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Japan Times
BASEBALL
Nov 16, 2014

Infielders Kikuchi, Escobar showcase defensive skills in MLB-Japan All-Star Series

One thing an event like the MLB-Japan All-Star Series does is allow fans to ask the question, what if? What if this NPBer or that NPBer was in the major leagues and vice versa.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 11, 2014

Rock music goes mainstream in Rouhani's Iran as old taboos start to fade

In the 10 months since his band was given official permission to perform, Iranian rock singer Ardavan Anzabipour has learned when to cool things down.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2014

Americans consider Japan most important Asian country, survey suggests

Japan is regarded among the American public and opinion leaders as the most important country in Asia, according to the results of an annual survey by the Foreign Ministry.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2014

Is Ukraine's crisis the U.S. and Europe's fault?

The question at the heart of the Ukraine crisis remains whether Russia should have special right to determine the policies and governments of its neighboring countries.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 3, 2014

Paradox of politeness: humbling and exalting at same time

Each year in fall, the Bunkachō (文化庁, Agency of Cultural Affairs) publishes the results of its annual opinion poll on the linguistic state of the nation, officially called Kokugo ni Kansuru Yoron Chōsa (国語に関する世論調査, Survey of the National Language). This time, the survey...
WORLD / Society
Oct 31, 2014

'I'm Proud to Be Gay,' Apple CEO Tim Cook

Throughout my professional life, I've tried to maintain a basic level of privacy. I come from humble roots, and I don't seek to draw attention to myself. Apple is already one of the most closely watched companies in the world, and I like keeping the focus on our products and the incredible things our...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 23, 2014

What words alone cannot convey

"Can writing succeed as the subject of photography?" This is a question that troubles Paris-based artist Yuki Onodera.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Oct 18, 2014

Osaka looks to swim with the 'whales' in casino bid

Osaka faces a challenge: What to do about the whales? No, there's nothing the International Whaling Commission can do and don't bother calling Greenpeace or Sea Shepherd, for catching these whales is a form of hunting far more difficult than firing harpoons into a leviathan.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 7, 2014

U.S. Supreme Court dodges gay marriage, effectively allowing same-sex weddings in five more states

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to decide once and for all whether states can ban gay marriage, a surprising move that will allow gay men and women to get married in five additional states, with more likely to follow quickly.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 6, 2014

Abe tells Asahi Shimbun to help in 'recovering Japan's honor'

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe accused the Asahi Shimbun on Monday of tarnishing Japan's image abroad with its erroneous articles on the "comfort women" issue, urging the newspaper to make efforts to restore Japan's damaged reputation.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2014

Hong Kong's Tiananmen moment challenging leadership in Beijing

Hong Kong's leaders have failed to let Beijing understand that, almost without exception, the leading Hong Kong politicians are good Chinese patriots.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2014

Don't look to Shanghai as next financial hub

If there's any likely winner from China's unprecedented clampdown on Hong Kong, it's Singapore. All it needs to do to attract the giant banks, hedge funds and multinational firms is sit back quietly as Beijing's henchmen do their worst.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 1, 2014

Kafka's worm takes a high-tech turn

"I work a lot in France, where manga and anime are enormously popular, although many theater producers think they are basically for children and are often too violent. However, they regard my robot theater as being an essentially Japanese art form," the pioneering dramatist Oriza Hirata said recently...
COMMENTARY / World / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Sep 29, 2014

Condemnation attributed to 'utter nonsense'

Were 'comfort women' sex slaves for Japanese soldiers in World War II? If you recognize that prostitution is largely a form of physical bondage, they were. But forcibly rounding up women for the work would be a different matter. Recently the testimony of a man who claimed to have helped with the roundups was judged to be false, after causing Japan consternation for three decades.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2014

Criminalizing policy rifts

Criticism of policy decisions should not be allowed to curdle into the hateful vitriol that demeans so much public discourse today. Words have consequences and can inflame thuggery or worse.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 27, 2014

Tales from the city show cracks in the system

Why are people unhappy? Think back to just about any historical period you like, from the remote past to times within living memory; imagine people then looking at us now and saying, "How dare you be unhappy? You haven't earned the right!"
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Sep 21, 2014

Politicians discuss plan B in nuclear power push: underground reactors

With Japan's nuclear power plants nearing the end of their 40-year life cycle, a group of politicians is entertaining the idea of replacing them with underground reactors.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 21, 2014

Is China going down the same road as Japan?

What are the geopolitical implications of China entering a long-term period of Japan-like stagnation but without Japan-like wealth?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Sep 17, 2014

Ex-NYC graffitist scratches the surface in Osaka and declares it 'dope'

Father of three Roler Miles, who grew up defacing walls and subways in New York, now runs a thriving spray-paint business, teaches Japanese students art and leads a team of artists at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 16, 2014

The ghost of Emperor Hirohito

The recently completed 61-volume record of the life of Emperor Hirohito shows him hopelessly ambivalent about how to end Word War II as he sought 'another brilliant military gain' for Japan so that it would have diplomatic clout in negotiating a settlement.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 14, 2014

Next consumption tax raise painting Abe into a corner

Ever since the Cabinet Office released preliminary figures last month that showed an annualized 6.8 percent decline in first-quarter GDP, a war of nerves has flared up between the prime minister's office and the Finance Ministry. The next consumption tax hike could be delayed.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 14, 2014

Signpost says more eurozone deficit financing

The only question about European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's recent speech to central bankers in which he implied that avoiding a eurozone breakup will require increased fiscal deficits is how openly that reality will be admitted.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 14, 2014

Silent Europe aghast at possible breakup of U.K.

Britain's international partners are aghast, mostly in silence, at the possibility that one of the leading Western powers could break up and turn in on itself if Scotland votes this week for independence from London.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2014

Daily Asahi Shimbun retracts faulty Fukushima story, sacks top editor

The Asahi Shimbun on Friday carried front page articles and an apology concerning an erroneous article that alleged workers fled the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant during the meltdown crisis in March 2011, retracting the scoop story that drew strong criticism from the public, lawmakers and government...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2014

Scotland can expect a huge hangover after vote

There will be a lot of hurt heads, a lot of tears and, without a doubt, an immense amount of anger that will last who knows how long if Alex Salmond's dream of an independent Scotland comes true. The referendum campaign has been thrilling but utterly divisive.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 6, 2014

O'Malley, Ramirez are worth a look as skippers

Now in the final month of the 2014 Japanese baseball regular season, the "A-Class" teams in the Central and Pacific leagues look forward to October's Climax Series of playoffs, while the three also-rans in both divisions begin thinking about next year.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2014

Why extremism loves company

Most violent extremists are not poor and do not lack education. But psychological experiments suggest that it's a matter of extremism loving company, and that participation in group decision-making tends to strengthen and polarize people's views.
EDITORIALS
Sep 4, 2014

Novartis drug probe falls short

The Tokyo criminal probe into the manipulation of clinical data pertaining to the efficacy of a Novartis Pharma-marketed drug for blood pressure has failed to unravel the whole picture of the scandal.

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.