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Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 25, 2015

Gifu lanterns get remake to showcase artisanal brands

Several cities in Gifu Prefecture are collaborating to create "Made in Gifu" andon lanterns that showcase special crafts dear to each one, from Mino's Honminoshi paper products to the Tono region's Minoyaki pottery, used to make the base.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 21, 2015

Japan-U.S. alliance remains as a bulwark against China

The more belligerent Beijing behaves, the more important the Japan-U.S. alliance becomes.
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2015

Putin tries to freeze Ukraine conflict

The latest proposals put forth by Ukraine's separatists are designed to be rejected by the government of Ukraine as a way to produce a permanent frozen conflict zone.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 26, 2015

LDP fails to live up to its name

The Abe administration and the Liberal Democratic Party have gone too far in their abuse of power.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 20, 2015

Why Japan won't join the AIIB

The AIIB will enable China to use funds contributed by other countries for projects that best suit its own strategies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / LOCAL POLLS '15
Apr 20, 2015

Naturalized Kabukicho denizen hopes to teach China lesson in democracy

Komaki Lee gained fame as a pioneering 'Kabukicho guide' who showed foreign visitors the ins and outs of the capital's seedy nightlife entertainment district in Shinjuku Ward. Now he's going into politics.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Apr 16, 2015

Balance, team defense are powering Niigata

The Niigata Albirex BB don't have a player in the league's top 10 in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals or blocks.
BASKETBALL
Mar 29, 2015

bj-league lifts ban on JT

The professional basketball bj-league has rescinded its ban on media access by The Japan Times with immediate effect. The ban was instituted on Oct. 11, 2013, and continued for more than 17 months.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2015

The real lesson from the Clinton email imbroglio

The flap over Hillary Clinton's use of private email reflects the tension between the drive for transparency and the instinct for privacy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 12, 2015

Conservatives lash out at Shibuya Ward initiative to recognize same-sex relationships

Conservatives are protesting a proposed initiative by Tokyo's Shibuya Ward to acknowledge same-sex partnerships as equivalent to marriage, claiming it would upset traditional family values and hurt the nation's birthrate.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Mar 11, 2015

Why robots will be granted a license to kill, in Japan and everywhere else

As long as we feel the need to occasionally harm our fellow human beings, most of us will happily let other people — or things — do the dirty work.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 28, 2015

Inflammatory articles aren't helping mags' circulation numbers

In a controversial column by 83-year-old author Ayako Sono that appeared in the Feb. 11 issue of the Sankei Shimbun under the headline "Maintain a 'suitable distance,'" Sono suggested that when and if Japan changes its immigration policies to accept more foreign workers, they should live in racially...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 28, 2015

Flood of retired numbers can lessen significance

You probably saw the article last week with the news the New York Yankees will retire the uniform numbers of former players Andy Pettitte (46), Jorge Posada (20) and Bernie Williams (51). That brings to 20 the total of retired numbers by the Yanks, and Derek Jeter's No. 2 will follow and that means no...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Feb 27, 2015

Artist delivers heartfelt tribute to 3/11 cleanup workers

A couple from Nagoya have been posting daily pictures of heart-shaped images dedicated to those cleaning up the mess at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and other disaster-stricken parts of the Tohoku region.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 26, 2015

Education chief denies report he received illegal funds

Education minister Hakubun Shimomura denies allegations by a muck-raking magazine that he received illegal political donations, accusing it of failing to check the facts.
Reader Mail
Feb 21, 2015

Remember why you came here

Regarding the Feb. 12 article by Eric Johnston and Tomohiro Osaki titled "Author Sono calls for racial segregation": Ruthless Japan-bashing has become a style statement for many foreigners. The recent furor in criticizing the country shows some foreigners to forget that, outside the peaceful boundaries...
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Feb 15, 2015

New Fukushima bus service broadens options for residents near no-go zones

Local residents in Fukushima Prefecture saw the return of public transportation on Jan. 31 after East Japan Railway Co. began a bus service that passes through the exclusion zone around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 10, 2015

Australia sub deal puts Abe in precarious position

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott survived a leadership challenge on Monday, but his last-minute pledge to allow an open tender on the construction of new submarines poses a challenge to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who must weigh the political risks of becoming more public about his ambition to tap...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 7, 2015

Abe acts quickly to exploit Japan's 'nightmare'

On adjacent televisions at my gym, I watched breaking news on the beheading of journalist Kenji Goto by the Islamic State group next to a "One Piece" anime segment in which fresh-faced youth defended their boat from marauding pirates. The kids routed them in a jiffy and suffered no casualties, a metaphorical...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 23, 2015

Activist says Uganda documentary may aid LGBT cause

Japan has developed a more favorable view of sexual minorities in recent years, but activist Mameta Endo wants to raise awareness of the issue further by encouraging people to take in a documentary that captures the hatred, harassment, and risk of prison time such people face in Uganda.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2015

Scholar offers secure way for employees to blow the whistle

One man is on a quest to create transparency in Japan with a whistleblower website that has echoes of Wikileaks and promises high-tech anonymity.
COMMENTARY
Jan 22, 2015

Punch from the pope when the cause is right

At least U.S. President Barack Obama — and Pope Francis — had the good sense to dodge world leaders' little pantomime of defiance in the streets of Paris after the Charlie Hebdo killings.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 29, 2014

To shine or to die: the messy world of romanized Japanese

One of the also-rans in the competition for the best buzzword of 2014 was the little word "shine." It stirred some discussion this summer when it appeared as a one-word heading in the blog of Prime Minister Abe's just-established Kagayaku Josei Ō en Kaigi (輝く女性応援会議, Council for Supporting...
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 22, 2014

Real costs of nuclear power

Until now, Japan's power industry and the government have emphasized the lower energy costs from having nuclear plants generate the nation's electricity. And until now, consumers and business circles have bought into that myth.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 15, 2014

Buzzwords of 2014: from killer drugs to robotic refusals

Once again, the massive reference book 「現代用語の基礎知識」("Gendai Yōgo no Kiso Chishiki," "The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words") is on sale. This annual publication that tracks additions to, and changes in, the Japanese language and various world developments over the previous year...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 15, 2014

How China spies on Hong Kong's democrats

James To was growing uneasy. When the veteran Hong Kong Democratic Party lawmaker looked in his rearview mirror, two silver Mercedes Benz saloons kept appearing behind his gray Volvo sedan.
COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 13, 2014

Abe's secrets law undermines Japan's democracy

On Dec. 10, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new special secrets law took effect despite overwhelming public opposition.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 13, 2014

From a hostess club to a mountain village: Five notable Japanese photo books of 2014

While selecting some of the best photography books released in 2014, I was struck by the range of specific places that Japanese photographers captured — from a pleasure district to a mountain village and an old rooftop. Photo books with such a geographic focus might be a good way to store up energies...

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go