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COMMENTARY
Jan 22, 2015

Hindu zealots drag down India's great-power destiny

A tussle is going on between the cultural and economic right wings of India's ruling party. The former helped to bring the Bharatiya Janata Party to power, but only the latter can ensure it retains power by using it for the common good.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2015

The future of Netanyahu and the Jewish state

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared politically unassailable until the abrupt resignation of two Cabinet ministers and the inconclusive war in Gaza.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jan 16, 2015

Coffee-cup placement

Dear Alice,
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2015

Charlie Hebdo's cartoons aren't the issues

Those news outlets that chose not to publish Charlie Hebdo's cartoons — after 12 people were killed — might have done so out of principle rather than fear, but if so, their news judgment was off.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 8, 2015

College entrance exams fail to make the grade

Before Japan's Central Council for Education undertakes the formidable task of revising Japan's university entrance exam, it needs to understand why such exams, both here and in the U.S., fail to make the grade.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2015

China needs to embrace 'creative destruction'

As 2015 starts, China's leaders should learn from the experience of Japan in 2014. The travails of 'Abenomics' should be a warning to Chinese President Xi JInping.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 31, 2014

After 15 years in power, Putin risks running out of luck

When Vladimir Putin was handed power unexpectedly by an ailing Boris Yeltsin on the last day of the last century, his first move was to go on television to guarantee Russia the freedoms needed for a "civilized society."
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2014

Testing students' ability to think

An education ministry council could be presenting an over-idealized picture of its proposed reforms of Japan's university entrance exams, often criticized for placing too much emphasis on rote learning.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 24, 2014

Facebook threats about police 'wings on pigs' tests U.S. speech rights

The point-blank killing of two New York policemen and protests against the use of excessive force by officers have raised the question of whether people can be prosecuted for words of violence directed at police in social media and on the streets.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Dec 23, 2014

Who was music being made for in 2014?

When looking back on the year in music, the big question music fans should be asking themselves is, "Who was music being made for in 2014?" Looking at the broader picture, we can find the answers writ large across the Japanese music scene.
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2014

A broader say in reactor restarts

As the Abe administration pushes to restart idled nuclear power plants that have cleared safety screening, the question of which local governments should also have a say in whether a plant may restart remains open.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2014

U.S. sanctions are a tragedy for Cuba, farce for Russians

Western leaders imposing sanctions on Russia need to ponder whether they really want to turn Vladimir Putin's Russia into something like Castro's Cuba — only far bigger and more dangerous.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2014

U.S. soft power takes a hit in wake of report

It's a testimony to U.S. soft power that Washington persuaded so many allies to take part in a policy of torture that they must have known would one day blow up in their faces.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 12, 2014

The high costs of Japan's 'Seinfeld election'

By rewarding Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for a job not even remotely done, voters are giving him a mandate to continue leading Japan down the wrong path.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2014

Did torture report restore U.S. moral leadership?

Global reaction so far to the U.S. Senate report on CIA torture practices suggests there's still a lot of work to be done before the U.S. can fill the global vacuum of moral authority.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 11, 2014

On the campaign trail, ex-minister Obuchi says sorry for scandal

An apologetic Yuko Obuchi reels in her stumping for the Lower House election after being stung by a fundraising scandal that abruptly ended her stint as trade minister.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 11, 2014

Still photography that will always remain moving

In the late 1950s, after having studied law and while pursuing a masters degree in art history, Ikko Narahara took two series of images that depicted groups of people at the extreme edges of society. One was of a woman's prison in Wakayama Prefecture and the other a Trappist monastery in Hokkaido. These...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 10, 2014

1,000 Times Good Night: 'Should war and violence be a photo opportunity?'

Aperson can be greedy about a whole lot of things, but Rebecca (excellently played by Juliette Binoche) in "1,000 Times Good Night" is greedy about work.
JAPAN / History
Dec 9, 2014

Historian seeks to clear embassy of Pearl Harbor 'sneak attack' infamy

Dec. 7 has never been an ordinary day for Takeo Iguchi. On that day 73 years ago, when Imperial Japanese Navy warplanes attacked Pearl Harbor, he was in Washington, the 11-year-old son of Sadao Iguchi, counselor at the Japanese Embassy there.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 8, 2014

Foreign student's account of treatment in rape case points to gaps in Japan's safety myth

Never did I expect that I would get raped in Japan. The story I am about to tell belies the image of the 'world's safest country' that often gets trotted out when people enthuse about Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 8, 2014

Post-'Abenomics' reforms

Japan needs to address six major challenges in the post-Abenomics era with an eye toward structural reforms aimed at reviving Japan's influence on the global scene.
EDITORIALS
Dec 7, 2014

Yet another extension for Iran

Rather than declare international negotiations to cap Iran's nuclear ambitions failed, seven countries have agreed to extend the talks for another seven months.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 5, 2014

Lewis brings storied career back to track as coach

It's too early to know if Carl Lewis will one day be considered a legendary track coach.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2014

U.K.'s immigration distraction

If the British public truly opposes immigration, they are probably referring to non-EU immigration.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2014

Ferguson protesters put cause at risk

By escalating their tactics, Ferguson protestors risk changing the public mood from one of apathy to opposition to their cause.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2014

Should Putin fear rebel leader who 'pulled the trigger of war' in Ukraine?

The ultranationalist who triggered Russia's military involvement in Ukraine views himself as a warrior in a bigger war against a godless West.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 22, 2014

Is happiness worth the risk of addiction?

You'll have heard this story before, in one form or another. "Mr. B," 66, is a pachinko addict. Hard core.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2014

Reforming China's 'commanding heights'

Xi's effort to root out corruption has empowered both the party and the reformers. The question is how far they will take their reform ambitions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 18, 2014

Japan needs action, not a general election

It's time for Abe to show some teeth and enact his restructuring program.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.