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COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2014

Beware, the robots are coming

If you are an accountant, real estate agent, retail shop assistant, technical writer or telemarketer. Your jobs could be in imminent danger from the rampaging bots.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2014

Why the world must remember the Holocaust

This year's observance of the International Remembrance Day — the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp — fell at a time when there are reminders all around us of the dangers of forgetting.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 27, 2014

Fast Retailing in H.K. depositary listing

Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing Co. plans to list depositary receipts in Hong Kong to help promote its brand to investors and customers in the region.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 25, 2014

Spinmeister Abe: crisis-mongering and distractions

The news media tends to hyperventilate because this generates a buzz that attracts attention.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2014

Francois Hollande: What became of dull Mr. Normal?

However indignant French President Francois Hollande might have been about a glossy celebrity magazine revealing the details of his affair with a French actress, the idea of sitting down and drafting his resignation was almost certainly not among them.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 23, 2014

Kid-friendly app cat gets its claws into your iWallet

It's 4.30 on a gloomy winter's afternoon. I'm sitting with my grandson having one of those conversations in which grandsons explain complicated stuff to their grandads. He is 4 years old, omniscient in the way that 4-year-olds are, and tolerant of my ignorance of important matters.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2014

'American Hustle'

Being an American is an art form and the path is long and arduous, as we see all too plainly in "American Hustle," a huge, sloppy American Dream saga set in 1978. Based loosely on the famed "Abscam" scandal that put several congressmen behind bars ("Some of this actually happened," the movie informs...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Jan 21, 2014

Curry the Irish way (it's full of Guinness)

Almost 20 years ago there appeared on The New York Times best-seller list a book titled 'How the Irish Saved Civilization.' To most Irish people this benign feat was not news.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 19, 2014

Marketers succeed by generating hitto products

Japanese consumers and marketers alike certainly love their ヒット商品 (hitto shōhin, hit products). To understand how this term came about, we need to look back to the decade following World War II. When living standards gradually began to improve from the early 1950s, Japanese consumers eagerly...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 18, 2014

After Aum, post-9/11 lull, weeklies rediscover faith

March 20 will mark the 19th anniversary of the toxic nerve-gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by members of the Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth) doomsday cult. That attack, which shook Japanese society to its very foundations, resulted in 13 deaths and thousands of injuries. Thirteen high-ranking Aum...
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 18, 2014

Will Japan prepared mean nature ruined?

"Resilience" is a hot topic these days — not in self-help books, but among policymakers worldwide. As governments become convinced that climate change is a real threat, they are taking steps to ensure communities can bounce back from the increasing impact of floods, storms, fires and droughts they...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 16, 2014

Hit Hokkaido's slopes for tasty seasonal fare

Kutchan, near Niseko, is probably the only town in Japan where convenience stores stock pinto beans and Vegemite. In fact, Hokkaido's ski paradise, internationally known for its powder snow, is steadily forging a new reputation, one bite at a time.
COMMENTARY
Jan 16, 2014

Thai protesters see last chance to save interests

The fact that a member of Thailand's royal family — a daughter of the king — has gotten caught up in politics would seem to guarantee that the current political strife will go on for some time.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jan 15, 2014

Marketers capitalize on university entrance exam time

Special snacks, underwear, aquatic friends and more suddenly appear in support of academic victory for Center Test takers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 14, 2014

Maishin: Safe haven in Shibuya for sake-loving adults

Shibuya is not a neighborhood where you head for haute cuisine. But all that window-shopping, people-watching, hanging out and having fun can be hungry work. So it's good to have a few places up your sleeve that offer sustenance and respite from the crowds and noise.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2014

The deal breaks down in Bangladeshi politics

Since the restoration of democracy in 1991, Bangladesh has managed to avoid the political turbulence that haunted it during the first two decades of its existence. Until now.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 14, 2014

Will Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine beat Spotify?

Buying music is passe; nowadays it's all about renting. Billboard reports that sales of "album plus track equivalent albums" fell by 7.6 percent in 2013. (Among subcategories of both digital and physical media, only vinyl sales increased last year.) The new hot trends are monthly subscription services...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 12, 2014

No lack of ideas on a course of action for English education

Last week's Learning Curve column, "English fluency hopes rest on an education overhaul," looked at the persistent mismatch between the education ministry's stated goals and the actual outcomes of English language education in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 12, 2014

'Tiger mom' author stokes controversy with latest trope

Almost exactly three years ago, the Wall Street Journal published an excerpt from a book that remains its most commented article of all time. Under the fiery title, "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior," Yale law professor Amy Chua set out a manifesto for motherhood in proudly recounting her ironfisted...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2014

Hidden consequences of Snowden's revelations

The most insidious consequence of the Edward Snowden affair and the NSA controversy may be the destruction of trust in closer collaboration between the private sector and government in protecting vital electronic systems.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2014

'Escape Plan'

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Well, anyone who's seen a Sylvester Stallone movie lately. Stallone, even as he enters retirement age, is determined to hang onto his action-movie star status, and to his credit, he still comes equipped with biceps capable of busting someone's spine.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 8, 2014

Hop, step and thump

The audience bursts into applause and a green-, black- and terracotta-striped curtain called the joshiki-maku comes down on a sparkling kabuki performance; rather, it's rapidly pulled across from stage left to right. But as everyone knows, it's not time to leave the auditorium, as what comes next is...

Longform

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