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Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
May 19, 2015

'Coach Crusher' likes Hamamatsu's chances going into Final Four

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with personalities in the bj- league. Coach Tomoya Higashino of the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix is the subject of this week's profile.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
May 17, 2015

Economics of U.S. base redevelopment sway Okinawa mindset

A growing conviction is now widely shared by many Okinawans: U.S. military bases have become an impediment, rather than a benefit, to the prefecture's long-troubled economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 16, 2015

Is Japan becoming extinct?

The projected drop in the country's population raises some fundamental questions about its political and social future.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 16, 2015

Cruising the waves of Japan's culture

As the great ship surges into Tokyo Bay I'm on the prow, hair streaming in the wind, like Kate Winslet in "Titanic." Wooded crags come into view, dotted with buildings and the odd factory chimney. The buildings are modern, not wooden houses, but the crags are still much the same as Commodore Matthew...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 16, 2015

Japan's runners need a change of pace

In "The Way of the Runner," Adharanand Finn has written an entertaining account of Japan's obsession with long-distance running (and training). However, the problem is when he veers off the running track into the land of cliche. Consider this: Finn writes that bread only comes in packets of three slices,...
JAPAN / Society
May 13, 2015

Japan Cabinet minister wary of opening 'Pandora's box' of immigration

The country should fix its shrinking workforce by enabling women to work, before turning to the “Pandora's box” of immigration, the minister for the empowerment of women said.
Japan Times
WORLD / EU SPECIAL 2015
May 12, 2015

Encouraging studying abroad

With heightened interest among Japanese students and researchers aiming to study in Europe in recent years, the Delegation of the European Union to Japan will hold its fourth European Higher Education Fair 2015 from May 15 to 17.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 11, 2015

A woman's job in Japan: watch kids, care for parents, work late

Hiromi Nakasaki remembers working past midnight on New Year's Eve and during holidays as a business systems consultant in Japan's notoriously harsh work environment. Last summer, at the height of her career, she quit.
EDITORIALS
May 10, 2015

Much-needed probe into overwork

Analyzing the causes and impact of overwork is a long-overdue step, but much more needs to be done.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 9, 2015

The golden arches lose their luster

The sharp downturn in business at McDonald's — which has thrived for most of the past 44 years in Japan — has got everybody talking. This past January alone, revenues at existing outlets, the company announced, had fallen year-on-year by a whopping 38.6 percent, with losses for the 2014 business...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
May 9, 2015

Vizer stands by criticism of IOC

Two weeks after his shocking speech in Sochi, Marius Vizer gave a passionate, yet defiant defense of his fiery rhetoric, which drew the scorn of the IOC and other global sports governing bodies.
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2015

Kyoto leading the way with bicycles

Kyoto's new bicycle initiative may be propelled by a desire to please tourists, but the many benefits will spill over to residents as well.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2015

Deadline may force compromise on data-slurping U.S. surveillance law

U.S. Senate Republican leaders insist that spy agencies continue to have access to data on Americans' telephone calls despite a court ruling that the practice is illegal, but aides said on Friday they may have to compromise on proposed reforms of the program before it expires on June 1.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING
May 9, 2015

Stores struggle to adjust in a shrinking Japan

From McDonald's to izakayas and konbinis, food outlets are learning the hard way that as Japan's population drops, so will consumption.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 5, 2015

Japan will be last G-7 country to make solar power economically viable

One by one, Japan is turning off the lights at the giant oil-fired power plants that propelled it to the ranks of the world's top industrialized nations. With nuclear power in the doldrums after the Fukushima disaster started in 2011, it's solar energy that is becoming the alternative.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2015

Canada's climate change conundrum

A recent announcement that Canada won't match U.S. emission-reduction targets offers a fresh look at Canadians' enduring bipolarity on climate change.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
May 3, 2015

'Omotenashi' a facade, wheelchair-bound consultant says

Unlike other students who enjoyed full mobility and could easily find jobs as convenience store clerks or waiters, the choices available to Toshiya Kakiuchi, 26, were limited as he sought to finance his studies at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / EXPO MILANO 2015
May 3, 2015

Possible role for 'washoku' culture in healthy global diet

Expo Milano 2015, which is the first expo focusing on food, opens today.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / EXPO MILANO 2015
May 3, 2015

Rethinking, updating traditional crafts

Despite a decline in the handmade craft industry, especially with a lack of young people to pass the baton to in recent years, the Expo Milano 2015 that kicked off May 1 is a big chance for densan, or traditional Japanese handcrafted products, to promote their charm and elaborate workmanship to the world....
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
May 2, 2015

Vizer's attack may be costly

Playing political hardball with the IOC is not a winning proposition.
EDITORIALS
May 2, 2015

Regulating the drone revolution

The government needs to strike an appropriate regulatory balance that doesn't pose barriers to the use of drones for constructive purposes but prevents them from being used in ways that poses a danger to people or violates their privacy rights.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
May 1, 2015

As sensors shrink in size, 'wearable' gadgets may fall out of sight

Forget "wearables." The next big thing in mobile devices is "disappearables."
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 27, 2015

When women can thrive, so will Japan and the world

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is 'determined to make Japan a country where opportunities for women abound, and glass ceilings are a thing of the past.'
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 27, 2015

Japan needs to cut its rice farmers down to size

Japan's 3.3 million rice growers, who together comprise only 2.5 percent of the population, now seem to be the biggest obstacle preventing Japan from completing one of history's biggest trade deals.

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