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Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2015

Scholar offers secure way for employees to blow the whistle

One man is on a quest to create transparency in Japan with a whistleblower website that has echoes of Wikileaks and promises high-tech anonymity.
COMMENTARY
Jan 22, 2015

Punch from the pope when the cause is right

At least U.S. President Barack Obama — and Pope Francis — had the good sense to dodge world leaders' little pantomime of defiance in the streets of Paris after the Charlie Hebdo killings.
JAPAN / DAVOS SPECIAL 2015
Jan 21, 2015

New concerns appear on Global Agenda 2015

Based on a survey of almost 1,800 experts from the World Economic Forum's Network of Global Agenda Councils, as well as other communities within the forum, on what they believe will preoccupy leaders over the coming 12 to 18 months, the Outlook on the Global Agenda 2015 was published in November.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jan 19, 2015

Obokata fails to create STAP Cells

The Riken research institute ended work on Dec. 19 to see if it could make so-called STAP cells, concluding that Riken researcher Haruko Obokata failed in experiments to produce the stem cells that she previously claimed to have created.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Jan 18, 2015

All 2014 Fukushima rice cleared radiation tests, thanks to fertilizer

For the first time since the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 plant throttled the agriculture-reliant prefecture, all rice produced there last year cleared the required radiation tests.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 17, 2015

Home away from home: the plight of refugees in Japan

On a cold winter's day in December, an African man sits in a meeting room at the Japan Association for Refugees, a nonprofit organization in Tokyo. The man, whose name and country of origin have been withheld to protect his identity from those who wish him and his family harm, has been seeking refugee...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 17, 2015

Lingering outside the way station for the dead

It's a hardy soul who braves Osorezan (Mount Osore), a volcano in Aomori Prefecture known as the Japanese way station for the dead. For most, the name conjures up images of the supernatural and the unknown, but for Marie Mutsuki Mockett, it is a place of healing and beauty.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 17, 2015

U.N. peace chief says logistics, not front line, is where Japan fits best

The U.N. peacekeeping chief says Japan won't be asked to supply troops for front-line missions but might be asked to provide more logistic support in Africa.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 16, 2015

Nagoya museums on quest to track visitors' nationalities

The industrial tourism business in Nagoya will have a new mission in fiscal 2015. Museums and activity centers will begin tracking visitors' nationalities in order to target them better.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jan 12, 2015

Nut sales up in Korea after nut rage

Nut rage imploded the career of a Korean Air Lines executive and embarrassed her family and country.
COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 10, 2015

The people's Emperor speaks truth to power

Emperor Akihito began the new year with a statement that pointedly referred to two major controversies: war memory and nuclear energy. His thoughts on these demonstrate why he is so admired by the public and underscore the crucial role the 81-year-old monarch plays in contemporary Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 10, 2015

Life of a Counterfeiter

Yasushi Inoue's "Life of a Counterfeiter," translated by Michael Emmerich, contains three stories: the eponymous novella and two shorter pieces, "Reeds" and "Mr Goodall's Gloves."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2015

U.S. economy, military remain strong

Amid the continuing trend of polarization into Democrat or Republican extremes, an increasing flow of immigrants and a waning, but still the strongest military presence, the U.S. will continue to be a superpower, but to a somewhat lesser extent, a group of academic experts recently concluded.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 9, 2015

Female inmates OK'd to give birth without handcuffs

Pregnant female convicts will in the future give birth without having to wear handcuffs, after the father of a baby born to an inmate in Kasamatsu prison, Gifu Prefecture, lobbied against the rule.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 9, 2015

'Small fry' who went rogue: How Paris attack suspect turned killer

When French anti-terror prosecutor Jean-Louis Bruguiere first clapped eyes on Cherif Kouachi 10 years ago, his first impression was that he was a "small fry."
Reader Mail
Jan 7, 2015

Wanted: energy-cost perspective

I read with increasing frustration Eric Johnston's Jan. 2 article, "Nuclear motive suspected in feed-in tariff reforms," which is a bleat on behalf of the solar power industry. Perhaps Johnston should take a trip into the countryside and see what passes for green power in action. On Jan. 3, for example,...
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jan 5, 2015

IOC clears way for return of baseball

The International Olympic Committee approved a new reform for the framework of the Olympic program on Dec. 8, opening the way for a possible return of baseball and softball in a joint bid for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 70 YEARS OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY
Jan 4, 2015

Patriotic few battle addiction to peace

The Japanese school system's treatment of modern history is so slipshod that having a rational debate on the need for war is nearly impossible, young nationalists say.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jan 3, 2015

Fujitsu outplays Kwansei Gakuin, claims first Rice Bowl title

The dominance of the X League champion in the Rice Bowl extended for another year, as the Fujitsu Frontiers defeated the Kwansei Gakuin University Fighters 33-24 for the overall national championship on Saturday at Tokyo Dome.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jan 2, 2015

Property borders: Where to draw the line

Some years ago we lived in western Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, in a neighborhood that clung to the contours of a hilly terrain. Many of the streets were just dirt and gravel, even though the area was fully developed. Neighbors told us that they had been trying to get the local government to pave these...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Jan 1, 2015

Donald Keene reflects on 70-year Japan experience

My first visit to Japan was very short, only a week or so in December 1945. Three months earlier, while on the island of Guam, I had heard the broadcast by the Emperor announcing the end of the war. Soon afterward, I was sent from Guam to China to serve as an interpreter between the Americans and the...
Reader Mail
Dec 31, 2014

Shameful decision to close parks

Regarding staff writer Tomohiro Osaki's Dec. 29 article, "Shibuya shuts parks, thwarting year-end soup distribution for homeless": I would like to thank The Japan Times for running this story. Shibuya Ward's closure of the three parks during the new year holidays will prevent supporters of the homeless...
Reader Mail
Dec 31, 2014

Tourists want to go off the track

Regarding the Dec. 23 Jiji article "Tourists flocking to Japan but few venture off the beaten track": I have escorted 10 tours to Japan from Australia over the last few years and we certainly have ventured off the beaten track, visiting such places as Cape Soya and Cape Nosappu in Hokkaido, Fukaura,...
Reader Mail
Dec 31, 2014

Double punishment is not right

The Dec. 14 AP sports article "Peterson loses appeal" describes the NFL's decision to suspend Adrian Peterson until next spring as punishment for his disciplinary switching of his son, which was deemed abusive.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 30, 2014

China banking on projects

The key factor that has led Beijing to create the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank is the belief that creating new demand abroad is the only way to avoid a simultaneous collapse of local governments and state corporations.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2014

Oil prices and Saudi democracy

Saudi Arabia's top policymakers deny they have deliberately sought lower oil prices, and there are good reasons to doubt the kingdom is wielding the oil weapon as part of some grand geopolitical strategy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 29, 2014

To shine or to die: the messy world of romanized Japanese

One of the also-rans in the competition for the best buzzword of 2014 was the little word "shine." It stirred some discussion this summer when it appeared as a one-word heading in the blog of Prime Minister Abe's just-established Kagayaku Josei Ō en Kaigi (輝く女性応援会議, Council for Supporting...
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Dec 29, 2014

Most heavy drinkers are not alcoholics

Contrary to popular opinion, only 10 percent of U.S. adults who drink too much are alcoholics, according to a study released on Nov. 20.
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2014

Using errors to advance agendas

An independent panel's findings on the Asahi Shimbun's retraction of a series of past articles on the 'comfort women' issue offer important lessons to reporters, editors and newspaper management.

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