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EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2013

Heavy tax hit on households

Japan's tax guidelines for fiscal 2014 again reflect the Abe administration's apparent emphasis on providing economic benefits to corporations at the expense of households.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2013

Pope misunderstands the power of free markets

Pope Francis, unlike his more diplomatic predecessors, is said to engage the world in the style of after-dinner conversation. As a result, his recent remarks about the power of free markets seemed vague or poorly considered.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2013

Pyongyang could be in store for destabilization

The defenestration of Jang Song Thaek shows that no longer can even Pyongyang's putative second in command expect to be pensioned off to some posh inconsequential place once his services are no longer needed.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Dec 17, 2013

A museum where kids can play out fire-fighter fantasies

Last month I recommended the Tokyo Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park — a place where both children and adults can learn about earthquake safety in an enjoyable way. Maintaining that theme, this month we move to the other side of town to the Fire Museum in Shinjuku.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 17, 2013

So far, so good for 'Abenomics'

Give the first year of 'Abenomics' an 'E' for effort, as the 'third arrow' of the plan — long-term growth strategy — cannot yet be fairly assessed. Hopefully bureaucratic resistance to deregulation will soften in the coming year.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 17, 2013

Seagulls capture fourth straight X League title

The Obic Seagulls remain the longest-reigning champion in X League history after winning an unprecedented fourth consecutive title by defeating the Fujitsu Frontiers 24-16 in the Japan X Bowl at Tokyo Dome on Monday.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2013

Osaka drops railway sale after nixing Lone Star

Osaka Prefecture has canceled the ¥78.1 billion sale of a commuter rail line after local lawmakers rejected U.S.-based Lone Star Funds as the winning bidder, according to a source.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / NOTEBOOK
Dec 17, 2013

Color Run comes to Tokyo; Arashi joins tourism push

IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company, and The Color Run, a unique 5-km paint race series, will hold its popular event in Japan next year sponsored by New Balance.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2013

Hapless qualities for which Obama will be remembered

The wars that he has not ended and the moral climate he has sustained in American government will be the remembered qualities of Barack Obama's presidency. This seems a disheartening.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2013

Long reform march from China's Third Plenum

Although China's leadership succession was completed earlier this year, the policy agenda for the coming decade has only just been revealed at its Third Plenum.
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Dec 16, 2013

Kobe beef

Dear Alice,
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Dec 16, 2013

India gang rapes rise despite growing awareness

The chauffeur's boss was out of town, so the driver called a friend and said "Let's have some fun" — which police say meant finding a woman to rape.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2013

Complaints about overseas time shares rise

Consumer affairs centers are seeing an upsurge in complaints from people who bought time shares at luxury resorts overseas, including in Hawaii.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Dec 15, 2013

The war on katakana starts at school

Eliminating katakana's use as a pronunciation aide would benefit Japanese students' ability to communicate, but that clearly can't be achieved overnight. However, it's still worth putting up a 'faito.'
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Dec 15, 2013

Unordered merchandise scam

The joint investigation headquarters of four prefectures, including Saitama, arrested 11 people on the 30th, including former employees of Kenbi Food, a health supplement company, for their involvement in a false-order swindle.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2013

What would the president, pope and Jesus do about the growing gap between rich and poor?

The week before last Pope Francis and U.S. President Barack Obama separately weighed on what each would do about the growing gap between the rich and poor. The pontiff was more moral and dramatic, while the president had to couch his analysis in American self-interest.
ENVIRONMENT
Dec 15, 2013

Could felling trees help cool the planet?

It is an article of faith that preserving trees is critical to cooling our warming planet.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 15, 2013

Linguists, like, totally clue us in on 'Valley Girl talk'?

Amanda Ritchart is a native speaker of Southern Californian English, the dialect also known as "Valley Girl talk" — you know, the one that's, like, totally full of the word "like."
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2013

It's not enough to simply add a woman to the board

Twitter, which has garnered worldwide attention for bad corporate governance practices, should do more than add a women to its board. It should fully diversify its management.
Reader Mail
Dec 14, 2013

Scheme to send teachers abroad skips problem

I'm afraid I cannot match the level of enthusiasm expressed in the Dec. 8 editorial "English teachers to study abroad" for the Tokyo Board of Education's brain wave to send English teachers abroad for study in their third year of teaching.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Dec 14, 2013

State secrets bill shows Abe's tin ear for local politics

Former U.S. Speaker of the House Thomas "Tip" O'Neill, one of America's most influential politicians of the late 20th century, had some sage advice for those who thought about national or international politics. "All politics," O'Neill warned, "is local."
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 14, 2013

NSA can crack cellphone security, decode private conversations

The cellphone encryption technology that is used most widely across the world can be easily defeated by the National Security Agency, an internal document shows, giving the agency the means to decode most of the billions of calls and texts that travel over public airwaves every day.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2013

The dawning of Pakistan's political renaissance?

Executive authority in Pakistan, a country long prone to military coup, increasingly is in the hands of elected representatives, rather than dispersed among various competing institutions. The political establishment has been revitalized.

Longform

The building of new high-rise residential buildings has some alarmed that they could empty and fall into disrepair as Japan's population shrinks.
The high cost of letting Japan's condos crumble