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BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2013

Behavioral economics show that women tend to make better investments than men

It's happy hour at Hanaro in Bethesda, Md., and I'm with my wife. We're there about an hour, gobbling plates of half-price tuna rolls and washing them down with $3.50 Blue Moons. Have to hurry, happy hour ends soon. My wife slows down and cautions me to do the same. I don't listen. Keep 'em coming, right...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 15, 2013

Labour making a comeback as Cameron falters

Growth is returning to the British economy, but wages remain stagnant as prices rise. Labour is seizing the initiative because the prime minister's vision for the government is unclear.
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 7, 2013

Growing Community: the JT's most talked-about section is about to get larger

From Oct. 17, the Community section in the Japan Times print edition will be expanding to four days a week. Here's a taste of what to expect.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 6, 2013

Ginsburg's tough decision: to stay or go?

Who dreamed up this bit of kismet? How did the stars align to make this spot of New Mexico desert the best place in the world on a late summer evening to be Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 6, 2013

Making someone look you in eyes hurts persuasion

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" If you have ever used that line during a disagreement, you might want to think again. Forcing eye contact when trying to change someone's mind may actually cause listeners to become more stubborn, a new study shows.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 2, 2013

U.S. shutdown damages political system, but Republicans seen at greater risk

There will be plenty of collateral damage from the government shutdown that began early Tuesday — from federal workers to ordinary citizens — but the most serious effects are likely to be felt inside a Republican Party that appears divided and in need of leadership.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Sep 23, 2013

Matahara: turning the clock back on women's rights

Both statutory and case law are crystal clear on the illegality of firings due to pregnancy. But the law is one thing; practice is quite another.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2013

If U.S. comes calling, will Abe back Syria strike?

With a comprehensive attempt under way to find a diplomatic solution in Syria, punitive U.S. military strikes planned for its alleged use of chemical weapons last month have been postponed after appearing imminent just a few days ago.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 5, 2013

Clinton's Syria stance may be key in 2016 race

Hillary Rodham Clinton was a senator from New York the last time the U.S. Congress was asked to authorize military action in the Middle East. Friends believe her 2002 vote giving President George W. Bush the power to invade Iraq may have cost her the presidency in 2008.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 2, 2013

Legislation bureau chief Abe's window to collective defense

The appointment of Ichiro Komatsu as director general of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau is a step toward Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's goal of reinterpreting the Constitution so Japan can engage in collective self-defense.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 1, 2013

Smoking, now too uncool for school

Kitsuen (喫煙, smoking) could become an obsolete habit in Japan in the near future, as youngsters apparently now consider smoking dasai (ダサい, uncool).
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2013

After Bo Xilai case, China's trial is just beginning

The just-concluded trial of Bo Xilai will be remembered as one of the most critical political milestones in contemporary Chinese Communist history.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Aug 26, 2013

Of nuclear village idiots and radiation scare-mongerers: letters

Nab Tepco execs, take over the clean-up
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 24, 2013

Gay marriage in Japan? Only over the reactionary LDP's cadaver

Tokyo Disneyland is an odd place to make a political statement, but the theme park now hosts same-sex wedding ceremonies.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Aug 17, 2013

How green is Tohoku's 'Green Connections' project?

On its surface, the plan seems like an environmentalist's dream come true: Take wreckage from the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region of Honshu and pile it along the washed-out coastline; cover the crumbled concrete and broken wood with soil; then top it all with...
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 16, 2013

NSA broke privacy rules repeatedly, audit finds

The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 10, 2013

'Broad standard' OKs NSA snooping

The Obama administration on Friday asserted a bold and broad power to collect the phone records of millions of Americans to search for a nugget of information that might thwart a terrorist attack.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 9, 2013

Obama 'can halt Gitmo force-feeding'

A federal judge on Monday condemned the military's practice of force-feeding detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as "painful, humiliating, and degrading" and said President Barack Obama has the authority to stop it.
JAPAN / Politics / GAME OF NUMBERS
Jul 5, 2013

Poll may see end to divided Diet but what follows may be worrisome

Unlike the past two House of Councilors elections, in 2007 and 2010, that saw opposition forces win big against the ruling parties, this time around they look to take the hit.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / GAME OF NUMBERS
Jul 4, 2013

LDP spin team hammers voters with 'Abenomics' mantra

The Upper House election will be a test of the economic strategies being pursued by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition government — or so says his ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Reader Mail
Jun 16, 2013

Just a friendly survey of the gods

Regarding Amy Chavez's June 1 column, "Everyone's own path to enlightenment": I am always fascinated by Chavez's essays and look forward to the next one each Saturday. In the June 1 column, by my interpretation, she wants to express her opinion that Buddhism is easy to access and very generous to its...
EDITORIALS
Jun 9, 2013

Rally against nuclear power

The government doesn't appear to pay attention either to Tokyo's antinuclear rallies or to the daily problems with the cleanup of the Fukushima disaster.
Reader Mail
May 26, 2013

Language debate goes nowhere

I assume that one purpose of publishing The Washington Post article titled "English-language education proposal has French up in arms" on The Japan Times' front page May 20 was to stimulate the ongoing debate about English education in Japan.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 19, 2013

Trimming the fat from Japan's problems

Why do people disagree?
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 21, 2013

Slow pace of NPB games an ongoing problem

In response to my column of March 17, a couple of readers have come in with suggestions on how to pick up the notoriously slow pace of Japanese baseball games. From the Bay Area, fan Mike Colegate sent the following e-mail.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 18, 2013

Stronger U.S. gun law fails to pass in Senate

The Senate's rejection of a bipartisan bill to expand background checks for gun purchases reveals the difference in power between public opinion and a united minority.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 6, 2013

One man's crusade against America's war on drugs

Once consigned to the fringes of libertarianism, the argument for the legalization of drugs has received an unlikely boost in America in recent months with the release of a documentary titled "The House I Live In." Coinciding with the decision by the states of Colorado and Washington to legalise marijuana,...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?