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Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Mar 14, 2015

Cult attraction: Aum Shinrikyo's power of persuasion

Ahead of the 20th anniversary of Aum Shinrikyo's deadly sarin attack in Tokyo, we talk to three people with intimate knowledge of the cult in a bid to find out how it was able to exert so much influence over its followers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 14, 2015

Fukuoka awash with hina dolls and hidden temples

My daughter, having a little girl's predilection for princesses, turns out to be an excellent spotter of kids in kimono.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2015

Misawa spelling prodigy wins 6th Japan Times Bee

A diligent speller whose favorite English word is "floccinaucinihilipilification," or "the action or habit of estimating something as worthless," proved his exceptional talent by correctly spelling the championship word "snood" to clinch the 6th Japan Times Bee on Saturday at Japan Times Nifco Hall in...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2015

Sinking under debt, Kansai airport privatization will be test for Abe

After building an artificial island in Osaka Bay to host a gleaming new airport, officials discovered it was sinking into the sea; plans to privatize it may do likewise.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Mar 13, 2015

Art is for everyone, including kids

Last fall, British artist Jake Chapman found a spectacular way to irritate arts-minded parents like me — all the while "coincidentally" generating controversy and interest in his latest show where there was previously none. Chapman is a shock merchant, so I should have realized that his words might...
EDITORIALS
Mar 13, 2015

Amending for amendment's sake?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party are moving to put amendment of the Constitution at the forefront of their agenda, with specific timetables already discussed for revising text that has remained unchanged since it took effect in 1947.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2015

India's growing crisis of democracy

An ambitious political experiment engineered by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party in the border state of Jammu and Kashmir — the only Muslim-majority state in India — threatens to implode within just a few days of its start.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 13, 2015

China eyes new venue for end-of-war parade

China's planned military parade to mark the end of World War II is likely to be held at the site Japan attacked in 1937 to trigger the Second Sino-Japanese War, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the plan.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2015

Todai sounds plagiarism alarm with rare cheating report

In a rare move, the University of Tokyo, Komaba, locally known as Todai, has reported that one of its students plagiarized a term report using information from the Internet. It was the first time the prestigious school has openly reported a cheating student.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 13, 2015

NASA confirms ocean on Jupiter moon, raising prospects for life

Scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope have confirmed that the Jupiter-orbiting moon Ganymede has an ocean beneath its icy surface, raising the prospects for life, NASA said on Thursday.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Mar 12, 2015

Baseball may slowly be on rise among Czechs

Among the over 100 or so media credentials issued for the two-game Global Baseball Match 2015 between Samurai Japan and Team Europe on Tuesday and Wednesday were two for Jakub Starik and David Agner, a pair of journalists from the Czech Republic. Baseball is pretty far down the pecking order in the Central...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 12, 2015

The persevering existence of On Kawara

Last summer, the Japanese conceptual artist On Kawara passed away at age 81. Having lived in New York since 1965, it is unsurprising that the Guggenheim honors Kawara with the first comprehensive retrospective of his work — an exhibition that Kawara himself helped organize.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 11, 2015

Can idol group Momoiro Clover Z learn to act?

The typical Japanese movie about the travails and triumphs of a high school club follows an upward arc, as the audience cheers on the heroes to their foregone triumph over setbacks and defeats. The actualities of how they become more accomplished swing musicians, as in "Swing Girls," or choral singers,...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / NFL NOTEBOOK
Mar 9, 2015

NFL players gearing up for free agency

The free agency period in the NFL is set to open as the new league year starts on Tuesday. As usual, it presents teams with a dilemma of needs and money, where one's loss is another's gain.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 7, 2015

U.S. believed security for ambassador to Seoul was adequate before attack

Despite high tensions with North Korea, U.S. government experts believed security for the U.S. ambassador to South Korea was adequate before he was slashed by a knife-wielding attacker Thursday, the State Department said on Friday.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 5, 2015

Do-it-all forward Charlo having special season for title-chasing Phoenix

Mo Charlo's name isn't a long-winded, multisyllabic tongue-twister. It's easy to say — and easy to remember.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 5, 2015

Syria's Nusra Front may cut al-Qaida ties, get regional backing against Islamic State, Assad

Leaders of Syria's Nusra Front are considering cutting their links with al-Qaida to form a new entity backed by some Persian Gulf states trying to topple President Bashar Assad, sources said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 4, 2015

Into the Woods: 'mashed up Brothers Grimm and hammy performances'

The fairy-tale reboot trend continues with "Into the Woods," Disney's big-screen version of the Stephen Sondheim musical that debuted on Broadway in 1987. Set in and around a creepy forest that looks like a leftover "Harry Potter" stage, "Into the Woods" mashes up a bunch of well-known Brothers Grimm...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2015

Chinese defense spending slows but still tops GDP growth rate

China's central government will increase defense spending at a slower pace than last year as President Xi Jinping overhauls the military and seeks to stamp out the corruption that hinders the country's combat readiness.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 4, 2015

U.K. intelligence asked Tanzania to stop 'Jihadi John' in 2009: police source

Mohammed Emwazi, the Briton identified as Islamic State killer "Jihadi John," was denied entry to Tanzania in 2009 at the request of British security services, a Tanzanian police source said on Tuesday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 3, 2015

Police in Britain charge 10 in child sex exploitation investigation

Police in Britain said on Monday they had charged 10 men with sexual offenses against children and adults, part of a wider investigation into child sexual exploitation in the northern English town of Rochdale.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2015

The Russia that died with Nemtsov

Boris Nemtsov knew he was in danger. His name was on every list of 'traitors' — those who protested against the annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine — aired on state TV.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 2, 2015

Terrorism is low on the list of dangers threatening Japan

The history of the U.S. and other Western democracies since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 has been a depressing tale of massive over-reactions to a very limited threat.

Longform

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