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EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2012

Residents' say over tax rates

In a report to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in mid-December, an advisory panel on local autonomy recommended that local governments be allowed to hold assembly sessions throughout the year so that a wide range of local residents can serve as local assembly members. But the panel opted to postpone the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 3, 2012

Japanese must tap their 'inner Israeli'

Aimless, Japan has been struggling to find a suitable vision, or model, for its future. Should it strive to be like Finland, small but prosperous? Should it de-emphasize economic growth and focus on sustainability and lifestyle? Should it look to the go-go '80s for inspiration? Or should it withdraw...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Dec 31, 2011

Used bookstores turn to Internet sales for a lift in turbulent times

Last of two parts
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 10, 2011

Shiga studies impact on Lake Biwa from possible Fukui nuke accident

The Shiga Prefectural Government plans to develop a computer system able to simulate the amount and dispersal of radioactive materials that would contaminate Lake Biwa in the event of an accident at one of the nuclear power plants in neighboring Fukui Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 3, 2011

Health drinks making major Mideast inroads

Japanese health drinks have been gaining popularity in the Middle East.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 26, 2011

Yairi using tsunami pine for guitars

Yairi Guitar, the famed guitar maker in Kani, Gifu Prefecture, is using pine trees knocked down by the March 11 tsunami to fashion instruments in hopes of engraving the disaster on people's memory through music.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 22, 2011

MacArthur, identity theory and Japan's lingering eigo woes

Some years ago I was teaching an advanced English class in San Francisco that featured a hodgepodge of students from all over the world. Just as the range of cultures and accents extended from Europe to the Middle East to Asia and South America, so did the array of communication styles. Yet while the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 19, 2011

Fallen soldiers' kin visit Saipan to meet U.S. vet

Relatives of Japanese victims of World War II in Aichi Prefecture visited Saipan to meet a U.S. veteran in October.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 12, 2011

Retiree's blog about old car catalogs finds fans

A blog written by a 76-year-old retiree in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, is finding an audience among car buffs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 5, 2011

Micro-hydro power set to light up cherry tree

The city of Motosu in Gifu Prefecture is planning to light up its famous Usuzumi Zakura cherry tree, said to be more than 1,500 years old, during the "hanami" season using electricity from a small hydroelectric generator.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2011

Myanmar's new guardian?

Myanmar's one-time military generals, who have miraculously transformed themselves into benign politicians, really do seem to be taking remarkable steps to restructure both the domestic and foreign policy of that fragile nation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 30, 2011

Cyclists piste at Tokyo police crackdown

Last month, comedian Mitsunori Fukuda was stopped and cited for riding a fixed-gear racing bike on a public street in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward. These bicycles, also known as "piste bikes," have become popular in the past few years, not so much as a conveyance but more as a fashion statement. They usually...
Reader Mail
Oct 20, 2011

Understanding Occupy Tokyo

It is hard to understand how in the Oct. 16 article "Hundreds turn out to Occupy Tokyo," a reporter could write: "In addition to decrying the widening wealth gap between the nation's haves and have-nots, demonstrators spoke out on a variety of unrelated topics ranging from nuclear power to the Trans-Pacific...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 15, 2011

Golden Kings, Evessa class of the West again

Almost nothing remains the same in the Eastern Conference, as all 10 head coaches this season are in spots that they didn't occupy at this time a year ago.
Reader Mail / The Argument: radioactive water
Oct 2, 2011

Effects of disenfranchisement

In his Sept. 22 letter, "A prevalent form of propaganda," Greg Leviton addresses a number of points that are often brought up concerning issues in the Middle East. Although I appreciate his ardor in support of Israel, many of these topics are more nuanced than appear. For example, Israel is often cited...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2011

Chinese social media reshape image of Japan

While Chinese mass media tend to focus on negative images of Japan, social media have begun to provide more diversified perspectives since the 3/11 Great Tohoku Earthquake. Social media have allowed Chinese to get to know Japan in a more comprehensive manner.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Sep 24, 2011

Hosts remember victims of Christchurch quake

The powerful earthquake that struck the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Feb. 22 took the lives of many people, including a group of Japanese students from Toyama College of Foreign Languages who were on a monthlong program studying overseas.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Sep 17, 2011

Fuel cell generator for homes takes off

Nagoya-based Toho Gas recently announced that it sold its 1,000th fuel cell unit since the household power generators hit the market in May 2009.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Sep 10, 2011

Makers of roof tiles ride postquake boom

Makers of Sanshu Kawara roof tiles in Aichi Prefecture have been boosting production since the March 11 disasters to meet huge demand spurred by the reconstruction drive.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2011

BOJ to maintain 'zero' rate, sees second-half recovery

The Bank of Japan's Policy Board unanimously agreed Wednesday to maintain the current virtually zero-interest rate policy while shunning additional monetary easing to cope with impacts from the recent sharp rise in the yen.
EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 2011

World's biggest blog obsession

Internet users in Japan spend more time reading blogs than any other country in the world, according to a recent study from comScore, a research company measuring the digital world. The average Japanese user spent 62.6 minutes reading blogs during June of this year, when the survey was conducted.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 1, 2011

Sachiko Hara makes her mark in Germany

Tokyo-born Sachiko Hara, 46, was the apple of her ordinary, working-parents' eye. She was encouraged to get a degree in German studies from the prestigious Sophia University, and after that it seemed some sort of high-flying career was hers for the taking.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2011

Noda pro-U.S. but past remarks may haunt Asia ties

While Japan-U.S. relations will remain the cornerstone of the nation's diplomacy under the leadership of Yoshihiko Noda, the Democratic Party of Japan's newly elected president and the nation's next prime minister, his past comments on war criminals could strain ties in Asia, analysts said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 27, 2011

Aichi training medical interpreters for foreigners

The Aichi Prefectural Government is running a project to train medical interpreters in English, Portuguese, Chinese and Spanish to help improve communication between foreign patients and doctors.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2011

Harvard talks pump up overseas study, work

Japanese high school students were glued to the screen as a Harvard University student, acting as teacher, clicked on the computer and fused photographs of people's faces, claiming she could create a face people would find attractive.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 21, 2011

Veteran umpire Hirako remembered fondly after passing

Japanese sports papers and various Web sites on Aug. 17 reported the death of former Central League umpire Kiyoshi Hirako.
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 20, 2011

War-era canvases of animals resurface

Wartime-era paintings depicting animals have been stored in obscurity for decades at Nagoya City Art Museum and until recently their existence was unknown to the general population.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 13, 2011

Mie crop-eating deer: venisons of the forest

Wild "shika" deer have caused so much crop damage in Mie Prefecture that they have become fair game — venison, as it were.

Longform

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