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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2010

The G20's expensive party

HONG KONG — Leaders of the world's most powerful nations and a few less powerful hangers-on, like Canada and Italy, have just spent a few more billions of their taxpayers' money as they failed to devise a rescue plan for a world economy that is still perilously close to the cliff edge of disaster....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2010

Tax hike policy due by March

The government wants to hammer out by the end of March its stance on raising the 5 percent consumption tax, newly appointed National Policy Unit minister Satoshi Arai said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Jun 29, 2010

Turkey warms to new role of daring to chastise Israel

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — "Even despots, gangsters and pirates have specific sensitiveness, (and) follow some specific morals," said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a recent speech following the deadly commando raid on the humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza on May 31.
EDITORIALS
Jun 28, 2010

Loans for the indebted

Toward the end of 2006 the Diet enacted the Money- Lending Business Law to help solve the problems of consumers who have multiple debts. Since then, the government has taken steps to impose restrictions on the methods of collecting loans and to raise the barrier for entry into the consumer loan business....
JAPAN / DECISION 2010
Jun 25, 2010

Kan wades deep into tax hike fray

Despite misgivings in his own party, Prime Minister Naoto Kan has pledged to raise the 5 percent consumption tax in a few years to fund snowballing social security costs and avoid a fiscal crisis like the one that engulfed Greece.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2010

Obama takes the broad approach to security

MADRID — Time and again in our Nation's history, Americans have risen to meet — and to shape — moments of transition. This must be one of those moments.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 25, 2010

Keeping an eye on new ceramics

Places of worship take many forms, but they all share a common atmosphere. There's a certain quietude that puts visitors at ease and a sense of other-worldliness achieved, in part, through the careful placement of precious objects on raised platforms. Kim Riyoo's ceramic installation, "Ceramics as New...
JAPAN / DECISION 2010
Jun 24, 2010

Parties focus on economy, taxes

With the campaign officially kicking off for the July 11 Upper House election, political parties are weighing in on rebuilding the economy and government finances, hoping their platforms will translate into votes.
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2010

Fiscal rehab plan issued, draws fire

The government served up a fiscal reconstruction plan Tuesday that calls for achieving a surplus in the primary budget by the end of fiscal 2020 and keeping new bond issuance below this fiscal year's ¥44 trillion, but experts say the outline lacks specifics on how to curb the massive national debt or...
EDITORIALS
Jun 21, 2010

Parties circle consumption tax

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the No. 1 opposition Liberal Democratic Party have announced their manifestos for the July 11 Upper House election. Noteworthy is the DPJ's mention of the possibility of raising the consumption tax as a way to rebuild state finances.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2010

DPJ, LDP platforms test tax hike waters

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the opposition camp unofficially began campaigning Thursday for the July 11 Upper House election, by releasing their platforms, and both sides seemed to be dancing around a tax hike.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jun 17, 2010

Vader ladies

Dear Alice,
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 13, 2010

Synthetic life zaps 'the soul'

I remember a couple of years ago the Vatican made a curious announcement about the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Clearly,the Roman Catholic Church was getting worried that any discovery of evidence of life on other planets would undermine its authority on Earth. It wanted to head off the impact...
COMMENTARY
Jun 11, 2010

Who to credit for Asia's extraordinary rise?

LOS ANGELES — The extraordinary rise of Asia in recent decades cannot be understood or appreciated without some reference to outstanding leadership. Consider the experience of other regions of the world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 11, 2010

Midori grow up, but kids still love 'em

Parents beware: Hardcore jazz-punk three-piece Midori are back, and this time they're after your children.
Reader Mail
Jun 10, 2010

Japan Tobacco working to cut risks

I would like to point out that Roger Pulvers' May 16 Counterpoint article, "Reality check, 2010: 'Smoking doesn't cause cancer' (Japan Tobacco)," misquotes Japan Tobacco as stating "we don't believe smoking causes cancer." We are disappointed to learn that The Japan Times ran an article with an inaccurate...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jun 8, 2010

Readers weigh in on U.S. military presence

Fear of breaking taboo During my 31 years in Japan I have appreciated The Japan Times' coverage of social issues such as discrimination against ethic and social minorities, which the vernacular papers give only passing mention to.
COMMENTARY
May 31, 2010

Internet leveling the news field

SEATTLE — The debate is no longer confined to a few academics in distant universities. It is now a mainstream topic of discussion: How will the news of the future be distributed?
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
May 30, 2010

Does democracy still count if it's conditional?

NEW YORK — With Barack Obama's military policy in the Middle East getting murkier by the day, his predecessor George W. Bush's stated goal of democratizing the region through violence has to be judged to have failed. The thought prompts the reflection that forced democratization could entail considerable...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 28, 2010

Contemporary works created in loving memory of the 'now'

"Memory does not belong to the past; it is the continuous present and future." Artist Kimio Tsuchiya's words speak volumes about "Plastic Memories — to illuminate 'now,' " currently showing at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo. Her work "Fragments of the Moon" (2004) features old bits of chipped...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 21, 2010

Enjoy the company of Ryoichi Yamazaki's reluctant 'hoodies'

The typical white cube gallery is not unlike a sumo ring. Both are bare, sanctified spaces, where we can stare intently at the participants' strenous efforts to impress. While the dohyo is purified by salt, the antiseptic agents in the case of the white cube gallery are white paint, light and an attitude...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 21, 2010

New history of art in the 21st century

To the extent that it exists in the popular consciousness, contemporary art is frequently associated with ideas of "newness" and "antitradition." This is partly to do with the legacy of the early 20th-century Dada movement. Responding to the social ferment surrounding World War I, the Dadaists rejected...
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
May 20, 2010

A traditional Christian pattern?

Dear Alice,

Longform

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