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Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 7, 2015

Options allow Tokyo to be more accessible

Former anchorwoman Christel Takigawa referenced the country's spirit of selfless hospitality in her presentation to the International Olympic Committee in 2013, a speech that helped persuade the IOC to give Japan the rights to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 7, 2015

In violent times, young Japanese just shrug

The weekly Shukan Kinyobi discerns a "new fatalism" among young people. Meaning what? A feeling that effort reaps no rewards and so is not worth making; that the world is what it is and cannot be changed — at least not by me, even if I felt like changing it, which I don't; that luck or inborn talent...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Feb 7, 2015

Dice-K could face rocky transition

Video of Daisuke Matsuzaka pitching in the bullpen on Thursday, posted online by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, revealed nothing spectacular or particularly revelatory. If anything, Matsuzaka resembled the pitcher he's always been.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Feb 7, 2015

For investors, a new game plan after U.S. jobs report

A blowout jobs report has changed the calculus for investors for what the Federal Reserve might do in coming months, resetting expectations for how markets might behave if the U.S. economy continues to strengthen even as global growth lags.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 6, 2015

Tokyo, Okinawa stuck in cold war over U.S. base

The central government and the Okinawa Prefectural Government are now in an apparent cold war.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Feb 6, 2015

Renting comes with guarantors, not guarantees

According to the most recent census, as of 2010 the population of Japan stood at a little less than 128 million, and if demographic trends continue at the current rate it will be 107 million in 2030 and 97 million in 2050. Despite this projected decline, 369,993 new rental units were built in Japan last...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 6, 2015

Piketty's solution for Japan's sick economy? A fourth arrow

French economist and author Thomas Piketty has received rock-star treatment in Japan while arguing that the Bank of Japan's ultra-loose monetary policies are ginning up stocks and real estate for the wealthy.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 6, 2015

One-child policy didn't give China too many boys

Research suggests that it was China's liberalizing economic reforms of the 1970s and 1980s that might have been responsible for today's heavily skewed gender ratio in favor of boys.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 6, 2015

Jury selection starts in 'American Sniper' Texas murder trial

The first steps in jury selection began on Thursday in a Texas court for the trial of the man charged with murdering Chris Kyle, the former Navy SEAL whose best-selling autobiography was turned into the hit movie "American Sniper."
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 6, 2015

Merkel, Hollande head to Moscow for deal to pull Ukraine back from brink

Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande will press Vladimir Putin for a cease-fire in Ukraine on Friday as U.S. and Russian officials expressed skepticism that a quick resolution to stem the spiraling violence is possible.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2015

Pascal to step down as Sony studio head after hacking upheaval

Amy Pascal will step down as co-chair of Sony Pictures Entertainment after hackers angry about a movie she championed mocking North Korea's dictator exposed a raft of embarrassing emails between Pascal and other Hollywood figures.
EDITORIALS
Feb 5, 2015

Better life for dementia sufferers

The government, which recently adopted a new strategy for measures against dementia, needs to follow through on the idea of ensuring a better quality of life for patients by heeding the wishes of sufferers and their families.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 5, 2015

Message trumps the medium at JMAF

When Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase "The medium is the message" in the mid-1960s, the ensuing dialogue on media theory encouraged an approach that persists to the present day: to examine new types of technology through the societal and cultural changes that they engender.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 5, 2015

Ruben Pater: Current advancements in drone technology are worrying

Dutch artist Ruben Pater discusses drones and survival in the modern age:
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2015

Kansai business leaders push for economic recovery ahead of rising power prices

Kansai's annual gathering of major corporate leaders opened Thursday in Kyoto with vows to accelerate economic recovery efforts, even as the chairman of the Kansai Economic Federation warned that spring electricity price hikes would exceed 10 percent.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Feb 5, 2015

India bets on U.S. aircraft carrier technology

India wants to use state-of-the-art U.S. technology to boost the range and potency of a planned aircraft carrier, defense sources said, a move that would tie their arms programs closer together and counter China's military influence in the region.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Feb 5, 2015

Former Russian rebel leader makes Putin look cautious

Vladimir Putin's critics say he went too far on Ukraine. The former Russian agent who helped trigger the conflict says his biggest mistake was not going far enough.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 5, 2015

Ebola cases on the rise for first time this year, WHO says

The number of new cases of Ebola rose in all three of West Africa's worst-hit countries last week, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, ending several weeks of encouraging declines across the region.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2015

Present For You: Baffling but pioneering stop-motion film

Stop-motion animation, in which objects are photographed frame by frame to achieve the illusion of motion, is nearly as old as the movies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2015

Toyota raises profit forecast as weak yen lifts earnings on SUVs

Toyota Motor Corp. raised its fiscal year profit forecast Wednesday as surging overseas sales of SUVs and the carmaker's production base in Japan make it one of the biggest beneficiaries of a weaker yen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Feb 4, 2015

Japan execs leaving Citigroup, EG Capital flags wider loan retreat

The departures of Tokyo-based loan executives from Citigroup Inc. and General Electric Capital Corp. highlight the retreat of foreign banks from the nation's lending market.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 4, 2015

Grenades cheaper than Coca-Cola menace the Central African Republic

As Capt. Victor leads a team of Spanish special forces on a night patrol in the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui, one thing worries him most: Chinese-made hand grenades that sell for less than a soft drink.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 3, 2015

U.N.'s highest court absolves Croatia, Serbia of genocide

The United Nations' highest court ruled Tuesday that neither Croatia nor Serbia had committed genocide against each other's populations during the wars that accompanied the violent breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2015

Experts urge caution after hostage crisis

Japanese companies are apparently keeping calm following the Islamic State hostage crisis that resulted in the brutal murder of two nationals, but crisis management experts say businesses should nonetheless take this opportunity to review how prepared they are for such potential dangers.

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