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Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 18, 2016

Chinese state media blasts Japan over South China Sea 'patrols,' but experts see no change in policy

Chinese state media outlets have responded to news of potential joint U.S.-Japan operations in the disputed South China Sea with a spate of fiery editorials, but experts say Japan's announcement of increased engagement in the waters breaks little new ground.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Sep 17, 2016

There must be a sense of deja vu in Osaka after Yuriko Koike's election

Wasteful bureaucratic spending. Local politicians who smell money as they make Olympics-related plans. An assembly dominated by a clique of good ol' boys in the Liberal Democratic Party who run local government as their fiefdom. All challenged by a hawkish outsider of a governor who is media-savvy and...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 15, 2016

From the latest titles to VR and cosplay, the Tokyo Game Show has been in Japan's corner for 20 years

Twenty years ago, two new video game trade shows launched in Tokyo with the hopes of capturing the attention — and yen — of gamers in Japan. The first Tokyo Game Show (TGS) took place from Aug. 22 to 24, 1996, and was followed that November by E3 Tokyo, a Japanese offshoot of the U.S.-based Electronic...
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 12, 2016

Japan braces for possibility of another North Korean nuclear test

The Abe administration is still weighing the timing of fresh sanctions over the latest detonation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2016

Foundation of Tsukiji replacement site filled with pipes, not clean soil: Koike

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike revealed Saturday that the foundations of three main structures of the Toyosu market in Koto Ward that was built to replace the famed Tsukiji fish market were not filled with clean soil as the public was previously told.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2016

Tokyo governor announces plan to increase child care slots

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike on Friday announced a plan to boost capacity at day care centers for children in Tokyo to 17,000 as part of efforts to ease the country's chronic shortage of such spots at care facilities.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2016

Age of Asian sweatshops coming to an end?

Automation is replacing human labor in Asian garment factories, but workers who lose their jobs face an uncertain future.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 8, 2016

The UNHCR Refugee Film Festival finds increased focus on Europe for 11th edition

The status of refugees and displaced people continues to worsen since the European refugee crisis first gained widespread attention in 2015. In the news refugees may be portrayed as powerless victims, but the tremendous strength they show in taking strides toward a better future is anything but. The...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2016

Head of Tsukiji cooperative urges governor to act over fish market relocation

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike should issue "a safety declaration" over soil contamination at the Tsukiji fish market's planned new site in Toyosu on Tokyo Bay to ease public concerns and allow the project to proceed, the head of the Tsukiji wholesalers cooperative said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 3, 2016

Net TV in Japan: Full stream ahead?

As consumers move away from regular terrestrial TV toward online video content, it appears that the domestic TV industry itself needs to undergo its own paradigm shift.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Sep 2, 2016

Sakamoto leads strong showing by juniors in France

Japanese skaters began the Junior Grand Prix season with encouraging results at the opening event last weekend in St. Gervais, France. Japan took home half of the six singles medals on offer, with Russia claiming the other three.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 1, 2016

American held in North Korea goes six months without consular access

An American man sentenced to 15 years hard labor in North Korea for attempting to steal a propaganda poster has not been permitted consular access in nearly six months, the U.S. State Department confirmed Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2016

Why Central Asia is less stable than it appears

Kept relatively peaceful by a handful of aging authoritarian leaders, the region is a ticking time bomb.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2016

The making of a Chinese consumer society

China's transformation into a consumer society is good news for the future of the global economy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2016

Google 'plans tie-up' with MUFG on Android Pay platform

Alphabet Inc. will tie up with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. on its Android Pay platform, a person with knowledge of the matter said, the latest move by a technology giant to tap Japan's rapidly growing digital payments market.
Rugby
Aug 29, 2016

Barrett commits to All Blacks until after 2019 World Cup

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen's hopes of winning a third successive World Cup have been boosted by flyhalf Beauden Barrett's decision to commit his immediate playing future to New Zealand Rugby until after the 2019 tournament in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 27, 2016

Japan zoos could be an endangered species

In terms of zoos per capita, Japan is No. 1 in the world, despite the fact that attendance has been dropping for more than two decades.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 27, 2016

Bears encroach on blurred human boundaries

It is puzzling that the black bears have become aggressive recently, given their previous inclination to retreat when confronted by humans. My theory is that winters are shorter and that means shorter hibernations and more active time spent consuming dwindling supplies of food. They love beech nuts but,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 26, 2016

With ¥130 billion war chest, Line hunts for acquisitions to jazz up content, technology

Line Corp. plans to use part of the ¥130 billion it garnered from last month's initial public offering to bankroll acquisitions of content and technology, transforming its messaging service into a one-stop shop for Asian social media users.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 25, 2016

Central Indiana twisters wreak havoc, flatten homes, Starbucks cafe

Thunderstorms and tornadoes plowed through central Indiana on Wednesday, demolishing numerous homes and a Starbucks cafe in Kokomo and cutting power to thousands of Indianapolis-area residents, but no serious injuries were immediately reported.
EDITORIALS
Aug 24, 2016

Rising tide of North Korean defections

A recent spate of defections suggests that some North Korean elites are losing faith in the country's future under Kim Jong Un.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Aug 24, 2016

China unveils Mars rover for 2020 mission

China has shown off the first images of the rover it plans to sent to Mars in mid-2020 to explore the surface for three months, the latest aim of its ambitious space program.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 23, 2016

Spate of killings in Philippines rises to 1,900; not all drug-related, top cop says

The Philippines' national police chief said Tuesday that about 1,900 people had been killed during a crackdown on illegal drugs, which began seven weeks ago when President Rodrigo Duterte took power, but about 40 were not drug-related.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat