Search - article

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 31, 2015

Even if Abe camp prevails in next summer's poll, bid to revise Constitution no given

After taking Japan's helm for the second time in December 2012, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has had three good years, leading his Liberal Democratic Party to victory in two consecutive national elections, getting highly unpopular laws enacted without dooming his Cabinet, and winning three more years as...
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 31, 2015

U.S. downplayed evidence of abuses in Chinese detention camps

After China abolished a notorious penal system based on forced labor in December 2013, the United States rewarded Beijing by removing the world's most populous country from a global blacklist of countries that are failing to combat modern-day slavery.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 29, 2015

Laurent Grasso alludes to a future in our past

A funny thing happened on the way to "Le Forum." Outside Ochanomizu Station, a small group of neo-Nazis had set up shop and were playing the Japanese national anthem. One of them was wearing a modified SS uniform and proudly let me take his picture. I noticed that his jack boots and Sam Browne belt were...
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Dec 28, 2015

Rugby fans flock to Buddha statue in Gifu

A temple in Gifu Prefecture has seen a surge in visitors since a rugby boom led to the discovery that the Buddha statue there resembles full-back Ayumu Goromaru preparing for a kick.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 28, 2015

Cancer drugs: fact and fiction

Collusion between pharmaceutical companies and medical institutions to grab large chunks of medical spending is driving drug prices to stratospheric heights.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 28, 2015

Aichi printing company publishes calendar produced by man with no arms

A printing company has produced a calendar bearing kanji characters written by a staffer who has no arms.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2015

U.N. improves its leadership selection process

The selection of the new secretary-general is arguably one of the most important decisions that the international community will make for the next 10 years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 26, 2015

Civilian casualties of WWII left out in the cold

'Unbroken," Angelina Jolie's 2014 film about the late American Olympic athlete Louie Zamperini, will finally receive a theatrical release in Japan next year after inciting the ire of local groups who claim its depiction of Japanese prisoner of war camps is sensationally harsh and thus an expression of...
Reader Mail
Dec 26, 2015

Learning from past best way to move forward

Criticism is always fair game. When it borders on make-believe it is worth correcting. In his Dec. 20 letter to the editor regarding the article "50 Japanese scholars fire back in McGraw-Hill sex slave row" in the Dec. 12 issue, Jason Morgan's intentionally misreads my words to create scurrilous fantasy....
Reader Mail
Dec 26, 2015

In the end, refugee photo doesn't lie

The caption below the photo accompanying the Dec. 4 article "In unexpected twist, Assad ally may become Lebanon's next president," reads, "A Syrian refugee stands behind a door at a makeshift settlement. . . ."
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 24, 2015

New Year's: perfect for snapshots

Meiji Shrine is one of the most famous places of worship in Japan, partly because it is also one of the most photogenic. As the number of tourists is expected to rise before the Olympics, you may want to get your Shinto selfies off your things-to-do list first.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2015

Six crazy things Trump says that are spot on

Some of Donald Trump's utterances are offensive. His nativist demagoguery is outright fascist. But Trump also says stuff that other politicians and the media are afraid to say and need to be said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 23, 2015

Tattooist's legal challenge could lift industry in Japan or send it underground

Tattooist Taiki Masuda is challenging a law that makes him a criminal for practicing what he considers a form of art.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Dec 22, 2015

Mao’s outlook at midseason: What the experts think

Three-time world champion Mao Asada has been inconsistent through the first half of the 2015-16 season. Two victories, a third-place finish, and a sixth-place showing.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 21, 2015

Japan's married-name law isn't just about names

The Supreme Court's ruling on surnames raises a fascinating question: How much should a constitution reflect the distinctive values of a society and how much should it express universal rights?
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Dec 21, 2015

Germans to spend less on Christmas presents and more on charity amid refugee crisis

Germans are expected to spend less on Christmas presents this year and instead open their wallets to charities as the country faces a record influx of refugees.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 21, 2015

Mie pearl farmer looks to Vietnam for new opportunities, fresh workforce

Ago Bay in Shima, Mie Prefecture, is one of the leading places in Japan where pearls can be cultured. The number of pearl farmers has declined in recent years, however, and they are an aging workforce.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 20, 2015

China's consumption blues

China's economy appears headed on a gradual downward trajectory amid sluggish consumption, stagnant income levels and a graying population.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 20, 2015

Young music fans found their voices in 2015

The music industry in Japan has long been seen as lagging behind the times. Once every six months there is an article that marvels at the supremacy of CDs, and new albums from acts that were big in the 1990s tend to dominate charts alongside idol-pop groups that few would label "musically progressive."...
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Dec 20, 2015

Loneliness grows as 3/11 evacuees vacate temporary housing

Even though thousands of evacuees from the 3/11 disasters still live in temporary housing, many others have moved on, turning once busy communities into virtual ghost towns.
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2015

U.S. textbook defender lacks an open mind

The article "50 Japanese scholars fire back in McGraw-Hill sex slave row" in the Dec. 12 issue about professor Eiji Yamashita's well-worded and eminently reasonable rebuttal to the American academics' year-long histrionics over the "comfort women" makes a nice capstone to this disheartening affair.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Dec 15, 2015

Thai activists urge release of man, allegedly detained by force at hospital, over Facebook post

Thai activists on Monday demanded the release of a man arrested for sharing an infographic on Facebook detailing alleged graft in an army-built park, saying plainclothes security officers had taken him by force.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2015

Singapore in the thick of U.S. strategy on China

Singapore may not want to admit it, but it is now part of the U.S. military challenge to China — and the risk that entails.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Dec 14, 2015

First made-in-Japan passenger jet completes test flight

Japan's first domestically produced passenger jet makes its first test flight, half a century after the country last introduced a new passenger plane.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 14, 2015

Boy who pushed for hospital high school education passes away

An 18-year-old boy from Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, who had called for hospital schooling for sick high school students and helped establish a teacher dispatch system, passed away last month.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 12, 2015

No tolerance at the inns for China's shoppers

Last August, Nikkei Business magazine reported the travails of a businessman from a regional city on a sales trip to Tokyo. His company's accommodation allowance covered a maximum of ¥8,000 per night, but he couldn't find a centrally located hotel room for under ¥20,000.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 12, 2015

Gerald Curtis, the ultimate insider in Japanese politics, retires

Gerald Curtis will retire this month from Columbia University, where he has been teaching since 1968.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 12, 2015

Geling Yan draws from life in a tale 
of women in war

At the opening of Chinese-American author Geling Yan's best-selling novel "Little Aunt Crane," a 16-year-old girl by the name of Tatsuru, or "Crane," escapes a mass suicide that Japanese elders in a Manchurian village order to preserve their honor. The young girl's problems, however, have only just begun....

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