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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 29, 2012

Death sentences prove difficult for lay judges

However one feels about the death penalty, it's difficult to argue that its application in Japan isn't arbitrary. Last week, former Justice Minister Hideo Hiraoka publicly denounced his successor Toshio Ogawa's decision to have three death row inmates hanged on March 29, saying that the government needs...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 29, 2012

Erika Sawajiri is an "Evil Woman"; controversial DaVinci paintings; CM of the week: Lotte Ghana

She's back, and badder than ever! Actually, before her monumental fall from grace, actress Erika Sawajiri rose to fame on her innocent image and ability to weep on cue. But after dissing her own film at a press conference she became poison.
EDITORIALS
Apr 29, 2012

Preparing elevators for the Big One

No one wants to get stuck in an elevator, but with the possibility looming of a major earthquake in the Kanto area, the government has at last begun to pay attention to the safety of elevators. The land and infrastructure ministry announced it is offering to cover one-third of renovation costs to help...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2012

BOJ boosts asset buys to tune of ¥5 trillion

The Bank of Japan on Friday eased monetary policy by boosting the size of its asset purchase program by ¥5 trillion, saying the move will "better ensure the return of Japan's economy to a sustainable growth path with price stability."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 27, 2012

'Thermae Romae'

Reading manga can teach you a lot, be the subject wine ("Kami no Shizuku [Drops of God]"), gourmet food ("Oishinbo") or the arcane world of feudal-era concubines ("Sakuran"). But the Japanese bath? Isn't that a subject Japanese are immersed in almost from Day One? Why would they need to read about it...
Reader Mail
Apr 26, 2012

Wide range of views on afterlife

Regarding Dipak Basu's April 19 letter, "Buddhist explanation for flaws": The idea that telling parents that their child is not looking down on them from heaven is "cruel" is Basu's opinion, and he is entitled to it. However, others would argue that sometimes one has to be a little cruel to be kind and...
CULTURE / Art
Apr 26, 2012

"Yuzo Saeki and Posters in Paris Around 1920s"

In 1924, Osaka native Yuzo Saeki (1898-1928) left Japan for France, where he eventually made his home in Paris until his death four years later. His oil paintings became famous posthumously after businessman Hatsujiro Yamamoto collected his works and donated them to the city of Osaka.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 26, 2012

"Yuzo Saeki and Posters in Paris Around 1920s"

In 1924, Osaka native Yuzo Saeki (1898-1928) left Japan for France, where he eventually made his home in Paris until his death four years later. His oil paintings became famous posthumously after businessman Hatsujiro Yamamoto collected his works and donated them to the city of Osaka.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 26, 2012

Rockers CN Blue stand out amid dancey K-pop

Since its 2009 debut in South Korea, CN Blue has been a bastion of rock in a music scene dominated by danceable electro-pop.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2012

Tsuruga plant may sit atop active fault

Reversing an earlier assessment, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency admitted an active and dangerous fault may be lurking directly beneath one of the two reactors of the Tsuruga nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 23, 2012

Consumption tax fiasco magnified by absence of financial fundamentals

To paraphrase Winston Churchill's all too famous words at the time of the Battle of Britain: "Never in the field of economic policy has so little been achieved by so many hours wasted by so many lawmakers." The outcome of the debate over Japan's consumption tax would surely extract a quote to surpass...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 23, 2012

Identifying the world's 'invisibles'

They have no twitter army, no righteous war being waged for their rescue. They are visible; they are out there on the streets. From ruthless lanes of Dhaka to dangerous dark alleys of Rio, tens of millions of children the world over are daily fighting hunger, violence and abuse just to survive and scratch...
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 22, 2012

Chernobyl expert takes a look at Tohoku's trees

Somewhere between downtown Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture, and the village of Ogisu an hour's drive to the northeast, Dr. Tatsuhiro Ohkubo pulls over to buy a box of sakura mochi.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 22, 2012

Past and present on Route 66

"Ah, there's nothing like a Polish sausage smothered with jalapenos to settle a queasy stomach," I said to my skeptical traveling companion Bob Allen, adding a squirt of mustard for good luck and taking a humongous bite.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Apr 21, 2012

I would rather eat a rock

A pleasant day in the park with a caressing sun and the flirtatious glow of spring! To top our day of Tokyo touring, I treat my U.S. guest to a food-stall serving of takoyaki — small balls of breaded octopus.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 21, 2012

Incredible images capture surreal disaster zone

Twisted wreckage thrown against the pastoral countryside, surreal scenes of the elements of everyday horribly juxtaposed, a world exploded yet eerily calm in its chaos. The photos are at once deeply disturbing and uncomfortably captivating. Rich colors, uncanny detail and stunning skies brought out by...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 21, 2012

Kansai's new budget airline offers juicy savings

On March 1, the first flight of All Nippon Airways' new low-cost carrier, Peach Aviation Ltd., was launched. Yes, now we know that fruit can fly. This may bring on a whole slew of flying fruit — flying bananas, pineapples, and even low-budget strawberries.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2012

TSE glitch a boon for alternative trading platforms

The Tokyo Stock Exchange's worst technical glitch in six years has forced a rethink of the role alternative trading platforms play in ensuring trade in shares of global corporations continues.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 20, 2012

'Le Havre'

Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki has always been free from a particular pressure of the modern world: the pressure to grow and change. You know, the one where we have to make more money, be better looking and forever fit, and go on better vacations than the Joneses (or Suzukis) and post the pictures...
Reader Mail
Apr 19, 2012

Buddhist explanation for flaws

The recent debate on this page did not start with the relative superiority of atheism over religion but with the cruel criticism of a letter from a reader who tried to console people who had lost loved ones in the 3/11 tsunami. The main religion of the Japanese, Buddhism, has explanations for the complaints...
Reader Mail
Apr 19, 2012

Catholic Church's belief crisis

I usually enjoy Kevin Rafferty's social commentary, but his views expressed in his April 11 article, "The pope's leadership crisis," need to be challenged. His assertion that the story of Jesus "requires less suspension of belief than Harry Potter" is ridiculous. To truly believe that Jesus was the son...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2012

Poverty a growing problem for women

The poverty rate rose to a record 16 percent in 2009 and the number of welfare recipients reached an all-time high of 2.09 million this January, according to the government. But what is even more shocking is the finding a recent study that about 1 in 3 women in Japan aged between 20 and 64 who live alone...
Reader Mail
Apr 19, 2012

'Sink or swim' ethic in America

Regarding Robert J. Samuelson's April 16 article "Look at Social Security for what it is: welfare," unfortunately millions of retired Americans depend upon Social Security payments for survival. Because the concept of "lifetime employment" is virtually unheard of in the United States, we do not often...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 19, 2012

Rustie to bring hyperactive set to SonarSound Tokyo

When Rustie (Russell Whyte, 29) makes his Japan debut at SonarSound Tokyo this weekend, it will mark the culmination of a remarkable few years that has seen the Scottish producer swap house parties in his hometown of Glasgow for headline spots at some of the biggest clubs in the world.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat