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BUSINESS
Jul 16, 2014

Driverless cars will require industry shift, Nissan scientist says

Automakers intending to develop driverless cars need to work as much on software design as mechanical engineering, according to the researcher leading Nissan Motor Co.'s automated-vehicle program.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2014

Government-backed innovation initiative looking for 'weirdos'

Tech-savvy "weirdos" are now wanted for an unusual government-sponsored project that seeks to spur innovation by backing people capable of producing "disruptive change" in conservative Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 15, 2014

Abe looking at permanent law allowing dispatch of SDF overseas

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration will consider creating a permanent law allowing dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces overseas, a comment that could lead to a further rift between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, New Komeito.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 15, 2014

U.S. policy triggered latest border crisis

The U.S. does everything it can to screw up the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, then acts surprised when desperate people from there, including thousands of children, show up at the U.S. border, trying to escape the carnage.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 15, 2014

How World War I inspired independent India

It's been almost forgotten that more than 1 million subjects of undivided colonial India fought in World War I for the Allies — about 75,000 lost their lives — following a massive recruitment drive by their British masters. The new age of nationalism ushered in by the Great War inspired Indian independence.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 15, 2014

YMO's Yukihiro Takahashi recruits Towa Tei, Cornelius, Yoshinori Sunahara, Tomohiko Gondo and Leo Imai for an impressive supergroup

One of the unspoken rules in the progress-fixated world of electronic music is that you don't get bonus points for dwelling on past glories. So when Yukihiro Takahashi — drummer, vocalist and dapper elder statesman of electro-pop — convened a star cast of musicians at Tokyo's Ex Theater Roppongi...
CULTURE / Music
Jul 15, 2014

Bamboo flute musician Tosha borrows from the modern to teach traditional tranquility

Music changes from generation to generation, which is as true in Japan as it is everywhere else. But how can traditional music manage to keep itself from being forgotten?
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 15, 2014

Russia officers aiding rebels, Ukraine says

Ukraine accused Russian army officers on Monday of fighting alongside separatists in the east of the country and said Moscow was once more building up its troops on the joint border.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2014

Polio's comeback laid to immunization ruses

Owing to spurious immunization programs for political purposes, people in several countries are rejecting immunization against polio, a disease that by now should have been a fact of history.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 14, 2014

LDP candidate flounders in Shiga governor race

In a blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the ruling coalition, Shiga voters chose as their next governor Taizo Mikazuki, the designated successor to Yukiko Kada, over a candidate heavily backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 13, 2014

Russia threatens Ukraine after man dies in cross-border shelling

Russia on Sunday threatened Ukraine with "irreversible consequences" after a man was killed by a shell fired across the border from Ukraine, describing the incident in warlike terms as aggression that must be met with a response.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jul 12, 2014

Ramones punk band co-founder Tommy Ramone dies at 65

Tommy Ramone, the drummer and last surviving original member of the American punk band the Ramones, whose aggressive and fast-driving songs spearheaded the punk-rock movement, has died at the age of 65, an associate said on Saturday.
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 12, 2014

Rising tide: long-term ramifications of global warming on the country's coastline

It's a scenario we're all familiar with: Unequivocal climate change warms our oceans, which in turn causes ice sheets at either pole to melt and sea levels worldwide to increase. Citizens of low-lying nations such as Tuvalu, much of which is less than 1 meter above sea level, are forced to relocate as...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 12, 2014

Koichi Hanafusa: 'I'd like everyone to see that life is worth living'

Fuji Rock fansite organizer on music, festivals and bugs.
EDITORIALS
Jul 12, 2014

Mood changes from Facebook

Facebook at least learned one thing from its secretive experiment to manipulate users' news feeds to find out how their moods changed. It produced a lot of negative emotions in response.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2014

Public asked to help build moving giant Gundam

The life-sized Gundam figurine in Tokyo's Odaiba district is an impressive sight as it towers a full 18 meters above its visitors and has grown into a popular tourist attraction since it was erected in 2009.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 11, 2014

The Ritz-Carlton could be your kid's cup of tea

There are bone-china teacups, tiered silver trays, rainbow-bright macaroons, suited waiting staff catering to every whim, epic views across Tokyo and a piano tinkling in the background.
EDITORIALS
Jul 11, 2014

Outside directors alone won't help

More Japanese companies are appointing external directors to oversee their management after a number of scandals raised doubts about corporate governance in this country, but the question is whether 'outside' directors are qualified and separate from insider interests.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 11, 2014

U.S. defense chief says F-35 still the jet of the future

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told military fliers on Thursday the stealthy F-35 attack plane has "issues" but is still "the future for our fighter aircraft" despite a fire that grounded the fleet and jeopardized its international debut in Britain.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 10, 2014

Sapphire Slows, Haioka and Albino Sound to represent Japan at Red Bull Music Academy

Sixty musicians have been chosen to take part in this year's Red Bull Music Academy, with Japanese artists taking three of the available spots.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 10, 2014

Cost of passive power struggles

The chairman of the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation recalls how the failure of the navy minister to express a truthful personal opinion within a group closed the window on Japanese doves' hopes of averting war months before the Pearl Harbor attack.
WORLD
Jul 10, 2014

Seized nuclear material in Iraq "low grade" — IAEA

The U.N. atomic agency believes nuclear material that Iraq said had been seized by insurgents was "low-grade" and did not pose a significant security risk.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2014

Suga denies report that Pyongyang provided list of Japanese living in North

The government denies a newspaper report that said it has received a list of about 30 Japanese living in North Korea, including abductees, from Pyongyang.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2014

Shale oil to push U.S. past Russia, Saudi Arabia

Four years into the shale revolution, the U.S. is on track to pass Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world's largest producer of crude oil, most analysts agree. When that happens and by how much, though, has produced disparate estimates that depend on uncertain factors ranging from progress in drilling...

Longform

Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick