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COMMENTARY / World
Dec 10, 2013

Five myths about helping out the Philippines

Among common misconceptions about assistance to victims of communities shattered by storms or earthquakes are that locals wait for the international community to come save them and that goods and services are 'free' donations.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2013

Defense ties with Manila get boost from China threat

Japan and the Philippines pledge to boost defense ties as both express concern over China's new air defense identification zone in the East China Sea.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2013

Protests over secrets bill fiery at 11th hour

Citizens' groups continue to blast the state secrets bill with unabated vigor amid concerns that 'merely seeking secret information' could put journalists at risk.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 6, 2013

Feasting at the Hooters 'breastaurant': Wise old owls ought to know better

How should I play my first visit to Hooters, the land of hamburgers and hot pants? Should I go highbrow? Or low? I turn to my guide for, uh, guidance. 'Well, their motto is 'Delightfully tacky.' What do you think?'
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Dec 6, 2013

Writer inducted into intricacies of country life shares her story

Home for Rebecca Otowa is a 350-year-old farmhouse nestled on the edge of a tiny village in Shiga Prefecture, where generations of her husband's family have lived. It is a lifestyle she has grown to cherish since arriving in rural Kansai as a bride more than 30 years ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHARITY DRIVE 2013
Dec 5, 2013

NICCO driven to continue Afghan aid

Members of the Kyoto-based nonprofit organization Nippon International Cooperation for Community Development (NICCO) defied danger and entered Afghanistan as soon as the brutal Taliban government had fallen. They have since continued their difficult humanitarian support activities for more than 10 years....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 4, 2013

One year on from arts world 'disaster'

It's Oct. 27 and the setting sun fades to darkness. A long line of people begins to form around Tsukiji Honganji Temple next to the world-famous fish market in central Tokyo. The scene recalls what happened there last year on Dec. 27, the funeral of Nakamura Kanzaburo XVIII who passed away in the city...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Dec 4, 2013

Japan should shun treaty that will shield nuclear tech suppliers

Japan is preparing to sign a treaty known as the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, which assigns accident liability entirely to plant operators rather than equipment and technology vendors.
LIFE / Digital
Dec 3, 2013

Why the NSA has landed us all in another nice mess

Fans of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy will fondly remember Oliver's complaint to Stanley: "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" In a future remake, Hardy will be played by Barack Obama, suitably enhanced with a toothbrush moustache, while Keith Alexander, currently head of the U.S. National...
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 3, 2013

Power shifting in the Pacific

If China continues to strengthen its influence, will Japan, on its own or in collaboration with Australia, help reinforce the U.S. politically and militarily in the Asia-Pacific region?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 2, 2013

Water, water, it's not everywhere

There are aspects of everyday life that renters take for granted, such as access to utilities. Of course, renters pay for their own electricity and gas, and, depending on where they live, they may be billed for water and sewerage. Homeowners pay for these services, too, but there are extra financial...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 2, 2013

Tokyo: What do you think of Japan's national broadcaster, NHK?

Beloved voice of the nation or loathed drain on household finances? Vox pops from around the capital suggest a bit of both.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2013

Ukraine halts NATO's bulge

Russia has real grievances against the U.S., since the promise made by George H.W. Bush to Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not be expanded to incorporate the former Warsaw Pact countries was not kept.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 1, 2013

With the JLPT now over, get ahead in studying for next year

The latest round of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) was held yesterday — congratulations to the test takers! A couple of readers wrote to us about the exam after last week's Community Page published an article by Jun Hongo titled "Is the JLPT really worth it?"
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 / Politics
Dec 1, 2013

No change in China air zone airline policy

Defense Minister Itsunori Onou00addeu00adra indicates that Tokyo won't change its stance on urging Japanese airlines not to submit their flight plans as requested by China for its new air defense identification zone over the East China Sea.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / OUR MAN IN TOKYO
Nov 29, 2013

Prolific Swedish ambassador indulges passion for haiku

Over the years, Swedish Ambassador Lars Vargo has published 15 books related to Japan, but for the past decade, his love affair with the country has largely been told in one literary form: haiku.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 29, 2013

Islanders must think bigger to thrive, not just survive

As a resident, may I be so bold as to suggest that we don't need an NPO to save our island from aging and depopulation. What we need is for an NPO, or anyone, to save our island from itself!
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 29, 2013

Pro-democracy protest plan splits Hong Kong

After a decade of negotiations, sociology professor Chan Kin-man realized the Chinese government was not going to grant Hong Kong genuine democracy — not without a struggle, anyway.
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Nov 29, 2013

Free consultations for foreigners in Wakayama

Non-Japanese people in Wakayama can receive information and advice for free from specialists covering a variety of problems and other needs.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2013

Flip-flop: LDP Okinawa branch backs Nago base

Reversing a campaign pledge, the Okinawa chapter of the Liberal Democratic Party now supports replacing the Futenma base in Ginowan with a new airstrip in Nago, bowing to intensifying pressure from Tokyo, Okinawa-based LDP members and local businesses seeking to profit from constructing the new base....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 27, 2013

'Disabled' in Britain, just 'foreign' in Japan

For myself, a British citizen who has cerebral palsy living in Japan, it is the liberatory power of being a foreigner here that leaves the deepest impression on me.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 27, 2013

With shift to Russia, ex-leader stays in cell

For many in the United States and Europe, Ukraine's future had been bound up with the fate of a former prime minister with halolike braids who was jailed in an act of political retribution.
EDITORIALS
Nov 26, 2013

Resort to diplomacy, not threats

China should realize that it will lose the international community's trust if it continues to pursue the path of using threats to resolve diplomatic issues.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Nov 26, 2013

Look to pop culture if you want to blame someone for A-Chan's gay gaffe

All art is political. All pop culture is political.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Nov 26, 2013

Despite Obama's plan to shift drone campaign, CIA still behind strikes

When missiles fired by CIA drones slammed into Yemen and Pakistan last week, the attacks ended a period of relative quiet for the Obama administration's lethal counterterrorism program. They also served as a reminder that the CIA is not ready to relinquish its role in the drone war.
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.

Longform

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