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COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2013

The worst U.S. Congress ever?

When we set out to write a book about the growing extremism in American politics about 18 months ago, we thought that the 112th Congress was the worst we had seen in our four decades in Washington. However, the fight over the debt limit, the fiscal cliff and the farm bill — and the shutdown of the...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2013

Young Livesense chief needlessly lonely at top

It is a rarity for a young person to turn a startup into a corporate success story in Japan, but the nation's future growth may in fact depend on such youthful entrepreneurs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2013

Child custody injustices hard to fix

On May 6, 2010, Yasuyuki Watanabe, an internal affairs ministry bureaucrat, came home to find his wife and 2-year old daughter gone, along with their clothes.
Reader Mail
Jan 3, 2013

Cost of gun 'freedom' too high

Regarding Robert J. Spitzer's Washington Post article that was published in The Japan Times on Dec. 26 under the headline "Five myths about U.S. gun control": Again we are on that old spinning wheel watching the United States convulse over another mass shooting at a school with young, innocent victims....
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 3, 2013

NYT reporter forced to leave

New York AFP-JIJI
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2012

A time to reflect on pressing economic challenges

Sir John Templeton was a legend in his own lifetime who made billions of dollars from the sensible and wise way he invested money. In these difficult times it is apposite to quote Rule No. 12 of Templeton's legendary golden rules for investment success: "Begin with a prayer," he advised.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Dec 21, 2012

Aoki continues All-Star streak with seventh selection

Before the Ryukyu Golden Kings ever played a game and before Okinawa proved to be a terrific location for a Japanese professional basketball team, Cohey Aoki had already established himself as a fan favorite in the bj-league.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ELECTION 2012
Dec 15, 2012

JGB market braces for Abe's return

The worst prime minister for Japanese government bonds in almost two decades is poised to return, ousting the best since 2006.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2012

Book reveals human drama in Fukushima No. 1 crisis

Experts and journalists have written a number of reports, some even running several hundred pages, about the cause of the triple meltdown crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant and the chain of events that followed.
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...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2012

Key artery's closure blow to transport, bus firms

Travel agencies and transport companies scrambled to deal with cancellations and rerouting Monday after the deadly Sasago Tunnel accident closed off the Chuo Expressway in Yamanashi Prefecture — a major east-west artery.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2012

Rich states' fossil-fuel breaks top climate aid

Rich countries spend five times more on fossil-fuel subsidies than on aid to help developing nations cut their emissions and protect against the effects of climate change, the campaign group Oil Change International said.
EDITORIALS
Dec 3, 2012

Crimes by elderly on the rise

The number of elderly people committing crimes has skyrocketed in Japan. A recent white paper on crime finds that those aged 65 or over who became the subject of a criminal investigation hit 48,637 in 2011, accounting for some 16 percent of all those investigated — the highest percentage since 1986...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Dec 2, 2012

Players give ultimatum to Oita, plan appeal to FIBA

Like a veteran boxer with 75 bouts on his resume, the Oita HeatDevils' American quartet —Wendell White, Matt Lottich, Taj Finger and Cyrus Tate — is not going down without a fight.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 1, 2012

The best-ever tips on learning Japanese

If you want to learn Japanese the fastest way possible, read on. Notice I did not say the easiest way possible. If you think learning Japanese is easy, well, you can stop reading now. Presuming you want to learn Japanese, I offer the following best-ever tips:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Nov 27, 2012

Expert laments Japan's limits on craft beer culture

Ry Beville's love of craft beer has developed into an occupation in which he publishes Japan's only bilingual craft beer magazine.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2012

U.S. pivot to Asia needed in education, business

In the face of China's continued rise and increased assertiveness, strengthened U.S. engagement in Asia — as evidenced by U.S. President Barack Obama's official visit to Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar so soon after his re-election — is good news for Japan and the region, whether you refer to it as...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 20, 2012

Tackling the nihongo mountain, by strategy: from base camp to the plateau and beyond

For foreigners who arrive in Japan with little knowledge or preparation, the first encounter with the local lingo can be brutal. In the past, for instance, newcomers would have taken the train from Narita airport to Tokyo or Shinjuku station and promptly run up against a solid wall of indecipherable...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 15, 2012

South Korean band Ulala Session wins hearts on talent show

The boys of Ulala Session originally came together because of their love of dance. As young men, however, they are now regarded for their music, live performances and backstory.
Reader Mail
Nov 11, 2012

Scientific fact vs. unfounded fear

Naoshi Koriyama's Nov. 4 letter, "Lingering effects of Fukushima," contains an error in fact and one in substance.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Nov 3, 2012

Agent rips Evessa after they pay off Cox over lawsuit threat

The once-mighty Osaka Evessa's spiraling-out-of-control reputation has taken another major hit. And FIBA, basketball's world governing body, entered the picture for this latest incident.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LIGHT GIST
Oct 30, 2012

The world according to Toru Hashimoto

Loved by his supporters for his fiery rhetoric — which often involves bashing the Tokyo-centric status quo, overpaid local bureaucrats, utility executives, teachers' unions or, indeed, anybody who disagrees with him — Hashimoto's critics charge that he's a dangerous rightwing demagogue seeking a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 29, 2012

Halloween in Japan: no trick or treat, but scary spots galore

Japanese people generally have a well developed appreciation for the supernatural, and while the American practice of ringing doorbells in the neighborhood to demand "trick or treat" has yet to take root, Halloween-related events continue to grow in popularity.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Oct 24, 2012

Senkaku dispute opens door wider for Istanbul 2020 bid

A prominent Turkish journalist believes that the ongoing dispute between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands could affect the outcome of the voting for the 2020 Olympics, thereby making Istanbul's path to victory easier.
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 14, 2012

Food co-op sues Tepco over soiled reputation

Nanohana Seikyo — a Chiba Prefecture food distribution cooperative with about 11,500 members — made headlines last month when it took on the role of David by suing the corporate Goliath that is Tokyo Electric Power Co. for losses in sales incurred as a result of the March 2011 nuclear disaster.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 12, 2012

IPhone continues to rock Japanese cellphone market

Since arriving in Japan in 2008, Apple Inc.'s iPhone series has won the love of many Japanese cellphone users long accustomed to phones heavily customized for the domestic market.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 9, 2012

North Korea abductees mark decade since coming home

Oct. 15 will mark the 10th anniversary since five Japanese citizens were repatriated from North Korea after being abducted by Pyongyang's agents in the 1970s. The government claims that the North has failed to properly address the fate of 12 more Japanese abductees that remain missing, while others say...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 8, 2012

Giants catcher Abe rises above pack

Shinnosuke Abe perked up at the news the Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera had won the Triple Crown.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 7, 2012

Shigesato Itoi shares lots of 'delicious life'

Shigesato Itoi is an established name in the Japanese cultural scene, but what he is known for may differ depending on who you ask.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Oct 6, 2012

Newton confident Ryukyu will contend for another title

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. Jeff Newton of the Ryukyu Golden Kings is the subject of this week's profile.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat