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ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
May 6, 2012

Small fry spawn big dreams

The Shinano, at 374 km the country's longest river, empties into the Sea of Japan at Niigata City. Salmon still migrate back from the open ocean to this river of their birth to breed and die, but a few decades ago they would arrive to spawn not only in the main river but also in its many tributaries,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 5, 2012

Observatory fills small Gifu town with pride

An official opening ceremony Sunday was held to celebrate the completion of a small astronomical observatory on the grounds of Tara Elementary School in Kamiishizu, Gifu Prefecture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 5, 2012

The word of words

Sometimes students will ask me, "What's your favorite Japanese word?"
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 4, 2012

Tokyo to be treated to rare annular eclipse, Venus transit

If you're in the right place, a couple of rare astronomical events in the coming weeks — an annular eclipse and a transit of Venus — may make it worthwhile to buy a pair of eclipse glasses.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 4, 2012

Sumida River to light up with LED fireflies

Japan isn't a difficult place to live. If you want to eat Mexican food, there are Mexican restaurants. If you want to buy brand-name British clothes, there are shops and websites that deliver. So Tokyo Hotaru Festival asks the question: What does Tokyo, where you can get anything, really need now?
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
May 3, 2012

Bus driver salaries inversely proportional to risk involved

Cheaper bus fares means higher stress factor for drivers
Reader Mail
May 3, 2012

Feeling deregulation's effects

Let me make a brief comment about the Bloomberg article by Jared Diamond, titled "Three reasons why Japan's economic pain is worsening," which ran in The Japan Times on April 28.
JAPAN
May 3, 2012

¥76 million donated to Ishihara's islets fund

In the five days since setting up a bank account for the purpose last Friday, 5,428 people and organizations donated ¥76 million to help the Tokyo Metropolitan Government purchase three of the five Senkaku islets, which are under Okinawa jurisdiction but also claimed by China and Taiwan, the metro government...
Reader Mail
May 3, 2012

The chance to remake one's life

Nicholas Williams' insists that "prison should only be about rehabilitation" (April 29 letter, "Prison is about rehabilitation"). My biggest argument with "rehabilitation" lies with its confusion of punishment with absolution. After fully serving their sentences, offenders remain guilty. That is irrevocable....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 3, 2012

Takeshi Kitano takes on a different beat

"I want you to have fun. It's the only aim of this exhibition," said Takeshi "Beat" Kitano when "Gosse de peintre" originally opened at Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris two years ago. For an artist, that's quite an unusual goal — but then Kitano is not your usual artist.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 3, 2012

Kyte promise new songs, special treat for fans at upcoming gig

The music of indie-pop group Kyte may be created in a bedroom in Leicester, England, but the band says its spacious and electronic sound seems to resonate best with audiences in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
May 2, 2012

Japan's gamers are starting to shoot 'em up

It's a long running stereotype: Japanese gamers like role-playing games (RPGs), and Western gamers prefer first-person shooters (FPS). That doesn't mean hardcore FPS players don't exist in Japan. They do.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
May 1, 2012

Who you buy a home from can make a big difference in price

We met the real estate agent at Honda Station on the Sotobo Line in Chiba Prefecture. As we drove to the property we talked about the area. Though a typically cramped Japanese bedroom community, it's a bit older than most, so the houses were more varied in shape and size, with wider spaces between them,...
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2012

Academics eye global cooperation

The presidents and vice presidents of 14 universities in 10 countries and areas around the world gathered in Tokyo on Sunday to discuss how to nurture globally minded citizens in today's changing world.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Apr 30, 2012

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the sakura

Until The New York Times pointed it out earlier this month, I had failed to notice, alas, that Tokyo had given cherry trees to this city as it did to Washington, D.C., 100 years ago ("Gifts From Japan, Less Celebrated in Manhattan," April 12).
COMMENTARY
Apr 30, 2012

Possession underscores nuclear contradictions

Can the differing world reactions to India's missile test and North Korea's attempted "satellite launch" be explained by the familiar saying that success has a thousand fathers while failure is an orphan? The more likely explanation is that the two tests are forcing the international community to confront...
EDITORIALS
Apr 30, 2012

Sorting out bills for careful debate

A special committee was set up in the Lower House on April 26 to mainly discuss tax and social welfare reform bills, including a bill to raise the consumption tax. The political parties should have careful discussions in the committee because the bills will directly affect people's lives.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 30, 2012

Tepco plan to be based on Resona

Japan intends to take control of Tokyo Electric Power Co. in return for bailing out the beleaguered utility, following a model it adopted to rescue the nation's fifth-biggest bank.

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?