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Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 6, 2014

Former top brass say cyberspace key in new defense rules

As Japan and the U.S. work toward a historic upgrade of bilateral defense cooperation guidelines for the first time in 17 years, the biggest tasks for the two allies may be dealing with China's growing military and economic might while also keeping an eye on events in North Korea and its unpredictable...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 5, 2014

Yosi Horikawa explores Yakushima's sounds in new documentary

As Tokyo gears up to host this year's Red Bull Music Academy, one of the event's Japanese alumni is keeping himself busy.
WORLD
Aug 4, 2014

U.S. senator: CIA interrogation tactics helped get bin Laden

Republicans on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee will soon release a minority report asserting that the CIA's use of harsh interrogation techniques helped bring down Osama bin Laden and other terrorists, the panel's top Republican said Sunday.
WORLD
Jul 29, 2014

U.S. senator to propose strong curbs on NSA phone data collection

A new Senate proposal to curb the government's bulk collection of Americans' telephone records and increase transparency about the program has White House backing and may get more traction with critics who have dismissed other bills as too weak.
COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 26, 2014

Japan's brand is floundering under Abe

Attending the Association of Asian Studies conference in Singapore last week, I realized that Japan's global image is not what it might be. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan is back, but doubts are spreading about the version of Japan he is promoting. It appears that Abe's energetic regional diplomacy...
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Jul 25, 2014

Major festival in Shiga due near Lake Biwa

Biwako Hall in Shiga Prefecture will hold its Summer Festa on Aug. 2 and 3, featuring concerts, art workshops, a play, a documentary, an exhibition and dancing. Some are free.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2014

GSK corruption allegations spread to Syria

GlaxoSmithKline faces new allegations of corruption, this time in Syria, where the drugmaker and its distributor have been accused of paying bribes to secure business, according to a whistleblower's email reviewed by Reuters.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 24, 2014

Arcade Fire returns to Japan for Fuji Rock as a bigger and happier band

Much has changed in Arcade Fire's world since the band was last in Japan. Back in February 2008, the Canadian six-piece, still propelled forward by the momentum created by its debut "Funeral," a record that attained perpetual cult status through nothing more than its sheer brilliance, was winding up...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 24, 2014

Manic Sheep, Wedance represent overseas indie at Fuji Rock Festival

Since 2001, Fuji Rock's Rookie a Go-Go stage has spotlighted indie talents not quite ready for the festival's larger areas. Acts apply to play — this year 1,300 bands vied for 15 slots — and with the exception of Taiwan's Go Chic in 2010, all the past performers have been locals. But this summer...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / EMBASSY PRESENTS ECO-FRIENDLY LIFESTYLE
Jul 24, 2014

Fijian herbal medicine using coconut oil

With the growing interest in coconut oil as a healthy food and natural cosmetics ingredient, a workshop on ways to use it was held earlier this month at the Minato City Eco-Plaza in Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Jul 22, 2014

Indelible blot on history

The downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 has gone from accident to catastrophe to horror. And, by most accounts so far, it has exposed the quickening of the civil conflict in eastern Ukraine as a geostrategic blunder by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 22, 2014

Pianist Adachi delves further into the world of Croatian classical music

During his six-year stay in Croatia, pianist Tomohiro Adachi was introduced to a remarkable woman named Dora Pejacevic.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 21, 2014

SK Hynix says Toshiba wants ¥109 billion in flash memory lawsuit

South Korea's SK Hynix Inc said Monday that rival Toshiba Corp is seeking ¥109.15 billion in damages in a lawsuit filed over the suspected leak of NAND flash memory chip technology.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Jul 11, 2014

Polling shows voters unclear about Article 9 reinterpretation: expert

Media polls' perplexing results on the public reaction to Japan's collective defense drive raise questions about media practices and residents' knowledge of the issue.
Japan Times
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Jul 11, 2014

Gion Festival to hold both parades this year

The Gion Festival in Kyoto, one of the three biggest festivals in Japan, will continue until the end of July. A change in this year's version is a return to the tradition of holding two major parades, on July 17 and 24.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2014

Agent Orange ingredients found at Okinawa military dumpsite

Rusting barrels unearthed on former U.S. military land in the city of Okinawa are confirmed as containing chemical precursors to the toxic defoliant Agent Orange.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 10, 2014

Britain unveils emergency laws to keep email, phone data for security

Britain said on Thursday it would rush through emergency legislation to force telecoms firms to retain customer data for a year, calling the move vital for national security following a decision by Europe's top court.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 9, 2014

Ministry panel backpedals on promise to revamp justice system

Despite growing criticism of the country's notoriously opaque criminal justice system, a government panel tasked with revamping it has opted not to back the mandatory recording of interrogations.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2014

Business climate is ever-changing

The business environment surrounding U.S. companies has changed and they are looking for ways to not only survive, but thrive against severe competition.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Jul 9, 2014

Visit Japan's prehistoric past

It's hard to imagine, but millions of years ago elephants roamed Japan. Although they died out long before civilization, Tokyo's National Museum of Nature and Science can help us imagine these majestic creatures and other prehistoric mammals through a display of Japan-specific fossils. The "Ancient Mammals...
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2014

TV news should have English subtitles, panel says

Japanese TV broadcasters should introduce English subtitles in news programs by 2020 in light of an expected increase in the number of foreign visitors ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, according to an expert panel at the communications ministry.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 5, 2014

Off the beaten path on Japan's paper trail

At a little roadside store in rural Nagano, a foreign tourist is miming a rice bowl with her cupped left hand. Firm in the belief that Japanese washi (paper — wa meaning Japanese and shi meaning paper) was made from rice, she waves her flattened right hand across the "bowl," miming her desire for "sheets"...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 4, 2014

Aichi researchers track doe in bid to reduce crop damage

The Aichi Prefectural Government is using GPS to track wild deer and research new ways to keep them from damaging crops in mountainous areas.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society / FOCUS
Jul 1, 2014

Beijing quietly tightening grip on Hong Kong

Since Britain handed back colonial Hong Kong in 1997, retired primary school teacher and Falun Gong devotee Lau Wai-hing has fully exercised the freedoms China promised this city of 7.2 million.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go