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COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2013

Debunking five myths about chemical weapons

The exact nature of what is going on inside Syria is tough to determine. The United States, Britain, France and Israel have focused on the question of whether forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad have used chemical weapons. To answer that question and understand its implications, some myths...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 5, 2013

Abenomics cannot succeed without cheap nuclear power

Everybody knows that Japan has an energy crisis. We also know that the yen has greatly depreciated, by some 20 percent in just a few weeks. It's time to put these two facts together.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 2, 2013

Media polls on constitutional change reveal bias

In a democracy, the people's will is conveyed through representative government. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to rewrite the Constitution, but Article 96 requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the national assembly to do that, so in order to hasten the process he first wants to change Article...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 28, 2013

When can you fight a job transfer?

A foreign reader writes: "My husband is working for a company that has branches in Shinagawa, Narita and Ibaraki. He used to work at the Shinagawa branch, and then he was forced to move to the Narita branch.
WORLD / Politics
May 27, 2013

U.S. military's camouflage conundrum defies logic

In 2002, the U.S. military had just two kinds of camouflage uniform. One was green, for the woods. The other was brown, for the desert. Then things got strange.
Reader Mail
May 26, 2013

Weighing the costs and benefits

Judging from Chris Flynn's May 16 response, "Secondhand smoke is the enemy," it appears that the debate on the socialization of health care costs is off the table. Flynn states: "The main thrust behind banning smoking in most places is to reduce the harmful effects of secondhand smoke on nonsmokers."...
JAPAN
May 25, 2013

Are ghosts keeping Abe from moving to official residence?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been in office for five months and reporters who follow him every day still have one question: why hasn't he moved into the Prime Minister's Official Residence?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 23, 2013

The humor of candid camera

With the advent of the digital camera, mobile phones and social networking, the world is now drowning in photographic imagery. This raises the question: Can photography survive as an art form in a world where it is ubiquitous?
Japan Times
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 22, 2013

Flawed strategy, mistakes jeopardizing Tokyo's bid to host 2020 Olympics

Have you ever given your best effort while striving to achieve something but felt like what you were doing was futile?
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
May 21, 2013

Records offer rare glimpse into Justice leak probe

When the Justice Department began investigating possible leaks of classified information about North Korea in 2009, investigators did more than obtain telephone records of a working journalist suspected of receiving the secret material.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 18, 2013

A glimpse inside the minds of sex slavery predators

The annals of criminal history are writ large with ordinary streets that hide dark secrets, but even so the peculiar horror believed to have been perpetrated by Ariel Castro on Seymour Avenue in the rust-belt city of Cleveland stands out.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 18, 2013

Psychiatrists under fire in mental health battle

It has the distinctly un-catchy, abbreviated title "DSM-5," and is known to no one outside the world of mental health.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news / OBITUARY
May 15, 2013

Dr. Joyce Brothers, TV psychologist, dies at 85

Dr. Joyce Brothers, 85, who held a Ph.D. in psychology and was one of the most prominent and widely known of those who provided the American public with personal counseling through the mass media, died Monday in New York City. Her longtime publicist reported the death.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 9, 2013

Hardy words that cross cultures traced

You, hear me! Give this fire to that old man. Pull the black worm off the bark and give it to the mother. And no spitting in the ashes!
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2013

Ideological splits endanger Arab nation-state

The 'Arab Spring' generated a wave of hope for democratization of authoritarian regimes. The outcomes have called into question the viability of the Arab nation-state.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 4, 2013

Manned Mars trip no longer a dream

The notion of landing astronauts on Mars has long been more fantasy than reality. The planet is, on average, 225 million km from Earth, and its atmosphere is not hospitable to human life.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 2, 2013

Back to school for two Tokyo DJs

Whether it's an annual soapbox derby or sending a man to the edge of space just because they can, energy-drink manufacturers Red Bull have never been afraid to throw their cash at projects that range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) — the brand's foray into the world...
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2013

Refereeing errors in the debt debate

Lost in the sound and fury over the Reinhart-Rogoff research errors is the real question of whether high national debt drives slower growth, or vice versa.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2013

Bush library revives focus on maligned presidency

George W. Bush returned to the spotlight last week for the dedication of his presidential library, an event that has triggered fresh public debate about his eight fateful years in office. But he has re-emerged with a better public image than when he left Washington more than four years ago.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 28, 2013

Abe-history: Premier again seems set on stoking controversy and ire

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is no stranger to historical controversy. Back in 2001 he pressured national broadcaster NHK to revise a documentary about the judgment of an international people's tribunal regarding the war responsibility of Emperor Hirohito (posthumously known as Emperor Showa). And in 2007...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2013

Why people stay scared after tragedies

After a tragedy such as the one last week in Boston, people develop a heightened sense of risk. Often that response is far greater than reality warrants.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 23, 2013

Shigeru Ban: between function and beauty

Architecture is rooted in the basic human need for shelter. But the profession today pays little attention to situations where the need for shelter is most urgent, such as after a disaster.
WORLD
Apr 22, 2013

Brothers' bond may have played key role in plot

By all accounts, the paths traveled by the Tsarnaev brothers in their new American lives had begun to diverge. Tamerlan, 26, the elder brother, turned more deeply to his Muslim faith as once-promising boxing prospects faded. Dzhokhar, seven years his junior, won a college scholarship, gained U.S. citizenship...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Apr 21, 2013

In 'Tsukuru Tazaki,' Murakami once again shifts his point of view

Two thousand and nine was a good year to be a Haruki Murakami fan. Seven years after writing his last epic novel, "Kafka on the Shore," with only the bite-sized 2004 "afterdark" to tide over his readership, the author published the massive two-volume "1Q84." Looking back now, it's also clear that Murakami...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 21, 2013

Fearing the worst if Japan joins the TPP

Here is Shukan Josei magazine's nightmare scenario of a typical Japanese salaryman's TPP future, if in fact Japan joins the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement currently being negotiated among 12 countries. After a genetically-engineered, chemical-drenched breakfast, he hops into his American-made...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 20, 2013

Populism without the people

Nicolas Maduro's narrow win in Venezuela's presidential election raises an important question: Can populism thrive without a popular, charismatic leader?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 18, 2013

Holes in industrial ecosystems threaten manufacturing

Even in a globalized economy, nations need to have strong local production capabilities in order to bring innovation to the market, American and Japanese scholars said in a recent symposium held in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2013

If Thatcher saved Britain, why is it in such a mess?

Britain has been weakened, rather than strengthened, by the revolution that Margaret Thatcher wreaked.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?