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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 28, 2014

TV personality Haruka Christine wants youth to get politically savvy

Regular viewers of Japanese TV may remember young Haruka Christine's first appearances on the variety-show circuit in early 2010, when she had her fellow entertainers and audiences in stitches.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 27, 2014

'Shirayuki Hime Satsujin Jiken (The Snow White Murder Case)'

The Japanese are big fans of mysteries of the puzzle-plot sort, with murders committed in the kinds of odd and ingenious ways that real killers seldom use. The detective hero not only cracks the case, but delivers a detailed postmortem to an appreciative audience, somewhat like a chess master analyzing...
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2014

Transparency in interrogations

A special panel of the Legislative Council proposes phasing in the process of electronically recording the full interrogation of a criminal suspect by an investigator. Will prosecutors go along?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 26, 2014

Chasing a Phantom of success

Based on "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra," a 1911 novel by the French author of detective fiction, Gaston Leroux, and transformed into a musical composed, co-written and produced by Englishman Andrew Lloyd Webber (now Baron Lloyd-Webber), "The Phantom of the Opera" was first produced in London in 1986 and went...
Reader Mail
Mar 26, 2014

A sideshow to the main events

I have written before that I think the Olympic Games are a sideshow to the world championships for each event. The world championships, not the Olympics, by definition are where we see the best. Jack Gallagher thinks otherwise in his March 19 column "Worlds better held before Olympics as a qualifier."...
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Mar 25, 2014

Time for ISU, Cinquanta to answer for sham in Sochi

Good news arrived on Friday with the announcement that the Korean Olympic Committee and Korean Skating Union will file a formal complaint about the judging in the women's free skate at the Sochi Games last month which saw defending Olympic champion Yuna Kim robbed of a second gold medal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 24, 2014

Selective consumption tax breaks inch closer

The consumption tax is going up to 8 percent next Tuesday, but consumers also have to brace for a another hike in October 2015, when the Abe administration plans to raise it all the way to 10 percent — double what it has been since 1997.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2014

The rest of Ukraine promises only more trouble for Russia

Once again Russian President Vladimir Putin's rhetoric has made U.S. President Barack Obama seem out of touch protesting violation of international law, as the world knows the U.S. is the country that ignores it most.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 22, 2014

Motley crew of foreigners backing Japan's revisionists basks in media glare

In the war of words — particularly with South Korea and China — over World War II-era issues that has intensified over the past 18 months, foreigners — both Westerners and Asians — have also waded into the fray.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 21, 2014

No love lost when Wenger, Mourinho face each other

Anthony Taylor will have his work cut out Saturday stopping two grown men trading insults.
EDITORIALS
Mar 21, 2014

Lay judges' moral dilemma

How does Japan's justice minister respond to a petition from 20 citizens who, as lay judges, agonized over the possibility of having to hand down a death sentence? They call for an immediate halt to capital punishment.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2014

Russia's wish to sideline self will shake up the alphabet

Russia is set to sideline itself from the global economy, and by doing so, it will usher in a new era in global relations. International sanctions are only the first consequence.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2014

Putin's speech as benevolent czar

Russian President Vladimir Putin's truly regal speech to Parliament heralded Russia's unabashed resurgence as an unscrupulous, unpredictable player in a world where lies and raw might trump any kind of legal framework.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 20, 2014

Aum cultists inspire a new generation of admirers

Swayed by a mixture of dark fascination with the outlaw life and dissatisfaction with their own lot, a small but passionate group of young people are bound by their professed admiration for the criminal members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult. They call themselves Aumers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2014

'Tank girls' lead the charge

Being a soldier in Japan after World War II was seen as a job for failed police recruits and unemployed youths from depressed rural towns.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 18, 2014

Hirata trial highlights evolving court system

In the same courtroom where many of his fellow Aum Shinrikyo cult members were tried years before, Makoto Hirata was convicted and sentenced earlier this month.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2014

Combating climate change

Britain's former ambassador to Japan urges public pressure on governments to stop their shilly-shalling over unresolved questions about whether human activity is contributing the most to climate change and to get on with concluding effective agreements on curbing carbon emissions.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Mar 17, 2014

Consider safety, quality of life and ecology — and scrap Futenma move

We strongly oppose moving the Futenma Marine Corps Air Station to Henoko because of the profound impact this would have on safety and quality of life in Nago, not to mention the environmental damage.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2014

West prepares sanctions as Russia presses on with Crimea takeover

Six hours of crisis talks between Washington and Moscow ended with both sides still far apart Friday, and dozens of Russians linked to Russia's gradual takeover of Crimea could face U.S. and EU travel bans and asset freezes on Monday.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 14, 2014

Arsenal boss Wenger rarely gracious in defeat

"Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser," said Vince Lombardi, the legendary NFL coach. Fair point, but you can be a gracious loser and still maintain the fire and passion that Lombardi had.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2014

To achieve peace, the past must not be forgotten

The past must never be forgotten when trying to make peace between Ukraine and Russia. The U.S. risks war with Russia if it can't adjust the same reckless sentiments responsible in recent years for promoting NATO membership for Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2014

May election could set up a wild ride for India

A lot of people think they already know the outcome of India's national election in May. They think Narendra Modi will be prime minister and that India will swing hard to the right.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Mar 12, 2014

With love and Japan, what you get out depends on what you put in

Moving to Japan makes an infant of us all, regardless of race, sex or creed. A major conflict in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' comes from the fact that Prospero knew the language and Caliban the land, but when you first get to Japan, you know neither.
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2014

Dissenting scholars represented

Regarding Charles Muller's March 6 letter, "Dissenting review was welcome" (in which Muller welcomes reviewer Anthony Fensom's criticism of "Critical Issues in Contemporary Japan," a volume that I edited): Muller misunderstands my earlier objection, which focuses solely on Fensom's suggestion that Japanese...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 12, 2014

From loyal aides and 'inner voice,' Putin hears no dissent on Crimea

Surrounded by faithful aides, President Vladimir Putin hears no opposition to his plans in Crimea, allowing him to drive Russia's bid to reclaim Ukraine's southern region guided by little more than his "inner voice."
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2014

Ukraine batters a broken world

Surely the prize for the most cynical news item of the month should go to the announcement from Oslo that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2014.

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