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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2013

U.S. may scale down its global policing: experts

Political, demographic and diplomatic changes in the U.S. during the past decades suggest the country will probably continue to be polarized into Democrat and Republican extremes, and the superpower will probably continue to rely on immigrants for economic growth and will likely play the global policeman...
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 1, 2013

Azerbaijan's elite wooing British lawmakers

It operates from an exclusive Mayfair address and throws lavish parties for politicians of all parties. Ostensibly an independent trade body, The European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS) regularly takes members of Parliament, members of the European Parliament and British government officials on trips to the...
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Nov 29, 2013

Kawakami's players impressed MLB counterparts

The V-9 Yomiuri Giants were arguably the best team in the history of the game. Giants stars Sadaharu Oh and Shigeo Nagashima had been openly coveted by MLB general managers back in the United States. So had pitcher Tsuneo Horiuchi at his peak.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2013

Can Xi's reforms succeed?

Will it be possible for Xi Jinping to liberalize China's economy while trying to tighten the Communist Party's political grip?
Events / Events In Tokyo
Nov 28, 2013

Aoyama Gakuin University gets jazzed up for Sunday

Visitors to Tokyo's Aoyama district on Dec. 1 are encouraged to wear their dancing shoes this weekend, as Aoyama Gakuin University (AGU) once again hosts its annual Aoyama Jazz Initiative, a student-run celebration of jazz.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 28, 2013

Researchers create database of infectious diseases

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have created a digital database of infectious-disease cases dating back 125 years, a treasure trove of information that could help scientists and public health officials better understand how to fight the spread of deadly afflictions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 26, 2013

Daito Manabe set to work his visual magic at Electraglide

In late 2008, a YouTube video began to circulate online of a bespectacled man with electrodes attached to his face, short bursts of electricity making his muscles twitch in time to a soundtrack of glitchy electronica. Titled "electric stimulus to face -test3", the clip would eventually rack up more than...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 26, 2013

CSS, Makoto Ozone and Shonen Knife get a round of shows in before New Year's

With the year winding down and the holiday season approaching, the concert scene in Japan gets pretty quiet. Although there will be a few international acts headed here in the middle of December, your best shot for a live performance might be checking out local acts before they go into hibernation for...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / TRAVEL INSIDER
Nov 26, 2013

Air France's new chef; SAS Narita lounges a plus; AirAsia to fly to Nagoya

Air France's new chef
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2013

U.S. pushing new trade treaties at expense of national sovereignty

New trade treaties being pushed by the United States undermine national sovereignty.
EDITORIALS
Nov 25, 2013

Problematic education proposal

A proposal for a new system of university entrance exams is very vague and likely to cause confusion for high schools and universities.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2013

With rapid growth imperiled, China at a crossroads

China remains a colossus, but its future is increasingly clouded.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Nov 25, 2013

WWII tunnels beneath Keio campus under threat

The Imperial Japanese Navy commanded some of the war's most destructive battles from tunnels under Keio University's Hiyoshi campus. After a section was destroyed in spring, concerned citizens worry that the tunnel network's days are numbered.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 25, 2013

The Emperor's new goal

The Imperial couple's weeklong visit is likely to mark a defining moment in Indo-Japanese relations, fostering closer economic and security ties between Asia's two leading democracies as they seek a pluralistic, stable Asian order.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Nov 24, 2013

Is the JLPT really worth it?

The final countdown to this Sunday's Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) has begun, but professionals say piling pressure on examinees might do more harm than good at this point.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Nov 24, 2013

Do New Year's the right way this time

With the yearend rush fast approaching, Dave has a very timely question about Japanese New Year cards:
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 24, 2013

The immigration question

Despite Japan's low birthrate and rapidly graying population, only one in seven Japanese support the idea of increased immigration.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 24, 2013

'The Stranger': Nobel Prize-winning author Camus an outsider in France

It is a century since French Nobel Prize-winning author Albert Camus was born — and more than 50 years since he died in an accident on an icy road — yet the polemics over his legacy and "mysterious" death rumble on.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 23, 2013

John Durkin: ‘Never compromise your reputation’

What superhero would you most like to be? Ultraman. He was solar-powered before solar power was cool.
LIFE / Language / THE BUZZ
Nov 23, 2013

'Selfie'

A "selfie" is defined as "a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website." Oxford Dictionaries, publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary, last week named selfie as its 2013 word of the year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 23, 2013

Ozeki's work reflects her complex identity

Ruth Ozeki's recent novel, the 2013 Man Booker-shortlisted "A Tale For the Time Being," is best described as a hybrid: a fictional masterpiece with footnotes and appendices like a research paper; a colorful scrawl of inventive creativity marked by scientific asides ranging from ocean gyres to quantum...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 23, 2013

Rookie trio make for a leadership deficit in East Asia

With three new leaders taking power over the past year — in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing (and a fourth in Pyongyang two years ago) — 2013 was never likely to be a banner year for regional diplomacy. But I didn't expect it to get quite this bad.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2013

Hollywood: a peddler of U.S. political propaganda

It's unforgivable for Hollywood to promote America's we're-the-good-guys party line at the expense of the victims of the system.
EDITORIALS
Nov 21, 2013

A bigger role for Haneda airport

Both airlines and the transport ministry should make joint efforts to enable Haneda airport to better function as a hub in the Tokyo area.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS
Nov 21, 2013

Japan's love for curry means endless variety

It's only a slight exaggeration to say that Japanese curry saved my life. After relocating to Japan in the late 1990s, I found myself underemployed, surrounded by unfamiliar foodstuffs and suffering from a near-total lack of cooking skills. Yet I managed to fill up at the cafeteria of a local university,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Nov 21, 2013

Thanksgiving course; Christmas accommodation plan; Winter lunch, dinner buffets

Thanksgiving course
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Nov 21, 2013

A showcase of established and new film talent

Any cinephile that may have left the Tokyo International Film Festival feeling underwhelmed by its high-profile film showings can get their art-cinema fix at this often-underrated rival — Tokyo Filmex.

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