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Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jun 17, 2015

In leaked draft encyclical, pope urges urgent action to thwart climate change

The world could see the destruction of entire ecosystems this century without urgent action on climate change, Pope Francis says in a draft of his keenly awaited encyclical on the environment.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 16, 2015

Toyota wins approval for shares locking in owners for five years

Toyota Motor Corp. has won approval to sell a new class of stock to long-term shareholders, a proposal that divided proxy advisers and drew criticism from foreign investors.
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2015

ASIJ sex abuse report is finally released, blames 'cultural taboos'

A 'historical lack of formal policies' and 'cultural taboos' allowed child sex abuse committed by former American School in Japan teacher Jack Moyer to go unchecked for decades, according to an independent legal team tasked with probing the pedophilia scandal.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 13, 2015

Above and below the Yamaguchi plains

Three meters above my head, the rectangular offering box of Motonosumi Inari Shrine seems impossibly out of my reach. For the 23rd time, I wind back my arm and attempt to lob my chosen donation between the narrow slats. For the 23rd time, the coin takes on a trajectory I'm certain I didn't intend ......
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 13, 2015

Pipe dreams of a 'grand bargain' in East Asia

As the 50th anniversary of the normalization of ties between Japan and South Korea approaches, it seems there is little to celebrate.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
Jun 13, 2015

Carr starred at Tokyo Games

Henry Carr didn't have the longevity of Olympic track legends like hurdler Edwin Moses or sprinter/long jumper Carl Lewis. But to those who witnessed and remembered what he accomplished at the Tokyo Olympics in October 1964, his greatness as a runner left an indelible impression.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 13, 2015

Obama's quest for fast-track trade bill on hold in U.S. House

A raging battle over President Barack Obama's request for fast-track authority, seen as central to improving U.S. ties with Asia, will resume in the House of Representatives in the coming week, when lawmakers are expected to try to reverse Friday's defeat of linchpin trade legislation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 12, 2015

Egg or sperm? Japan finds gene that makes the call

Providing insight into the sometimes mysterious biology of reproduction, researchers in Japan have identified a gene that controls whether the reproductive precursor cells known as germ cells eventually become sperm or eggs.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 12, 2015

Japan security bills reveal irreconcilable divide between scholars, politicians

The full-scale battle over security reform highlights an unbridgeable gap between politicians and scholars that will have to be filled by Japan's less-than-proactive Supreme Court.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 11, 2015

New U.S. plan to trim aviation emissions satisfies industry, worries greens

For two years, President Barack Obama has used his executive power to impose new rules to cut carbon emissions, targeting cars and power plants, buoying environmentalists and infuriating industry.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 11, 2015

Liberating the robot from factory floor by inflating it

Kevin Albert is playing the part of lion tamer. The 33-year-old engineer, with a passing resemblance to Joe Namath, sticks his head into the four-fingered grip of a robotic hand, pauses for a moment and then emerges unscathed.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jun 10, 2015

China's big biotech bet starts to pay off

Years of pouring money into its laboratories, wooing scientists home from overseas and urging researchers to publish and patent is starting to give China a competitive edge in biotechnology, a strategic field it sees as ripe for "indigenous innovation."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 10, 2015

Chided by Abe, Japan Inc. starts boosting investment at home

Pressured by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to share some of their record profits, and by increasingly obsolescent equipment, Japan's companies are starting to boost their investment spending.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2015

OPEC decision reflects new oil market reality

OPEC's decision on Friday not to cut production was entirely predictable and the only practical option open to its members.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2015

Aim for green infrastructure expansion in Asia

Infrastructure projects in Asia must be accompanied by protective safeguards to avoid damaging the environment, climate and communities — and slowing economic growth.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 9, 2015

Sumitomo Mitsui overtakes Morgan Stanley as top yen-bond manager

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. is on track to be the biggest manager of yen-bond sales for the first time, suggesting its 2009 acquisition of Citigroup Inc.'s operations in the business is bearing fruit.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2015

Corruption, environment, governance issues must be addressed before Japan weighs AIIB entry: Abe

Leaders of the Group of Seven industrial nations discussed a new Chinese-led Asian investment bank at their summit on Sunday, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe underlining the need to address issues like corruption, his spokesman said.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 7, 2015

Poor planning drains China's potential for hydropower

China could be wasting enough hydroelectricity to power Britain and Germany for a year, depriving its smog-bound eastern regions of huge volumes of clean energy as a result of poor planning and weak grid infrastructure.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 6, 2015

War and peace on Okinawa's Iejima Island

Beside their coastlines, there are other insistent geographical features that identify islands. In Okinawa, there is the great escarpment of Tindahanata on Yonaguni-jima Island, while Ishigaki Island has the strangely occult form of Mount Maapee, shaped like a sorcerer's hat.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 5, 2015

American School in Japan admits covering up teacher's sex abuse for decades

In a long-awaited disclosure, a well-known international school in Tokyo admits to concealing decades of sexual abuse by a former teacher and apologizes.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2015

Mass death sentences now a part of life in Egypt

With its mass death sentences, Egypt's military regime is joining the ranks of Adolf Hitler's Nazis and Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2015

Nepal faces monumental quake-debris problem

Facing a monumental task in dealing with the debris from its devastating earthquake, Nepal would greatly benefit from the expertise that Japan gained from its Tohoku cleanup.

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