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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2017

Obama's unforced errors on foreign policy

When U.S. President Barack Obama moves two miles from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to 2446 Belmont Road in Washington's Kalorama neighborhood, he will live half a mile from 2340 S Street, where Woodrow Wilson spent his three post-presidential years. Wilson's embittering foreign policy failure was the Senate's...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2017

Why is Thailand's middle class so quick to reject democracy?

The Thai middle class and civil society organizations place top priority on their political interests rather than democracy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 9, 2017

Founder of Italy's 5-Star proposes divorce with anti-EU party in European Parliament

Italy's maverick 5-Star Movement should cut ties with the anti-European Union U.K. Independence Party (UKIP) and consider hooking up with the Liberals in the European Parliament, 5-Star founder Beppe Grillo said on Sunday.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jan 8, 2017

Sunflowers crush Red Wave to maintain stranglehold on Empress Cup

Once again, the mighty Jx-Eneos Sunflowers hoisted the Empress Cup high at the annual new year tournament.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 8, 2017

Mugi Kadowaki's manga musical tackles love in the time of AI

As an actress, Mugi Kadowaki has been asked to step outside of her comfort zone more than once. Maybe that is how she has found herself currently starring in her first-ever musical.
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2017

Energy policy needs overhaul

Japan's energy policy is at a crossroads. The government's basic energy plan revised in 2014 — after the March 2011 triple meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power's Fukushima No. 1 plant led to the shutdown of most of the nation's nuclear power reactors — continued the heavy reliance on nuclear power and...
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 8, 2017

Myanmar faces danger from IS militants, Malaysian police say

Myanmar faces a growing danger of attacks by foreign supporters of the Islamic State group recruited from Southeast Asian networks in support of persecuted Muslim Rohingyas, Malaysia's top counterterrorism official has said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Jan 8, 2017

Next-generation mirror analyzes faces and prints out customized makeup sheets

Panasonic Corp. is developing a "magic" mirror for 2020 that will use nanotechnology for high-definition TVs to offer advice on how to become more beautiful.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 7, 2017

Are female scholars taken seriously in Japan?

There is a small group of female TV personalities whose claim to fame is that they graduated from the University of Tokyo, the most prestigious institute of higher learning in Japan. Like most TV personalities, these women have no demonstrable talent, and in almost every case when they appear on variety...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 6, 2017

As welfare costs climb, gerontology groups propose higher age for definition of 'elderly'

Japanese between 65 and 74 should no longer be classified as elderly because they are physically and mentally much younger than their counterparts were decades ago, says a proposal backed by two academic societies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2017

Nissan ending joint development of luxury cars with Daimler

Nissan is halting joint development of luxury cars with Daimler's Mercedes-Benz, sources close to the companies told Reuters, suspending a key project in their seven-year partnership and potentially hitting profitability at a new shared factory in Mexico.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 5, 2017

Violinist Ray Iwazumi to restage famed 1920 recital by Fritz Kreisler

In 2014, New York-based violinist Ray Iwazumi performed a concert playing a replica of Il Cannone, a famous violin used by Niccolo Paganini and originally created by Giuseppe Guarneri. He hopes to recapture the success of that show when playing a different replica this weekend in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 5, 2017

Tokyo-based luthier who replicates storied violins is one of a kind

Throughout the history of classical music there have been composers who, in moments of inspiration, created masterpieces that have stayed with us for centuries. Just as important are those musicians who, through their own virtuosity, re-create those masterpieces — a talent that was particularly appreciated...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2017

Drunken monkeys and the evolution of boozing

If alcohol makes you feel sick rather than drunk, you may have a gene mutation that protects you from alcohol impairment and alcoholism.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League / B. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 5, 2017

Alvark Tokyo steaming along behind potent offense

The Alvark Tokyo are firing on all cylinders as the B. League's inaugural season reaches its midway point.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GEARING UP FOR THE GAMES
Jan 5, 2017

Advanced tech used by Paralympic athletes could throw perception of disabilities into question

On Dec. 10, some 40 elementary school children showed up for a running workshop at Shin-Toyosu Brillia Running Stadium, a brand new indoor track facility opened the day before in Tokyo's waterfront Toyosu district.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 5, 2017

Frenchman, 105, bicycles into history with hour-long velodrome ride

Robert Marchand, a 105-year-old Frenchman, made cycling history on Wednesday by covering 22.528 km (14.08 miles) in one hour on a track near Paris.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 5, 2017

Germany collars Tunisian who used aliases, once probed as terrorist, over links to Berlin truck attacker

German police have detained a 26-year-old Tunisian man over links with the perpetrator of an Islamist truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market that killed 12 people, a federal prosecutors' spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 4, 2017

'Our Meal for Tomorrow': Changing roles in romantic drama

Gender-bending comedy certainly exists in Japanese films, though it may not be mainstream. In Yosuke Fujita's "Fuku-chan of FukuFuku Flats" ("Fukufukuso no Fukuchan," 2014), popular female TV comedian Miyuki Oshima starred as a male house painter who becomes allergic to the opposite sex after being jilted...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2017

Israel throws a U.N. tantrum

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had only himself to blame for the U.S. decision to not veto a U.N. resolution criticising Israel's settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 4, 2017

Economists see growth on horizon for 2017

Economists say growth is expected on the back of the weak yen and due to government steps to stimulate sluggish consumption.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 4, 2017

Toshiba shares recover from early plunge on report of new accounting scandal

Shares of Toshiba Corp. recovered from an early dive after the Asahi Shimbun reported regulatory concerns about the company's earnings.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 4, 2017

Ono Pharma's wild 2016 ride cuts stock valuation by ¥1.87 trillion

The rise and fall of Ono Pharmaceutical Co. in 2016 was a tale of two halves, and one drug.
EDITORIALS
Jan 3, 2017

State-sponsored scholarships

The launch of government-sponsored university scholarships for financially challenged students is a meaningful first step, but it needs to be expanded.

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