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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 30, 2012

As the new year approaches, Japan still reels from 2011

What a sad, sad country this is. What sad shape it's in, as this Year of the Dragon draws to a close. Economically, politically socially, individually, it is merely scraping by, surviving rather than living.
EDITORIALS
Dec 29, 2012

Probation system needs a boost

Volunteer probation officers (VPOs), known as hogo-shi, are playing an important role in helping rehabilitate convicts and minors released from prison or juvenile reformatories on probation, and adults and minors who have been placed on probation without going to prison or reformatories.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 27, 2012

Yucca "Our Journey''

Six long years after their first two enjoyable albums, Tokyo band Yucca made a welcome return in June 2012 with the even more impressive "Our Journey (to anywhere we want)." It may not be the most innovative album of 2012, but because of its beautiful textures and overall listenability it was the Japanese...
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2012

Homestead Act: the door-opener to America

At the end of this year in which election results reinserted immigration into the political conversation, remember that 2012 is the 150th anniversary of "the first comprehensive immigration law."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2012

BOJ's ¥23 trillion JGB spree sees record gains

Japanese government bonds are headed for the longest run of annual gains on record, buoyed by central bank purchases almost equivalent to Malaysia's economic output.
CULTURE / Books / THE YEAR IN BOOKS
Dec 23, 2012

U.S. essays, Japan's Christians

It may seem like cheating, but my first best book of 2012 is "The Best American Essays of 2012" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), part of the Best American Series. I read it each year and am never disappointed. This year's selection was made by David Brooks, a moderately conservative author, columnist and...
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2012

Once-almighty LDP tax commission back in the saddle

As the Liberal Democratic Party prepares to retake the helm of government next week, an internal body that once exerted great control over critical tax issues through behind-the-scene talks is staging a comeback as well.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS
Dec 21, 2012

Food festivals: all yesterday's parties

The best of 2012 The inaugural Tama Geta Shoku no Saiten in Hachioji offered locavores a chance to sample the creative cuisine of western Tokyo. Thirty vendors showed off dishes such as motsu yaki-udon, a bowl of beef tripe and noodles from the town of Mizuho in Nishitama, and the "Tokyo-X" hot dog,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2012

James Bond can't fix Sony as Japan makers hit lows

Even James Bond and Spider-Man can't rescue Sony Corp.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Dec 20, 2012

'Fiscal cliff' deal could carry long-term risks for economy

Now that's what a negotiation looks like.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 18, 2012

Stop thinking — the test is about to start

EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2012

Avoiding disaster in Doha

Our planet continues to warm. A recent series of reports anticipates a 4-degree (Celsius) rise in global temperatures by 2100 — twice the target that nations adopted in 2010 as the maximum allowable range for avoiding dangerous changes that will include the loss of coastal communities, the spread of...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2012

Building an inclusive society for the disabled

The 2012 London Paralympics captivated the world's attention with the strength of the human spirit demonstrated by people with disabilities. We were all moved by the determination and perseverance of the athletes to overcome the odds that defeat so many of us.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Dec 18, 2012

When is an hour at work not a work hour?

It was 1988, in an ad for Regain energy drink. Actor Saburo Tokito, wearing a suit and carrying an attache case, asked a question that would go down in TV history: "Can I work 24 hours straight?"
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2012

Toyota on verge of seizing sales crown as Volkswagen, GM vie for second

Toyota Motor Corp. is poised to take back the title of world's biggest automaker for 2012, as Volkswagen AG fights General Motors Co. for second place heading into the final weeks.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 14, 2012

Products fair touts new ways to go green

A dizzying variety of ideas and solutions for a greener society are to converge this weekend at the Eco-Products 2012 exhibition in Tokyo.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 14, 2012

Murofushi, Olympic teammates honored at JAAF Athletic Awards

The 2012 track and field season witnessed so many fresh-faced youngsters come into the spotlight, especially at the London Summer Olympics.
COMMENTARY
Dec 13, 2012

New gas resources raise regional energy stakes

North American natural gas companies, in the midst of tapping vast new reserves from underground shale rock, are looking to energy-hungry Asia as the main future market for the cleanest burning fossil fuel.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 9, 2012

The ends of the world

We are doomed. Are we doomed? December 21, 2012 is 12 days away. The world will end on that day, says the ancient Mayan calendar. Or does it say that? Whether it does or not (most experts now agree it does not) other dangers loom — a fatal "galactic alignment," a mysterious wandering planet on a collision...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Dec 9, 2012

World still waits for Japan to stop being apathetic about whaling

It was hardly the result the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) hoped for, or expected.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 9, 2012

Chernobyl factored in the fall of a corrupt regime — Fukushima may too

There are approximately 7,000 exhibits in Kiev's Ukrainian National Chornobyl Museum. (The location of the nuclear plant that exploded on April 26, 1986 is spelled this way in Ukrainian.) Among the documents, photographs, maps and objects at this museum that opened on the sixth anniversary of the accident...
CULTURE / Books
Dec 9, 2012

Serious business of murder turned into entertainment

THE INCENSE GAME, by Laura Joh Rowland. Minotaur Books, 2012, 290 pp., $25.99 (hardcover) ONE RED BASTARD, by Ed Lin. Minotaur Books, 2012, 280 pp., $25.99 (hardcover) Since publication of her first mystery, "Shinju," 18 years ago, Laura Joh Rowland has churned out about one book a year.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 7, 2012

Celebrate an underdog military commander at a festival in Uzumasa

Military commander Sengoku Hidehisa (1552−1614) will forever be remembered as a Japanese warrior who messed up the worst but redeemed himself the most. Sengoku was quick to be promoted to the role of daimyo (feudal lord), but due to his lack of chivalry and perceived depravity, historical records harshly...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2012

Egypt's democratic dictator?

Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first-ever elected civilian president, recently granted himself sweeping temporary powers in order, he claims, to attain the objectives of the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak's dictatorship.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Dec 5, 2012

Samurai Japan unveils preliminary roster for 2013 WBC

Two-time defending World Baseball Classic champion Japan has released its preliminary roster for the 2013 edition of the tournament, and as expected manager Koji Yamamoto will be relying on a young, domestic-based squad as he attempts to guide Samurai Japan to a third consecutive title.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 2, 2012

BayStars, Hawks complete unusual swap of veterans

Trades are not a common occurrence in Japanese baseball, and deals involving star players — or at least starting players on most teams — are rarely made.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake