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COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 28, 2013

It's risky business updating authorities on intelligence

Updating the authorities with knowledge of their Western enemies led to the death by disembowelment of one of the more farsighted Japanese intellects in 1841.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2013

Newspaper rescue defines today's good citizen

It would appear that Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos wants less to own The Washington Post than to set its values free financially, for at least a generation or two.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 14, 2013

Somali-American is caught up in U.S. counterpropaganda campaign

Two days after he became a U.S. citizen, Abdiwali Warsame embraced the First Amendment by creating a raucous website about his native Somalia. Packed with news and controversial opinions, it rapidly became a magnet for Somalis dispersed around the world, including tens of thousands in Minnesota.
COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2012

Nationalists making waves in Japan-China ties

Forty years ago this month, Japan and China established diplomatic relations. However, the two countries are clearly in no mood to celebrate because of a heated territorial dispute over tiny uninhabited islands called the Senkakus by Japan and the Diaoyus by China. They are under Japanese control but...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Sep 30, 2011

Average Joes become champions on 'Sasuke'

"Pole dancer! Pole dancer!! Pole dancer!!!" From the bellowing announcement thumping through the speakers, you might think we're in a night club. We're not. But, without doubt, the location is just as fabled as many nocturnal haunts, and the atmosphere is just as electric.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 17, 2010

Racist undercurrents taint whaling rhetoric

Sea Shepherd's Web site describes him as "the first New Zealander to be taken as a prisoner of war from the Southern Ocean to Japan," and there is no doubting Peter Bethune's popularity in this country. His trial in Tokyo earlier this year for interfering with Japan's annual whale hunt dominated New...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 2009

F-35's superiority in the Japan-U.S. alliance

CANBERRA — I enjoyed reading the newspaper commentary in mid-May by Weston Konishi and Robert Dujarric on the hurdles to Japan's acquisition of F-22 aircraft, and broadly agreed with the thrust of their argument.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 26, 2007

Demented in NY

It's almost counterintuitive — in the midst of the glorious chaos that is China as it modernizes itself, Chinese painters are technically spotless. In their hands, paint has been tamed, a tool with which they slickly create canvases with flawless surfaces that almost hide their workmanship.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 17, 2006

Self-censorship conjures ominous echoes of the past

These days a simple but potent Japanese word is appearing in the media with inordinate frequency. It is hannichi, which means "anti-Japanese." An incident last month brought to mind an earlier era, when the word hannichi was also in common currency. Some words skip decades, returning to haunt the national...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 25, 2004

Rugby fans send JSports to sin bin over Bledisloe Cup fiasco

Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!
LIFE / Digital
Jul 4, 2002

The Simpsons on DVD -- hi-fi Americana

Fox Home Video has just released "The Simpsons Season Two DVD Collection." If you have not heard of the Simpsons, you have a little catching up to do.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 21, 2022

Culture in 2022: Good books, outdoor art and 'Tokyo Vice'

Culture editor Alyssa I. Smith talks to culture critic Thu-Huong Ha about the books they read, the festivals they went to and how Japanese stories are currently capturing Hollywood's attention.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2022

Can China win its ‘people’s war’ against the pandemic without 'zero-COVID'?

Easing COVID-19 restrictions and shifting messaging are the easy part for China. Preventing a public health disaster will be harder.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 6, 2022

As Japan exits the World Cup, eyes turn to the team's future

Veterans are set to step back, head coach Hajime Moriyasu's future is uncertain and the country waits to see if the next star player is waiting in the ranks of the J. League.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 10, 2022

JSA taps veteran presenter for new English-language YouTube channel

Hiroshi Morita, who has been in the commentary booth for NHK since 1999, is the face of professional sumo's biggest effort yet to market to international fans in the internet era.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 2, 2022

Labeled a ‘challenge’ by NATO, China signals its own hard-line worldview

The alliance's forceful declaration in its mission statement reinforced Beijing's belief that hostile powers are bent on hobbling the country's ascent.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 20, 2022

Suspect admits guilt over attack against Thai monarchy critic in Kyoto home invasion

Pavin Chachavalpongpun, whose criticisms of the monarchy have garnered him a large social media following, has linked the July 2019 attack to the Thai government.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 5, 2022

‘Master Dogen’s Zazen Meditation Handbook’: Are you searching for enlightenment? Take a seat.

Tuttle's recent translation of Zen master Eihei Dogen's writings and accompanying commentary serve as a helpful guide to the origins of Zen in Japan and the benefits of seated meditation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 26, 2022

Kyotographie's 10th edition spotlights female artists in Japan

The annual international photography festival, which takes place at various locations around Kyoto, sheds light on infertility, cancer survivors, pollution and more.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2022

UniCredit and BNP Paribas detail hefty Russian exposures as markets rebound

BNP Paribas is believed to be the first major bank to have excluded staff in Moscow from its IT networks.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 3, 2021

China moves to quash online rumors that Taiwan war is looming

The controversy shows the challenge President Xi Jinping's government faces in trying to manage Chinese public sentiment over Taiwan, even with its vast censorship powers.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 26, 2021

Two words from Taiwan’s leader threaten to upend U.S.-China ties

To Beijing, phrasing used by Tsai Ing-wen in a National Day speech came close to reviving an idea that fueled tensions between China and the U.S. two decades ago.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 19, 2021

Dollars and sense: The art of valuing art

Economists argue the most important feature in the new art investment environment is low inflation: It means that there is more expected value in future returns.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 21, 2021

China targets ‘effeminate’ men in Xi’s growing push for conformity

Beijing has pushed conservative ideas about gender before, including a 2016 ban on entertainment with gay themes and a 2018 attack by some state media on effeminate men in popular culture.

Longform

People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?