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COMMENTARY
Nov 16, 2011

The West starts beating its war drums once again

"We will not build two (nuclear) bombs in the face of (America's) 20,000," said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in response to an International Atomic Energy Agency report last week that accuses Iran of doing just that. He called Yukiya Amano, the head of the IAEA, a U.S. puppet, saying: "This...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2011

The upper hand on post-U.S. Afghan stability

All regional players are struggling to come to terms with the withdrawal of NATO-led Western forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Early this month, Istanbul became the latest venue where 12 regional states and the Afghan government came together to try again to agree on ways of bringing some semblance...
BUSINESS
Nov 5, 2011

Olympus delays earnings release pending M&A probe

Olympus Corp. said Friday it was postponing the release of second-quarter earnings pending the results of a probe into $1.4 billion in writedowns and fees related to the company's acquisitions.
BUSINESS
Oct 22, 2011

Honda enlists Thai soldiers as floods approach

Outside a Honda Motor Co. factory on Bangkok's outskirts, Thai soldiers guide gravel bags lowered from a crane into a canal as guards stationed on the plant's plastic-lined walls monitor rising floodwaters.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 2, 2011

Satoshi Kamata: Rebel spirit writ large

Monday, Sept. 19, was Respect for the Aged Day in Japan. But on that sweltering national holiday, it wasn't the heat that that drew tens of thousands of people to Meiji Park in central Tokyo, but their concerns for all the nation's citizens, and others, who may face a threat from nuclear power.
Japan Times
JAPAN / POWERING THE FUTURE
Sep 23, 2011

Current nuclear debate to set nation's course for decades

First in a six-part series about major sources of renewable energy in Japan and the prospects for their future use and development
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Japan Pulse
Sep 7, 2011

This season's fashion hit or flop?

Lab coats as this season's must-have item? Book satchels for adults? Should we believe the hype?
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 6, 2011

Utilities have monopoly on power

Tokyo Electric Power Co. wants to raise electricity rates by more than 10 percent to help offset massive compensation claims related to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant meltdowns, according to recent media reports.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Sep 1, 2011

Zaccheroni must build upon strong start, be wary of rivals

Alberto Zaccheroni's first year as national team manager could hardly have been more successful, but that does not mean the Italian can expect to stroll through Japan's opening World Cup qualifying fixtures starting this week.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Aug 10, 2011

Intrigue abounds after Mao sits out JSF training camp

The absence of two-time world champion Mao Asada from the recent Japan Skating Federation training camp provided more questions than answers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2011

Salarymen stick with laptops over iPads

When Yuta Moriya was offered Apple Inc.'s 613-gram iPad by his employer last summer, he envisioned a future free of lugging his laptop around for client visits. He was wrong.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2011

Constructing a Pax Asia-Pacifica

One of the main sources of tension in Asia nowadays are the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, where the Philippines, Vietnam, China and others have conflicting claims. In Chinese media reports, the heightened "unfriendliness" in the region has allegedly arisen from "bad rumors and speculations"...
COMMENTARY
Jul 14, 2011

The blame goes beyond a tabloid

After 168 years of titillating Britons over breakfast, the News of the World has closed. Last Sunday's edition was the tabloid's last. Allegations of police bribery and phone tapping by Britain's best-selling newspaper were met with public outrage. But are these revelations really so surprising?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / INSIDE ART
Jul 7, 2011

Public to benefit from art indemnity system

If you've ever thought that the ¥1,500 admission ticket at the average touring exhibition in Tokyo is too expensive, consider this: The cost of insuring artworks for trips to Japan is around 0.2 percent of their appraised value.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2011

Lagarde in the IMF inferno

Christine Lagarde has leaped into a hot job, an inferno, as the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund less than a week after after having been chosen.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 3, 2011

Murakami puts a bomb under his compatriots' atomic complacency

"The Japanese will someday outgrow their nuclear allergy." I've never forgotten futurologist and Cold War military strategist Herman Kahn saying this to me on his visit to Japan in 1969, when I was his guide and occasional interpreter.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 1, 2011

'Love and Other Impossible Pursuits'

One of the disconcerting aspects of movie-going is how — on more occasions than you're prepared for — you have to endure the sight of a favorite actor playing someone despicable. For me, that happens sometimes with Natalie Portman. Gorgeous and sizzling and talented, she's always lovely to watch...
COMMENTARY
Jun 22, 2011

China ups the ante in South China Sea disputes

China appears to be increasingly determined to strengthen its presence and control in areas of the South China Sea close to Southeast Asia that it sees as strategically and economically important.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2011

Pakistan's risky China card

U.S. President Barack Obama's bold move in ordering the raid on Osama bin Laden's secret mansion close to the Pakistan military establishment is in danger of backfiring. Islamic terrorist groups have stepped up their murderous atrocities principally against Pakistanis.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 19, 2011

Conduct most becoming of Sado's Berlin triumph

In the past two weeks, three television programs, each on a different network, covered conductor Yutaka Sado's debut with the Berlin Philharmonic. Though Sado's one-off gig would normally mean little outside the rarefied world of classical music, TBS and NHK each decided it merited an in-depth special....
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2011

Revision of energy policy needed but keep nuclear power, think tank says

The nation must drastically revise its medium- and long-term energy policy in light of the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, but completely abandoning the atomic power program "would rob the nation of its strength," an independent think tank led by former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2011

New budget carrier Peach hopes to fly high, charge low

Despite the huge impact the ongoing nuclear crisis is having on the nation's travel and aviation industries, the head of Japan's newest budget carrier said it is sticking to plans it made before March 11, including extremely low fares and black ink three years after its takeoff.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 31, 2011

Family slams stalled probe into Kabuki-cho death

Nine months after their only son, Hoon "Scott" Kang, a Korean-American tourist, died from severe head injuries sustained in the stairwell of a building in Kabuki-cho, his family and friends are still no closer to understanding how he died.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 26, 2011

One tough job: selling Fukushima

Hands down, the workers at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant trying to cool off the reactors have one of the toughest jobs in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 16, 2011

The new enervated Tepco

With the onset of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant crisis following the March 11 Tohoku-Pacific earthquake, radioactive substances continue to seep into the sea, air and soil. Residents within a designated proximity of the plant will likely have to live away from their homes a long time. The prospect...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 16, 2011

BOJ chief sees only bubbles on horizon

With his nation's economy contracting under disaster damage of as much as ¥25 trillion ($310 billion), Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa is signaling that his biggest worry is inflation.
COMMENTARY
May 11, 2011

Justified, but we're no safer

U.S. President Barack Obama was justified in ordering the elimination of Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaida group of jihadists and terrorists, who have caused such widespread suffering and mayhem not only in Western countries but also in Muslim states. But his death does not necessarily make...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
May 3, 2011

Better to be branded a 'flyjin' than a man of the 'sheeple'

The past two months have been uncomfortable for Japan, and for the country's foreign residents. Non-Japanese (NJ) have been bashed in the media, unreservedly and undeservedly, as deserters in the face of disaster.

Longform

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