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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 24, 2015

Mika Mifune gets ready for some serious 'me' time

Historian Daniel J. Boorstin once defined a celebrity as someone who is "known for his well-knownness" — a person famous for being famous. Though many celebrities have talent and other attributes that draw attention, it is easier to gain notoriety passively by being related to someone who already has...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 24, 2015

Jonathan Clements: Diving alongside a slowly sinking nation

When the pop singer Justin Bieber was in Japan in the spring of 2014 he asked his driver to make an impromptu stop at a shrine in Tokyo. Naturally, Bieber posted some photos of his shrine visit online, but instead of getting likes, his photos prompted outrage. Bieber, like Prime Minister Shinzo Abe before...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 24, 2015

Zen Koans

The famous question, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" is a Zen koan; a deliberately obtuse poem used by Buddhists to probe reality and test one's ignorance.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 24, 2015

Obama looking to leverage ties with Modi during India trip

Barack Obama will do something in India on Monday that an American president almost never does in public: He'll sit in one place, in a foreign country, for hours.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2015

Managing North Korea's collapse

Regardless of whether the North Korean regime collapses with a bang or a whimper, ensuring that the country's nuclear weapons are not used, moved or exported is a task that will require the capabilities of the U.S. armed forces.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 23, 2015

Abe briefing paper rules out strike on Islamic State

The prime minister's office explored the idea of conducting a military strike against the Islamic State group in Syria as the ransom deadline approached.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2015

Self-censorship is biggest threat to free speech in Japan

An edgy art exhibition of works rejected or removed by other exhibitors offers insights into whether Japan can be considered a nation of free speech.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 21, 2015

Islamic State likely gave hostage ultimatum knowing difficulty of meeting it

The militant group, which aims to establish an Islamic caliphate, is likely using the hostage situation to generate renewed international attention, according to leading analysts.
Japan Times
JAPAN / DAVOS SPECIAL 2015
Jan 21, 2015

Adaptation vital in changing world

Kiyoshi Kurokawa, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and former chairman of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission, says the world is currently experiencing the most dramatic shift since the Industrial Revolution in the...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY
Jan 20, 2015

U.K. Muslims' 'special burden'

Do Muslim minorities in Britain and other European countries have a special burden to help track down Islamic extremists?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY
Jan 20, 2015

The Swiss just made Japan's job more difficult

Bank of Japan head Haruhiko Kuroda's monetary 'bazooka' just got outgunned by the Swiss.
EDITORIALS
Jan 20, 2015

Shocking Switzerland

The Swiss National Bank's move to abandon currency market intervention has profound implications for the international financial system.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Jan 20, 2015

Recipe: Spaghetti Napolitan

On Aug. 30, 1945, newly appointed Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers Gen. Douglas MacArthur landed at Atsugi Airport in Yokohama and headed straight to an elegant hotel overlooking the harbor that had escaped destruction during the war. The Hotel New Grand served as his headquarters for three days,...
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2015

Google sticks to EU-only application of 'right to be forgotten'

Google is only removing search results from European websites when individuals invoke their "right to be forgotten," contrary to regulators' guidelines, but will review that approach soon, the company's chief legal officer said on Monday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 19, 2015

A perceived insult against religion is countered with words, not arms

There is a place for passionate debate on the moral question of how to balance freedom of speech with respect for religion. But the weapons of this debate should be the keyboard — not the Kalashnikov.
COMMENTARY
Jan 19, 2015

New Sri Lankan president has delicate balancing act

Sri Lankans have sprung a surprise with their commitment to democracy. They have thrown out a strongman president who had brought an end to a three-decade-long civil war and restored high economic growth.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY
Jan 19, 2015

Russia's European home

If Western sanctions are to be an effective tool in countering Vladimir Putin's ambitions, they must combine a firm hand toward Russia's president with an open one toward its people.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 18, 2015

Okada defeats Hosono to win DPJ presidential election

Following a close runoff against Goshi Hosono, Katsuya Okada is elected president of the Democratic Party of Japan.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 18, 2015

Putin's focus on military buildup deepens Russia's budget problems

President Vladimir Putin's insistence on huge defense spending makes it hard to see how a government plan to make deep budget cuts will see Russia through a deepening economic crisis.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 17, 2015

'Refugees should have the same opportunities in life as everyone else'

What do Nobel laureate Albert Einstein, composer Frederic Chopin, war photographer Robert Capa and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud have in common? They were all refugees.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 17, 2015

Longevity, genetics and the whale

The oldest person in the world — and the oldest ever Japanese person — is Misao Okawa. She lives in Osaka and is 116. She'll be 117 in March.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2015

France defies the jihadists

To one who witnessed the transformation fear exacted from America's governing elite by the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the jihad killings last week in France seemed to produce a colossal reaction that was not one of fear at all.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2015

Press freedoms threatened

A former British ambassador to Japan hopes that Japanese as well as British cartoonists continue to expose the pomposity, hypocrisy and inadequacies of their politicians, warning that press freedom can never be taken for granted.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 15, 2015

Revolving door with coaches damaging growth of Japanese game

A troubling trend is one of the hallmarks of the 2014-15 Japan men's pro basketball season.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2015

Shaping China's influence

It is in the best interests of Japan, the U.S., South Korea and Australia to become members of the China-established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, to join China in shaping the future.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 15, 2015

Woman held in Osaka for allegedly turning traffic signs into street art

A woman arrested in Osaka on Wednesday on suspicion of defacing traffic signs with artsy, humorous stickers has admitted to vandalism, police said.

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