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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Nov 23, 2014

Teaching quality, not lesson quantity, may be key to Japan's top math marks

Japan spends less on education than most OECD countries, so why do its students continue to outperform their Western counterparts in math?
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 22, 2014

Okinawans reject Abe's base deal, but he won't listen

On Nov. 16, Okinawan voters sent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a clear message: Close the U.S. marine air base in Futenma and locate the replacement somewhere outside our prefecture.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 22, 2014

Climate change versus solution aversion

No doubt you are relieved to hear that climate change is no longer a concern. At least that's the consensus of powerful Republicans who will lead the newly elected majority soon to take control of both houses of the U.S. Congress.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2014

Is Putin losing Ukraine by stoking a war?

Russian President Vladimir Putin risks alienating ethnic Russians living in Ukraine by fueling war there.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2014

The next trade breakthroughs

The North American Free Trade Agreement is proof that properly designed free trade agreements spur global growth.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2014

Why Merkel is playing long ball with Putin

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's strategy of dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin stems from her keen understanding of 20th century history.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 21, 2014

Translator moved to action by Malala

Malala Yousafzai, who at 17 became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, has influenced countless people all over the world as an activist for female education. One of those is Yoshiko Nishida.
WORLD
Nov 21, 2014

Construction of Nicaragua interocean canal to begin Dec. 22

Construction of Nicaragua's $50 billion Interoceanic Grand Canal, expected to rival the Panama Canal, will begin Dec. 22 after feasibility studies have been approved, the committee overseeing the project said on Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 20, 2014

Komeito's 50 years of losing its religion

Back in 1964, when the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai founded Komeito, many people looked on warily: They believed it violated the Constitution's separation of religion and politics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 19, 2014

Big Bad Wolves: 'A story so dark the Brothers Grimm are no doubt seething with jealously'

A parent's worst fear is that their children will be abducted, violated and murdered. It keeps them awake at night, gnaws on the fringes of their conscience and can alter the way they look at life and the world — sometimes irreparably. "Big Bad Wolves" banks on this fear and turns it into a story so...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2014

Tokyo department stores to target foreign tourists with lucky bags this New Year

Are you feeling lucky?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 19, 2014

San Francisco's huff with Hashimoto over 'comfort women' reveals double standards

San Francisco's reaction to Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's comments about 'comfort women' says much about equality between nations, about how we judge each other through cultural lenses and blinders, and how we have to keep finding ways to address grievances from our past.
Reader Mail
Nov 19, 2014

Coexisting with differences

The Nov. 8 editorial "A shameful statement on Ainu" reminded me of my experiences overseas and made me think of living in peace with differences.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 19, 2014

Emoto's 'Shrew' questions to provoke

"If I were a man doing the same work, no one would make any special mention of my gender, but I find I'm always being referred to by the media as 'the female director, Junko Emoto.' I don't want to say that's right or wrong, but it reminds me that this is today's reality," the Tokyo-based artist said...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 18, 2014

Russia's 'mini-Cold War' strategy

What is the geopolitical payoff for Russia in turning Ukraine's Donbas region into an enduring fixture of its southwestern hinterland?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 18, 2014

Putin-bashing at G-20 meeting was juvenile

What were Western leaders trying to achieve by humiliating Russia President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit?
SOCCER
Nov 17, 2014

Hiddink feels heat despite Dutch win

Speculation over the future of Netherlands coach Guus Hiddink dominated the Dutch media on Monday even after Sunday's comprehensive 6-0 win over Latvia revived the team's Euro 2016 qualification campaign.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 17, 2014

Japan's economy takes a dive as Abe weighs delay of second tax hike

The economy unexpectedly sank into a recession in the last quarter, unable to shake off the impact of April's consumption tax hike and raising the odds that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will postpone a second increase next year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 17, 2014

Okinawa election a big win for opponents of Futenma relocation

With Takeshi Onaga's election as governor of Okinawa, opponents of building a replacement facility in Nago's Henoko district for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma now have a powerful ally.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2014

American politics are paralyzed on principle

Americans are avoiding unpopular choices by hiding behind ideological platitudes.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2014

Xi shows U.S. his no-nonsense approach to bilateral relations

Last week, President Xi Jinping showed the world a newly assertive China that's less worried about impressing others than in pursuing its own goals.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 15, 2014

Shrinking well: Is depopulation affecting Japan's energy, climate goals?

Keishi looks a lot like it did when Toshiko Nakamura first moved there four decades ago. The quiet farming community in Nagano Prefecture is a patchwork of verdant rice fields, lush kitchen gardens and picturesque post-and-beam houses nestled between pine and chestnut trees on the slopes of Mount Hijiri....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 15, 2014

Holiday gifts they'll cherish from cover to cover

As the holiday season rolls around, it's time to dash about in a mad panic in search of gifts that say "I've given this one some thought, honest." Or you can just let us do the thinking for you, with gift suggestions from our regular book reviewers — tailor-made for the Japanophile reader.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 14, 2014

Stumped for gift ideas? We've got you covered

It's that time of the year again, and The Japan Times contributors and columnists are here to help.
EDITORIALS
Nov 14, 2014

Awaiting Abe's political gambit

If Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is going to dissolve the Lower House for a snap election, he will have to clearly lay out his agenda for voters and await their verdict.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 14, 2014

View private operation of schools with caution

Education reformers take for granted that strategies borrowed from business will improve schools. But the evidence is hardly convincing.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2014

Battle against Ebola raises ethical questions

The tiny number of Ebola cases in rich countries — and the ensuing panic-inducing headlines and quarantine measures — have brought home the global nature of infectious disease today.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 14, 2014

Why Abe will likely opt to call a snap Lower House election

Successive resignations of two female Cabinet members dealt a blow to the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. But should the opposition camp be credited for its attack that forced them to step down or did the administration manage to minimize the impact by counteracting quickly?
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2014

America's money politics

The success of big money was even greater than widely expected in America's mid-term election.

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