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ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 19, 2016

Chinese paper calls opposition to Myanmar dams 'extreme'

Opposition to Chinese-invested hydropower programs in Myanmar is being orchestrated by "extreme" groups in the country and has heavily damaged joint investment projects, an influential Chinese newspaper wrote on Monday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 18, 2016

Trump likened to dominant male chimp by famed primatologist Goodall

The brash antics of Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump have earned him a comparison to a male chimpanzee by renowned anthropologist Jane Goodall.
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
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 9, 2016

China responds strongly to North Korean nuclear test but is unlikely to do much

China criticized North Korea's nuclear test on Friday, but Beijing is unlikely to follow up with strong action because its influence is limited and it believes the United States and South Korea share responsibility for growing tensions in the region.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 7, 2016

'Janis: Little Girl Blue': Basking in the limelight of the blues

Hollywood loves its messed-up, tragic rock stars, and a biopic of hippie icon and "white blues" singer Janis Joplin has been in the works for longer than anyone can remember, with everyone from Pink to Amy Adams slated for the lead role.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2016

U.S. economy sends mixed signals

The most reliable economic indicators are not enlightening, because they're telling opposite stories.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 1, 2016

Global warming exposes fossils in Greenland from time Earth was like Mars

The earliest fossil evidence of life on Earth has been found in rocks 3.7 billion years old in Greenland, raising chances of life on Mars aeons ago when both planets were similarly desolate, scientists said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2016

Guantanamo remains a stain on U.S. policy

Insisting on maintaining a facility that has only brought shame and embarrassment to the U.S. is wrong.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Aug 28, 2016

Japan fumbles for the legal path to an 'Emprexit'

The obvious route to allowing Emperor Akihito's abdication would involve amending the Imperial Household Law, not constitutional change.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 26, 2016

Brown Rice Family brings reggae, ska-infused sounds to Windblow festival

Brown rice is a culinary staple that does a body good. It was a belief in this "vital food," especially among Rastafarians, that gave the eight-piece Brown Rice Family its name. In fact, when asked how his group tries to psyche up a crowd, percussionist Yuichi Iida simply says, "It's Brown Rice: high-fiber...
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Aug 22, 2016

Putin hints at war in Ukraine, but Russian leader likely seeking diplomatic edge

Ukraine says it thinks Vladimir Putin is planning a new invasion, and it's not hard to see why: the Russian leader has built up troops on its border and resumed the hostile rhetoric that preceded his annexation of Crimea two years ago.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Aug 20, 2016

Japan's architects are building a better future

Home-security AI cats; talking walls equipped with motion sensors; communal-living apartment blocks that promote harmonious relations; and outdoor living-room spaces powered by solar energy siphoned off hybrid cars — these previews of our future, currently on display at "House Vision 2," sound like...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 12, 2016

Overseas trip to forestall annual visit to Yasukuni by new defense chief Inada

Despite much speculation, new defense chief Tomomi Inada probably won't visit problematic Yasukuni Shrine on Japan's surrender anniversary and will instead catch a flight to Djibouti.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 9, 2016

Beijing ridicules Trump over 'China-bashing'

China responded Tuesday to claims by Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump that Beijing "breaks the rules in every way imaginable" when it comes to trade, lashing out at the business mogul's economic prescription that it called "dangerous and damaging."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Aug 7, 2016

Japan's Minor Offenses Act has major untapped potential

Law has the teeth to tackle everything from peeing and posters to more serious matters.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2016

The West's decline would also harm China

It makes little sense that Beijing is so pleased about the struggles of China's most valuable trading partners.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 1, 2016

Amid Britain nuclear debacle, Chinese state media decries 'suspicion'

China will not tolerate "unwanted accusations" about its investments in Britain, a country that cannot risk driving away other Chinese investors as it looks for post-Brexit trade deals, China's official Xinhua News Agency said Monday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 30, 2016

Bushido: Soseki, 'Star Wars' and the samurai

In September 1912, Gen. Maresuke Nogi — a hero of the Russo-Japanese War — committed ritual suicide. His sensational death took place on the day of Emperor Meiji's funeral, making it an act of junshi (following one's lord in death) and a high-water mark for the samurai code in the modern era.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 23, 2016

Bushido: The samurai code goes to war

In a scene from the 1957 film "The Bridge on the River Kwai," a haughty British Col. in a prisoner-of-war camp confronts the camp's Japanese commandant. Citing the Geneva Convention as justification, he argues that his officers should not be forced into manual labor, which makes the commandant furious...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 21, 2016

China blasts Republicans over criticism in GOP platform; state newspaper says Trump a manipulator

China's Foreign Ministry urged the U.S. Republican Party on Thursday to halt "groundless accusations" against Beijing in its party platform, which takes aim at China for its military build-up and "preposterous" claims in the South China Sea.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 12, 2016

For China, Trump perhaps better the devil they don't know

In 2010, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton provoked outrage in Beijing when she pushed the South China Sea to the top of the regional and U.S. security agendas.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 9, 2016

China holds naval combat drill in South China Sea near Hainan, Paracels

The Chinese navy conducted combat drills near its island province of Hainan and the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, the Ministry of Defense said on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 5, 2016

The Palestinian incentive program for killing Jews

The killers of Israeli Jews are considered 'martyrs' and their families are paid for the service these murderers have done for the Palestinian cause.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jul 1, 2016

YouTube poses unique challenges for Japan Sumo Association

Every few days, year-round, I receive emails from foreign visitors to Japan asking just how to gain access to morning training sessions at one of the sport's (current) 44 stables.
WORLD
Jul 1, 2016

Muslims, Eastern Europeans targeted as hate crime reports spike 500% in U.K. after Brexit vote

The number of hate crimes reported to British police online, including assaults, has increased by more than 500 percent in the week after the country voted to leave the European Union, a senior police chief said on Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 29, 2016

'Alice Through the Looking Glass': Growing up is a complicated thing

Nothing is sacred anymore, but there really should be limits — even for Disney. "Alice Through the Looking Glass" is the sequel to Tim Burton's somewhat disastrous "Alice in Wonderland" (2010), which is where they really should have drawn the line. I regret to report that things in Wonderland have...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2016

The EU, not Britain, has a democracy deficit

There is no European public to which the EU can be held accountable.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2016

A fragile time for democracy

In this time of fear, people are willing to give up their power to the strongman. But the forces they are seeking protection from are far beyond the abilities of one person to control.

Longform

People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?