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Mr. Abe Bag the nukes and heed the Keeling Curve
Up and away: Keeling Curves of atmospheric CO2 levels show the seasonal peaks and dips since 1958. | COURTESY OF THE SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF ...
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Wisteria wanderings in Kameido
Each year, I tell myself I have to make time to enjoy the famed trellises of wisteria blossoms at Kameido Tenjin in Tokyo’s eastern Koto Ward. Then, I blow it. This year, I enlist my mother-in-law, who’s savvy about such things, to get the timing just right. ';It’ll be really crowded,'; she warns. Sure enough, after I alight from a JR Sobu Line train at Kameido ...
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Are we close to understanding bipolar disorder
It may seem perverse to express nostalgia for a category of mental illness, but many sufferers, as well as some psychiatrists, regret the passing of ';manic depression.'; STRICTLY BIPOLAR, by Darian Leader. Penguin, 2013, 112 pp., £5 (paperback) My brother, Archie, was diagnosed with ...
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Infernal prose flows again from Dan Brown’s brain
I used to think that Dan Brown was merely bad. Now, after reading the latest version of the apocalyptic thriller he rewrites every few years, I suspect he might be mad as well. ';Inferno'; begins with the hero suffering from ';head trauma,'; and Brown’s head — a boggy hideout for the craziest superstitions of the so-called Dark Ages — seems to be similarly ...
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Inaction during ‘scandal’ will undo a presidency
LOS ANGELES - During President Barack Obama’s May 16 news conference, reporter Jeff Mason asked as part of his question: ';And, more broadly, how do you feel about comparisons by some of your critics of this week’s scandals to those that happened under the Nixon administration?'; The president responded, ';I’ll let you guys engage in those comparisons, and you ...
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Expect Hague spirit to be abused
Preparing for the Hague Convention ,'; and realizing that ';domestic violence'; is covered as a grave danger to a child, I felt I must comment. Many Japanese women immediately claim domestic violence as a reason for running away from marriages, and many of them go to the police to make these claims — even if the claims are totally unfounded and untrue. The Japanese police ...
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Pattern of denial in leadership
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto insulted people worldwide with his repeated denials and justifications of the Imperial Japanese Army’s sexual slavery system during World War II. These and many other idiotic statements from Japanese politicians give us real insight into the thinking of much of Japan’s leadership. Psychologists will tell you that patterns of behavior are important to ...
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Language debate goes nowhere
English-language education proposal has French up in arms '; on The Japan Times’ front page May 20 was to stimulate the ongoing debate about English education in Japan. Although ours is the information age, very few people seem to understand the complicated nature of the various issues of modern society, much less the likely future consequences of decisions we make now. For example, ...
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Weighing the costs and benefits
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.'; I couldn’t agree more. My position is based on the idea that people should be free to do whatever they want as long ...
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A pet is a lifelong commitment
Destroying pets at Kochi animal center pains staff ';: Not to mention how much it pains the animals being put down. Sasano Nomura (the Small Animal Management Center staffer quoted in the article) is lucky that she feels depression. It’s a good sign that she still has a conscience and is not a ';brute'; as her neighbors sometimes suggest. Her place of work should be called ...
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‘Abenomics’ boosting Japan’s economy
TOKYO - After years of grinding malaise, Japan suddenly has some of its bling back. A humbled Sony - once a titan of Japan Inc. - recently sprang back into the black for the first time in five years, courtesy of a plunging yen. Honda, another corporate icon, triumphantly announced a return to Formula One racing, rejoining an exclusive club of high-performance carmakers after having slunk away ...
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Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto who caused controversy for Japan sex slaves comments apologises for saying US military should visit brothels
One of Japan's leading politicans has apoligised for suggesting US servicemen should visit brothels in his prefecture - but stopped short of apologising for saying that wartime sex slaves were a necessary ...
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Green phoenix rises from the ashes as Japan shifts its focus
The word "Fukushima" may be synonymous with nuclear meltdowns, ghost towns and contaminated rice fields. The north-east region of Japan, however, once famed for its green mountains and fresh vegetables, is in the midst of the most ambitious of rebranding projects: it is attempting to transform itself into a ...
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Tonga see off Japan
Tonga scored four tries on Saturday to beat Japan 27-17 in the opening match of the Pacific Nations Cup at Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium in Yokohama. Two early tries by Fetu'u Vainikolo and a kick by Fangatapu Apikotoa saw Tonga take a 12-0 lead. Takeshi Kizu ran in a try in the 20th minute to give the hosts some life but a try by Will Helu and a penalty and conversion by Apikotoa allowed ...
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Researchers hurt at Ibaraki nuclear facility
At least four researchers suffer internal radiation exposure after an experiment on elementary particles goes awry at a Japan Atomic Energy Agency ...
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Top North envoy gives Xi letter from Kim
BEIJING - A top North Korean envoy has delivered a letter from leader Kim Jong Un to Chinese President Xi Jinping and told him Pyongyang will take steps to rejoin the stalled nuclear disarmament talks, in an apparent victory for Beijing’s efforts to coax its unruly ally into lowering tensions. North Korean Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae’s three-day visit was seen as a fence-mending ...
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Easter Island statue erected in Japan tsunami town
TOKYO (AFP) - A giant statue from Chile's Easter Island on Saturday found a new home in a small tsunami-devastated Japanese town where it will become a symbol for its recovery.The new statue, with coral eyes and a stone hat, was erected near the town's shopping area, where makeshift stores now operate after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami destroyed almost the entire town.The ...
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Japan mayor to apologise to US over brothels advice
TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese politician who drew fire for calling "comfort women" a wartime necessity has been forced to apologise for suggesting US soldiers in Okinawa visit brothels to vent their violent frustrations.Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto had suggested that US servicemen in the southern prefecture of Okinawa, where relations are frequently tested by violent crimes including rapes ...
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Japan PM vows all possible help for Myanmar economy
YANGON (AFP) - Japan's premier on Saturday pledged "all possible assistance" to kick-start Myanmar's ailing economy, hailing a major industrial zone near Yangon as a symbol of development for the impoverished nation.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is touting the potential of Japanese businesses to boost the once junta-ruled nation's economy, visited the Thilawa project -- ...
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Artist creates his own Japan in Switzerland
Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang says a free trade accord with Switzerland should serve as an example for closer relations with other European countries. He believes a deal with the Swiss finance industry will also boost the economy in ...
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Ex-sex slave says Japan mayors remark absurd
Kim said Saturday that anyone who makes such an "absurd comment" should quit politics. The 87-year-old and another victim, Kil Won-ok, were speaking to their supporters to share with them their painful past as so-called comfort ...
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Sex Slave Row Mayors Japan Brothel Gaffe
A Japanese politician already under fire over comments about wartime sex slaves has apologised for suggesting US soldiers in Okinawa visit brothels. Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto claimed American servicemen should go to legal sex businesses in the southern prefecture to vent their violent frustrations and prevent sex assaults against local women. The remark has sparked disgust in the US and ...
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At least four exposed to radiation after Japan laboratory leak agency
TOKYO (Reuters) - At least four people, and possibly up to 55, were exposed to radiation when radioactive material leaked during a laboratory experiment in Japan, the facility's operators said on Saturday, although authorities were not told of the leak for two ...
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Japan government says unaware of ghosts at PM residence paper
TOKYO (Reuters) - A delay in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife moving into their official residence, the site of past assassinations, has revived talk of ghosts in the corridors, prompting the government to deny any knowledge of ...
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Context Launches Kyoto and Tokyo Japan Walking Tours
Context, the critically acclaimed walking tour company whose small-group, scholar-led "walking seminars" have revolutionized day tours in cities across Europe and North America, announces its continued expansion into Asia with the opening of tours in Tokyo and Kyoto. Working with local historians, Context has opened with five innovative tours in each city, designed to help curious ...
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Japan focuses on next big export
Smart grids are the way of the future, according to a Japanese consortium of seven companies that want to invest in the cities of the future and pave the way for the next big export to come out of Japan.
Japan is already one of the leading high-tech industries of the world, producing gadgets and appliances that are sold globally, from cars and microwaves to robots for use in surgery, space and mines. The country is a major manufacturing hub, there are Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba and Nintendo appliances in homes across the globe and many of the world’s most famous export brands have their headquarters in Japan or were founded in Japan. Read more
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