deal

Failure by Japanese and U.S. negotiators to reach a Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is making headlines across Japan and raising concerns about the implications for U.S. President Barack Obama's trip here later this month.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2014

Hungary: European Union's only dictatorship?

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor, whose party just won an overwhelming parliamentary victory at the polls, is living proof that EU membership is not an effective antidote to authoritarianism.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2014

Threats to the world order

Russian President Vladimir Putin's threatening behavior along the border with Ukraine should lead to a thorough review not only of European reliance on supplies of Russian gas but also of NATO's readiness to meet Russian threats.
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 9, 2014

'In the Heights' sizzles across distant cultures

I had a few reservations about the first Japanese production of "In the Heights," the Broadway sensation nominated for 13 Tony awards in 2008.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2014

Language of Indian politics

Even those Indians who are assumed will automatically vote their caste in the current election have choices and will make a number of fairly sophisticated mental trade-offs.

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.