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EDITORIALS
Feb 5, 2014

Stalemate in Syria

The first round of Syrian peace talks began in controversy, proceeded in the most formal of terms, then concluded after a week with a whimper. A second round is uncertain.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 5, 2014

U.S. and Japanese apologies for war crimes could pave way for nuclear disarmament

Acknowledging responsibility for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan's rampage across Asia could serve as first steps toward a world free of nuclear weapons.
Reader Mail
Feb 5, 2014

Atrocities in the name of tradition

There are hundreds of distressing images of Taiji that are being circulated worldwide in a growing wave of anti Japanese feeling.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 4, 2014

Eadonmm's beats prove black is back

"Black is the new black" always seems like a safe motto when it comes to picking clothes, but in an electronic-music world that is constantly churning out micro-genre ephemera, some would argue that black has gone out of fashion.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 4, 2014

Saving Japan and China from a dangerous new conflict

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had hoped to herald his economic reform program at Davos last week. Instead, his mention of tensions between China and Japan exposed the lack of multilateral institutions like those created in Western Europe after 1945 to settle Northeast Asian disputes.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Feb 4, 2014

Stern retires as pro sports' best commissioner ever

David Stern left his job, his passion really, as NBA commissioner last Saturday after 30 years as the league's top executive.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 3, 2014

Tokyo: What do you make of the Japan Sumo Association's decision to charge fans $120 to watch live tournaments online?

The Japan Sumo Association has just introduced a pay-per-view system for live streams of top tournaments. Costing $10 per day and $15 for the final day, or $120 for the entire tournament, the concept drew sharp criticism from overseas fans.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Feb 1, 2014

Japan: Why kill whales off Antarctica?

The Japanese whaling fleet — this year just a factory ship, three catchers and what is being called a "surveillance" vessel — left Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture in secret on Dec. 9, 2013 bound for the Southern Ocean and its annual hunt that will keep it away from home through March.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 31, 2014

Japan's cops: keeping the nation safe, in their Keystone kind of way

Most Japanese have a good cop/bad cop view of their law-enforcement services. They see a sinister side — one of smoky back rooms, coerced confessions and trumped-up charges — and they see a soft side: those helpful cops-in-the-box dotted throughout the land.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 30, 2014

Nagasaki lights up for the Chinese New Year

Enjoy the Chinese New Year celebration in style at the Nagasaki Lantern Festival 2014, which kicks off on Jan. 31 and runs for two weeks in the city's Chinatown and surrounding areas.
EDITORIALS
Jan 30, 2014

Calling Abe to account

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito should refrain from ramrodding their proposals through the Diet as they did with the state state secrets bill during the recent extradordinary Diet session.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 29, 2014

The confounding case of Japan's creativity crisis

The smartphone demands the attention and occupies the mind of its owner, crowding out the random impressions that — were they observed — might just lead to insights, ideas and novel solutions to seemingly intractable questions.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2014

China makes sure Putin knows who his friends are

The scale of a Chinese reporter's pained obsequiousness in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi last week was a visible reminder of just how important Russia has become to Chinese policymakers, and how few risks the Chinese media will take in covering the country.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Jan 28, 2014

Murakami surging toward Sochi with style, confidence

When you work in this business, there is nothing more rewarding than watching an athlete truly come into their own.
EDITORIALS
Jan 27, 2014

Alcohol dependency in Japan

A major problem in Japan, where an estimated 6.45 million people have alcohol-related problems, is the lack of social recognition that alcohol dependency is an illness.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 25, 2014

'Abe-genda': nuclear export superpower

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is now in New Delhi to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Indian Republic. His presence speaks volumes about closer diplomatic, security and economic ties and, at least from Tokyo's perspective, a common agenda on responding to the rise of China. India remains...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 25, 2014

Is altruism our hope, and growth a curse?

My day job is at Chuo University in western Tokyo, and January at Japanese universities is chaotic, what with final classes, reports and grading as our second term comes to an end and the academic year winds down toward its conclusion in March. Among the words that come to mind, "happiness" is not usually...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 24, 2014

Don't let ANA off the hook for that offensive ad

If ANA had really wanted to 'change the image of Japan,' it should have avoided racializing its product. Instead, it's just business as usual.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 24, 2014

From the ditches of Nara to the Otohime, a lav story

Ever wondered what's with the toilet slippers in Japan? Surely I am not the only foreigner to question whether we need to be entirely reshod before entering the restroom in a Japanese house.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2014

SoftBank to Dentsu, firms start to court gays

With less than a 0.1 percent share of Japan's car market, Alfa Romeo knew it couldn't match the marketing muscle of the local giants like Toyota Motor Corp., which together make nine out of every 10 vehicles sold in the country.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 23, 2014

New-year festivities all set to start in Yokohama

From the end of next week, Yokohama's Chinatown begins its spring festival to ring in the Year of the Horse.
Japan Times
JAPAN / DAVOS SPECIAL 2014
Jan 23, 2014

Reshaping Japan's next decade

(Publicity)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 22, 2014

Workshops for theater — and life

"When I worked in an office, I was always nervous and I tensed up a lot just trying to behave correctly. But since coming to these workshops, I often feel like communicating with others spontaneously, of my own free will."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 22, 2014

Teachers tread water in eikaiwa limbo

Every year, thousands of young native English-speakers fly to Asia in search of an adventure, financed by working as English teachers. They come from Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., Britain, Canada and elsewhere.

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