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Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2011

March 11 a chance for rebirth: experts

While the March 11 disasters devastated the Tohoku region and added another challenge to a nation already troubled with social and economic malaise, the crisis can be turned into a chance for revival, lawmakers and experts said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2011

Nomura may slash domestic jobs after quarterly loss

Nomura Holdings Inc., the nation's largest brokerage, said it will consider eliminating jobs at home as part of a plan to triple cost cuts to $1.2 billion following its first quarterly loss in more than two years.
COMMENTARY
Oct 26, 2011

A call for improved national crisis management policy

More than seven months have already passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster. Industrial production in the affected areas has bounced back to pre-disaster levels, but the recovery of agriculture and fishery is lagging and nearly 70,000 people remain in evacuation facilities. On top of that,...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 23, 2011

Post-Fukushima, 'they' can no longer be trusted — if ever they could

Every year when I was a child, my parents would take my brother and me from our Los Angeles home to Las Vegas on vacation. Back then in the 1950s, Vegas was still a family-oriented holiday destination. Dad would drop a few bucks at the crap table while the rest of us basked in the sun.
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2011

Return to contaminated areas?

The government on Sept. 30 lifted its evacuation advisory for residents in specified areas 20 to 30 km from Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The decision covers the entire town of Hirono and parts of the cities of Minami Soma and Tamura, the town of Naraha, and...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2011

With backing, biomass can help meet energy needs

Last in a series
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2011

Radioactive soil can fill 23 Tokyo Domes

Radioactive soil and vegetation that must be removed in Fukushima and four adjacent prefectures could reach up to 28.79 million cu. meters, equal to filling the Tokyo Dome 23 times, according to a recent Environment Ministry estimate.
Japan Times
JAPAN / POWERING THE FUTURE
Sep 28, 2011

Wind power quest faces stability, regulatory hurdles

Southern Awaji Island is technically in Hyogo Prefecture. But its location — within sight of Shikoku just across the Inland Sea — bright sunshine, and strong gusting winds give it the feel of a subtropical island.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Sep 18, 2011

Reflecting on icons of 'cute'

Although watching wildlife is not for everyone, countless hordes of visitors flock to zoos when tiger cubs or a Giant Panda baby first go on show, when penguins are on parade, or when young animals are present in the petting section. Why is that?
COMMENTARY
Sep 16, 2011

New prime minister must restore confidence in politics

Yoshihiko Noda, taking over from Naoto Kan as president of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, was elected the 95th prime minister on Aug. 30. He is the 18th prime minister in 25 years and the third since the DPJ came to power two years ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2011

Nuclear reform will be uphill slog

In a bid to restore public confidence, the government has unveiled plans to reform the nuclear regulatory agency, separating it from the ministry in charge of promoting atomic power.
EDITORIALS
Aug 17, 2011

Ray of light amid the nuclear gloom

The United Nations' latest renewable energy report is a ray of sunshine amid the gloom of Japan's nuclear disaster. According to the REN21 Renewables 2011 Global Status Report, last year renewable energy accounted for 16 percent of global final energy consumption and close to 20 percent of global electricity...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 16, 2011

Volunteers feel for Tohoku, but their duties lie in Nepal

In the physiotherapy ward at Katmandu's Bir Hospital, a middle-aged woman lay in bed, her back strapped to a big mechanical device. Rukmini Roka, 56, who suffers from chronic backache, struggled to stretch her legs as required by the special therapy machine.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 24, 2011

Powering Japan's future

Last year, Japan produced close to one quadrillion watt-hours of electricity — that's 1 followed by 15 zeros. The vast majority of that — which translates into one billion megawatt hours (MWh) — came from coal, natural gas and nuclear power plants operated by 10 utilities that, only a few months...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 21, 2011

Calling architects for the house Australia and Japan will build

How do you create an advantage out of adversity, an asset from a liability?
EDITORIALS
Jul 6, 2011

Mr. Thaksin wins again

Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra and her Pheu Thai party have won Thailand's parliamentary elections, claiming a commanding majority in the legislature. The results are a vindication of sorts for Ms. Shinawatra's brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, deposed in 2006 by a military coup.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 3, 2011

Japan needs to do more than simply 'cope' with stress

What's ailing us? The list is long. In a nutshell: stress. Sixty percent of Japan's work force suffers from it, according to the business magazine Weekly Toyo Keizai.
Reader Mail
Jun 26, 2011

Learning to love Super Cool Biz

Because of the power-supply shortages expected this summer, we are being asked to do two things: shift peak hours of electricity consumption in order to level off spikes during the day, and save energy as a whole to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to global warming.
EDITORIALS
Jun 21, 2011

Mr. Gates' farewell

It is an open question whether United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates would have been as blunt in his criticism of NATO's European members in a speech on June 10 if he was not stepping down. He warned that U.S. patience and its bankroll are running thin. Mr. Gates' words need to be heard by...
COMMENTARY
Jun 17, 2011

Triple disaster proves need for an industrial revolution

Some three months since the colossal earthquake and tsunami in eastern Japan, stricken areas are getting on track for recovery with local industrial production capacity having been restored to as much as 90 percent of pre-disaster levels.
EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2011

Super Cool Biz

June 1 marked the start of the Environment Ministry's Super Cool Biz campaign, with full-page newspaper ads and photos of ministry workers smiling rather self-consciously at their desks wearing polo shirts and colorful Okinawa kariyushi shirts.
JAPAN / WEEK 3
May 15, 2011

Utility and opponents lock horns over planned N-plant

With the May 10 announcement by Prime Minister Naoto Kan of a fundamental review of nuclear power generation in Japan, the fate of 14 planned new reactors was necessarily thrown into doubt. However, neither ongoing events in Fukushima, nor news of the review, have changed the stance of the nation's electricity...

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