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Japan Times
SOCCER / From the Spot
Feb 17, 2019

Time ripe for Japan's Super Cup to hit road

The annual Fuji Xerox Super Cup, held the weekend before the J. League opens for business, has over the last 25 years become a celebration of the league's vibrant and friendly matchday culture.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 17, 2019

Whitewashing racial bias: The ball's in Japan's court

In what felt something like a case of deja vu from last year's Masatoshi Hamada blackface fiasco, Japan welcomed in 2019 with yet another racially insensitive controversy, this time in the form of an ad from food company Nissin.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Feb 17, 2019

Okinawan fishermen reel in two live oarfish, eat portion of one

Two rare deep-sea oarfish caught in fixed nets off Toya port on the southwest side of Okinawa stunned the local fishing community last month for simply being alive.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 16, 2019

'Japan Story': History enlivened at every turn with flashes of wit

Christopher Harding's comprehensive 'Japan Story' is an ultra-progressive account of modern Japanese history, ushering the often-ignored maverick women, socialist thinkers and doubters of the state version of modernity to the front.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 15, 2019

Nature-short Bangkok debates whether to turn 'last' big green space into park or mall

The fate of a large green space in the middle of one of the world's most built-up cities is pitting communities and conservationists against developers and cash-strapped authorities — a type of battle that is increasingly common in Asia.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 15, 2019

How Amazon scrapped its plans for a New York headquarters

More than a year of work to bring Amazon.com Inc.'s headquarters and tens of thousands of jobs to New York City ended on Thursday with a couple of phone calls.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 15, 2019

In Myanmar, new parties challenge Suu Kyi's grip on power

New political groups are emerging to contest Myanmar's next election in 2020, aiming to challenge the hegemony of national civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi after she has been weakened by escalating ethnic conflicts and slowing economic growth.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2019

Tokushima woman on zero-waste quest gets an audience with Davos

With leaders from around the world as her audience, a young Japanese woman from Kamikatsu, Tokushima Prefecture, spoke about her small town's "zero waste" initiatives, urging the globally influential audience to act to change society.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 13, 2019

Government slammed for singling out 'problematic' Tokyo Shimbun reporter in warning to press club

The government's handling of a Tokyo Shimbun reporter known for her assertive questioning style has come under heavy scrutiny, after it emerged that authorities issued a statement last year singling her out for criticism and urging the Japanese press to keep their questions "accurate" and "fact-based."...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Feb 13, 2019

Starting fresh in Tokyo is easier than you think

I know what you're thinking: Moving to Tokyo is going to be a whole world of stress. That's what I thought at least. There was the language barrier, the fact that I had no idea where in the city I wanted to live and the innumerable articles I'd read online providing helpful information on just how next-to-impossible...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 13, 2019

LGBT couples to file lawsuit on Valentine's Day in push for equal marriage rights in Japan

Last fall, Ai Nakajima, 40, tied the knot in Germany with her long-time partner, Kristina Baumann, a 32-year-old from Berlin. But in Japan, where they live, Nakajima and Baumann share the fate of all same-sex couples in committed relationships — the denial of the right to formally marry their partners....
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 13, 2019

Lovers, comrades! Forbidden love in North Korea finds a way in Vietnam

A young couple with matching expressions stare nervously into the camera with deep brown eyes. He, a Vietnamese student, has just met the love of his life. She, a North Korean, is forbidden to love him back.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Feb 12, 2019

Plastic fantastic: Examining the obsession over Japan's soft vinyl toys

It's a cold afternoon in mid-January and, inside a factory operated by Maruyama Toys in a quiet residential area in Tokyo's Katsushika Ward, Cory Privitera is making sofubi (soft vinyl toys).
Feb 12, 2019

Unazuki Yamanoha Set to Reopen on March 1, 2019

TOKYO, Japan – February 12, 2019 – ORIX Real Estate Corporation (“ORIX Real Estate”) announced that renovation of the Unazuki Yamanoha (“Unazuki Yamanoha Onsen Hotel”) it operates has been completed, and that the hotel will reopen on March 1, 2019.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 11, 2019

Second Trump-Kim summit seen coming as North Korea continues to 'nuclearize'

President Donald Trump is set to meet North Korea's Kim Jong Un in less than three weeks, yet the biggest question hanging over the leaders' second summit is why they're even having it.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 11, 2019

Sen. Cory Booker in Iowa focuses on race relations in initial 2020 White House swing

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker made the nation's complicated history with race relations and racial disparities a focal point at events in the key state of Iowa during his first 2020 presidential campaign swing over the weekend.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 9, 2019

Heisei Era hindsight gives new meaning to established terms

The ubiquitous word "productivity" last summer acquired a new meaning — or at least a new twist. Members of the LGBT community, wrote Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Mio Sugita, "do not reproduce. In other words, they are unproductive. I wonder if it is appropriate to spend taxpayer money on them."...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE HIGH GROUNDS
Feb 9, 2019

Sleep if you can: Tokyo's best cafe-hotel combinations

With the number of visitors to Japan continuing to grow, many hotels and hostels around the country have incorporated specialty coffee shops into their spaces not only to attract inbound visitors, but also to become more accessible, community-focused hubs for locals.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 8, 2019

Arizona health care facility to shut down after disabled woman's rape that resulted in birth

An Arizona long-term health care facility will shut down after a severely disabled patient was raped, a crime that only came to light after she gave birth.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Feb 6, 2019

The Supreme Court hews to the letter of the law on gender identity while laying the groundwork for future challenges

At no point have I ever had to grapple with the decision to have my genitals surgically removed. Perhaps the same is true for you. While these may seem an odd set of affirmations to open with, they help illustrate a basic truth: How we think about a law can vary greatly depending upon whether or not...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2019

Trump's China tariffs seen delivering on effort to curb targeted imports

President Donald Trump's tariffs on imports from China continue to attract opposition from economists and much of the business community. They also may be delivering on at least one goal of the administration's trade wars: reducing imports of targeted products from China.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 5, 2019

Reunified Germany in no rush to fill 'special role' and help reconcile Korea, despite ties to both sides

Politicians and campaigners are urging Germany to use the lessons of its own reunification to help bring North and South Korea together, but Berlin is in no rush to take up the challenge.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2019

From a no-deal Brexit to a no-Brexit deal

The defeat of British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal means that all options are the table.
EDITORIALS
Feb 4, 2019

Don't give up yet on the INF treaty

Treaties must be observed to be valuable, but withdrawal and termination should only be a last resort.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2019

Gender, aging and climate to feature at Osaka G20, but Japan wants strong message on stable global growth

As host of this year's Group of 20 leaders' summit, a key official said Monday that Japan's most important task will be to chair a gathering that concludes with a strong message promoting stable worldwide economic growth.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 4, 2019

In Year of the Pig, Hong Kong faces dilemma with abundance of wild boars

One of the world's most densely populated cities, Hong Kong, is facing a proliferation of wild boars as the large mammals stray increasingly into built-up areas.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 4, 2019

Russia objects as Trump calls U.S. military intervention in Venezuela 'an option'

U.S. President Donald Trump said military intervention in Venezuela was "an option" as Western nations boost pressure on socialist leader Nicolas Maduro to step down, while the troubled OPEC nation's ally Russia warned against "destructive meddling."

Longform

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