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Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 6, 2015

Nishikori expresses confidence as new season commences

For Kei Nishikori, one of the rising stars of men's tennis, the start of the new year could not come quick enough.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jan 6, 2015

Cavs, Thunder, Knicks swap players

The Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks completed a three-team trade involving six players on Monday, with the injury-hit Cavs (19-16) acquiring guards Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith from the Knicks.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2015

Inside Obama's secret effort to salvage U.S.-Russian ties

The Obama administration has been working behind the scenes for months to forge a new working relationship with Russia, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's showing little interest in repairing relations or halting his aggression in Ukraine.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 6, 2015

Jazz trumpeter Toshinori Kondo issues a challenge to modern-day musicians

On a chilly Friday afternoon in December, trumpet player Toshinori Kondo reclines in the clutter of his Kawasaki recording studio, pours out two cups of shōchū liquor, and starts to explain what prompted him to abandon a lucrative career in Japan and move to Amsterdam in 1993.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 6, 2015

Britain's alt-j finds inspiration in Miley Cyrus and Nara

An un-Googleable delta symbol name (∆), genre-hopping, challenging sounds and esoteric lyrics inspired by Japanese deer are not the usual recipe for surefire pop success. Yet when alt-j arrives in Japan for its debut headline show — catapulted by 1 million album sales, a Mercury prize and a nomination...
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 6, 2015

Kremlin critic cuts monitor tag, won't comply with house arrest

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said Monday he would no longer comply with the terms of his house arrest and had cut off his monitoring tag.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 6, 2015

Help at hand for dementia patients

They would enter the bank and ask for their cash. Yuriko Asahara, behind the counter, would check where they would stash it — in the side pocket of a handbag or perhaps deep down in a shoulder bag.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 6, 2015

U.S. charges developer, vet in Gambia coup bid

Federal prosecutors Monday charged a Texas businessman who allegedly wanted to be the president of Gambia with conspiring with a former U.S. Army sergeant and others to orchestrate a deadly coup attempt in the tiny African nation last week.
WORLD
Jan 6, 2015

Growing number of foreigners signing up to fight Islamic State in Mideast

While illegally crossing the border between Iraq and Syria, Peter Douglas, a Canadian, was adamant that his incursion was for humanitarian reasons — to help the people of Syria.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 6, 2015

Stand-up desks get office workers on their feet

Advocates of workplace wellness initiatives are hoping 2015 will be the year that stand-up desks, historically favored by great minds from Leonardo da Vinci to Virginia Woolf, will reconfigure the modern cubicle.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 5, 2015

Think tank gives Japan-U.S. diplomacy an Okinawan voice

Shocked by indifference in Japanese and U.S. government circles toward the island's interests, a lawyer has taken matters into her own hands.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2015

Toronto traffic validates carbon tax opposition

For opponents of a carbon tax, traffic in the Greater Toronto Area, which includes fast-growing suburbs, offers plenty of ammunition.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2015

Saying goodbye to steel production in China

As China's domestic economy slows and competition increases amid widespread disgust with air pollution, one surprisingly popular option for the massive, state-owned steel mills is to bid China goodbye.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 5, 2015

'Abenomics' property boost shrinks back to Tokyo

An economic rebound and loose money policy under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe briefly halted a long slide in Japan's commercial property market, but the benefits of "Abenomics" appear increasingly limited to Tokyo, leaving a moribund hinterland.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jan 3, 2015

Hamamatsu rolls to 13th straight victory

Don't expect the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix's New Year's resolution to be any different than their overall season goal: to compete for a championship.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 2, 2015

From president to dictator

President Vladimir Putin's regime is on the verge of transitioning from mild authoritarianism to outright dictatorship. The country's newly amended military doctrine is an especially ominous sign.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 2, 2015

Nuclear motive suspected in feed-in tariff reforms

Renewable power in Japan wavers as critics flag “reforms” to the feed-in tariff system as a bid to discourage the scorching growth of renewable energy providers.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 2, 2015

Drug firms sway vets on antibiotics in food animals

In 2016, a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration policy will give veterinarians a key role in combating a surge in antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" that infect humans. For the first time, the agency will require veterinarians, not farmers, to decide whenever antibiotics used by people are given to animals....
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 2, 2015

With steady jobs scarce, South Korean students linger on campus

It's been a year since Seoul media and communications student Lee Woong-hee finished his studies, but the 26-year-old plans to skip his class graduation ceremony in February because he thinks retaining his student status will help him finally land a job.
WORLD / Society
Jan 2, 2015

Poll: 1 in 8 Germans would join anti-Muslim marches

One German in 8 would join an anti-Muslim march if a rapidly-growing protest movement organized one in their hometowns, according to an opinion poll published on Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jan 1, 2015

Most read Culture stories of 2014

OK Go's Japanese-inspired music video and Sailor Moon's special birthday were some of the most read and shared Culture articles of 2014.
WORLD
Jan 1, 2015

Palestinians join war crimes court after U.N. rejection

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed on to 20 international agreements on Wednesday, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a day after a bid for independence by 2017 failed at the United Nations Security Council.
JAPAN / History
Jan 1, 2015

Donald Keene reflects on 70-year Japan experience

My first visit to Japan was very short, only a week or so in December 1945. Three months earlier, while on the island of Guam, I had heard the broadcast by the Emperor announcing the end of the war. Soon afterward, I was sent from Guam to China to serve as an interpreter between the Americans and the...
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2014

A watershed year for Japan

Japan is at a crossroads in many ways as the nation greets the 70th year since it set out on the path of rebuilding after its defeat in World War II.
EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2014

Bad feelings toward the neighbors

An overwhelming majority of people in Japan harbor negative sentiments toward Asian neighbors that the government calls 'partners responsible for the peace and prosperity of the region.' What is Prime Minister Shinzo Abe going to do about that?
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 30, 2014

China banking on projects

The key factor that has led Beijing to create the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank is the belief that creating new demand abroad is the only way to avoid a simultaneous collapse of local governments and state corporations.

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?