Search - 2014

 
 
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 31, 2015

U.S. downplayed evidence of abuses in Chinese detention camps

After China abolished a notorious penal system based on forced labor in December 2013, the United States rewarded Beijing by removing the world's most populous country from a global blacklist of countries that are failing to combat modern-day slavery.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 31, 2015

700 Islamic State fighters still believed hiding in IED-infested Ramadi, thwarting civilian return

About 700 Islamic State fighters were believed to be hiding in the center and eastern outskirts of Ramadi on Wednesday, three days after Iraqi government forces claimed victory over the militants in the western city, the U.S.-led coalition said.
WORLD
Dec 30, 2015

U.S. spying reportedly included Israeli phone calls with U.S. lawmakers

The U.S. National Security Agency's foreign eavesdropping included phone conversations between top Israeli officials and U.S. lawmakers and American-Jewish groups, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing current and former U.S. officials.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 30, 2015

Georgia, with eye on 2016 election, switches prime minister

Lawmakers in Georgia voted on Tuesday to approve Georgi Kvirikashvili as the ex-Soviet state's new prime minister, an appointment widely seen as an attempt to boost the ruling coalition's flagging popularity amid an economic slump.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 30, 2015

Thai military expands its powers with 'black site' jail for national security suspects

When Bangkok lawyer Winyat Chatmontree was allowed to meet his client in detention at an army base in Bangkok, Pratin Chankate shuffled in blindfolded and shackled by military guards.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 30, 2015

2,500 deaths, 6,200 orphaned, Guinea now deemed Ebola-free; Liberia counting the days

Guinea was declared free of Ebola transmission on Tuesday after more than 2,500 people died from the virus in the West African nation, leaving Liberia as the only country still counting down the days until the end of the epidemic.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Dec 30, 2015

Austria sends hundreds of migrants packing back to Slovenia for lying about nationality

Austria has sent hundreds of migrants back to neighboring Slovenia in the past three days for lying about their nationality in an apparent attempt to improve their chances of being granted asylum, a police spokesman said on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2015

Germany is right to flout Russia sanctions

Germany has rallied Europe in support of Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia, but has been less diligent in their implementation.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2015

Solving America's stubborn poverty problem

To succeed, any new war on poverty in America must reverse several socially corrosive trends.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2015

An education antidote to Islamic radicalization

The way to counter Islamic extremism is to increase educational and employment opportunities for young Muslims.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 29, 2015

Guinea declared free of Ebola virus

Guinea was declared free of Ebola on Tuesday after more than 2,500 people died from the virus in the West African nation, leaving Liberia as the only country still awaiting a countdown for the end of the epidemic.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2015

Trump's machismo may not work against Hillary

Donald Trump's macho posturing has taken him to the top of the GOP's presidential contenders, but that tactic could backfire on him if he employs it against Hillary Clinton.
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2015

Time for serious electoral reform

Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers from rural areas are already gearing up to fight much-needed electoral reform to reduce the vote disparity between rural and urban areas.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 28, 2015

Cancer drugs: fact and fiction

Collusion between pharmaceutical companies and medical institutions to grab large chunks of medical spending is driving drug prices to stratospheric heights.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Dec 28, 2015

Kin call on police, mayor to answer for fatal shootings of two black Chicagoans

The families of two black Chicagoans killed by police on Sunday accused officers of having used excessive force and Mayor Rahm Emanuel of having failed them, piling pressure on a city facing a U.S. federal probe over possible racial bias in policing.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2015

Decade-high 36 aviation accidents, mishaps logged in '15: NHK

The number of aviation accidents and serious mishaps in Japan reached 36 this year, marking a record-high in the past decade, NHK reported Monday, citing data compiled by the Japan Transport Safety Board.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 27, 2015

Does the future of Japanese music depend on streaming services?

When music consultant Mikiro Enomoto asked a class of Kyoto Seika University students how they listened to new music last year, he reckons 80 percent of them mentioned YouTube or YouTube-linked sites. When he asked the same question to this year's class, almost all of them said they don't bother looking...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 26, 2015

Civilian casualties of WWII left out in the cold

'Unbroken," Angelina Jolie's 2014 film about the late American Olympic athlete Louie Zamperini, will finally receive a theatrical release in Japan next year after inciting the ire of local groups who claim its depiction of Japanese prisoner of war camps is sensationally harsh and thus an expression of...

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