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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 19, 2012

Understand Japanese cinema

The Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs Oct. 20-28 at Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills and other venues around the capital and the Tohoku region, is a great opportunity to see new Japanese films — with a couple caveats.
EDITORIALS
Oct 19, 2012

The IMF's new message

Mea culpa. That might be the biggest message from the recent gathering of global financial leaders in Tokyo. The annual IMF/World Bank meeting is an opportunity for finance ministers and central bankers to seek agreement on the state of the global economy and ways to ensure greater or more stable growth....
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2012

Beer sales, Aussie unit shrink Kirin's forecast

Kirin Holdings Co. has cut its 2015 sales forecast because of a weaker outlook for its domestic beer operations and slower growth in its Australian subsidiary.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 16, 2012

Niseko puts faith in powder to revive tourism boom

Throughout most of the 2010s, the meteoric rise in popularity of Hokkaido's ski resorts among foreign visitors was widely documented in both the domestic and overseas media.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 14, 2012

Kakunaka's fortunes change in a hurry

We are establishing a new "prize" here. It is the Baseball Bullet-In "Out of the Blue Award" with recognition given to the player in Japanese pro baseball who has the best season among those virtually unheard of and who came from seemingly nowhere to become a star.
EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2012

Future of senile dementia

The health and welfare ministry says that the number of elderly people suffering from senile dementia and in need of nursing care has topped 3 million this year. As Japan's population continues to gray, the number of such elderly people will inevitably increase.
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2012

Environment tax in effect

The environment tax was introduced from Oct. 1. Although the introduction came very late, it is hoped that the new tax will help change the mind-set and behavior of enterprises and consumers so that they can contribute to mitigating global warming through reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, which...
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2012

Sagging business sentiment

The tankan survey of business sentiments for September by the Bank of Japan shows that uncertainty hovers over the Japanese economy. If necessary, the central bank should take additional monetary easing measures since injecting ¥10 trillion into an assets purchase fund Sept. 19. The government needs...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 5, 2012

Pet Expo helps Fido look spot on

As Tokyo prepares for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, in Osaka fashion has gone to the dogs.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2012

Postelection fiscal cliff raises stakes for the world

As America's elections approach, with President Barack Obama slightly in front of his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, pollsters still rate the races for control of the presidency and the U.S. Senate too close to call, with the House of Representatives likely to remain in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS
Sep 28, 2012

Diversifying Japan's biggest food festival

From its origins as a regional festival in the backwaters of Aomori Prefecture, the B-1 Grand Prix has attained a status of Fuji Rock-like proportions. The seven-year-old event, which attracts enthusiasts of local cooking from around Japan, almost single-handedly kick-started the country's obsession...
EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2012

Inward-looking DPJ

The retouching of the Democratic Party of Japan leadership, decided Monday by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, shows that he is more interested in avoiding friction within the party than in solving difficult problems the nation is facing.
EDITORIALS
Sep 25, 2012

JAL needs to stand on its own

Japan Airlines was relisted on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Sep. 19 as it has succeeded in strongly improving its business performance during the past two years and seven months of rehabilitation. This is only the first step to full recovery for the airline. JAL achieved its comeback...
CULTURE / Books
Sep 23, 2012

Timely fictional war scenarios that play out in Asian waters

Tiger's Claw, by Dale Brown. William Morrow, 2012, 432 pp., $26.99 (hardcover) Red Cell, by Mark Henshaw. Touchstone, 2012, 336 pp., $24.99 (hardcover) Future war fiction — also known as alternate history or military science fiction — has been around a long time. Occasionally such books have proved...
EDITORIALS
Sep 21, 2012

Delayed recovery moves BOJ

Apparently motivated by the European Central Bank's decision to buy unlimited amounts of government bonds and the U.S. Federal Reserve's third round of quantitative easing, the Bank of Japan announced new steps for monetary easing on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 14, 2012

Osprey adds to the burden

On Sept. 9, rally organizers say over 100,000 people took part in a protest in Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture, to oppose the plan to deploy 24 MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which is in Ginowan.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2012

Making the eurozone work

Some economists believe that this summer could mark the moment when some of the eurozone's peripheral members may begin to be forced out; others think that such a scenario is inconceivable. All agree that, at least in the short term, a eurozone breakup would be disastrous for jobs and growth.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Aug 31, 2012

Preseason contests signal start of league's eighth season

After another offseason of major changes, the bj-league is entering year eight of its curious existence.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2012

Ten myths about the U.S. Republican agenda

There are a lot of pundits here in Tampa with no real politics to report on. So I thought now would be a good idea to do some explaining about the odd natives (well, natives for only a few days), whom the punditocracy has ventured out to poke and prod and report back, as if they are 21st-century Margaret...
Reader Mail
Aug 30, 2012

Harbinger of the future is here

Thank you for Stephen Hesse's insightful Aug. 26 article, "If we ruin the air, what will our children breathe?" Here in Missouri the drought of 2012 continues to oppress both farmer and rancher across the state. Rural water wells are going dry! Major cities are asking residents to refrain from watering...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2012

U.S. presidential election needs another Teddy

What America feared above all was the growing concentration of wealth and political power. A Republican alliance with big business had flooded election campaigns with torrents of money, and it threatened to reduce — if not eliminate — whatever influence ordinary Americans had with their elected officials....
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2012

London Paralympics starts

The London 2012 Paralympics starts Thursday (Wednesday local time) with some 4,300 physically disabled athletes from 166 countries and regions taking part in 20 sports. From Japan, 135 athletes will participate in 17 sports. It is hoped that the Paralympics, which will continue through Sept. 9, will...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EMBASSY AVENUE
Aug 29, 2012

Philippine festival in Yokohama

The best of Philippine culture will be showcased in Yokohama during the Philippine Festival Barrio Fiesta, which is free and open to all and will be held Sept. 1 and 2 at Yamashita Park.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2012

Middle East buildup refutes critics of Obama

Here are some facts that should be considered by those who criticize the Barack Obama administration for "leading from behind" in the troubled Middle East.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 26, 2012

Should the public trust Japan's leaders when the 'big one' hits Tokyo?

No two calamities are alike, yet the needs of victims vary only in scale, not in kind.
EDITORIALS
Aug 25, 2012

Lawbreaking cops among us

The National Police Agency issued a report Aug. 16 showing that police departments nationwide have been plagued by a series of irregularities involving police officers and workers. When you take into account the nearly 300,000 people working for the police force, the known irregularities are probably...

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo