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BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 16, 2012

Trade deficit a reminder Japan needs to brace for economy's fifth stage

Japan's ¥2.49 trillion trade deficit in 2011 — its first in 31 years — tells you where the economy's development stands in relation to the balance of trade. Let's review how the trade balance has fluctuated in each stage of the nation's postwar development and look at some of the challenges ahead....
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Apr 16, 2012

No changes to draft, posting system forthcoming says NPB commissioner

In October the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters pulled off a minor shocker by drafting highly-touted Tokai University pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano.
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2012

China's prodemocrats lose a giant

Fang Lizhi, one of China's best-known dissidents, has died. He passed away in the United States, where he had spent the last two decades of his life after being forced to flee China in the aftermath of the 1989 crackdown on prodemocracy activists. The movement for a democratic China has lost a leading...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 15, 2012

Japanese law: a solid reference book

The Compendium of Basic Laws of Japan, by Ted Toku Morita. Kojinsha, Tokyo, 2011, 287 pp. (paperback) Add another reference book to your Japanese shelf; there's a wedge of space between the kanji dictionary and your battered "Japanese for Busy People." Ted Toku Morita's translation, "The Compendium of...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 15, 2012

Are women really on the ascendancy as some media proclaim?

'Joshi bakari ga naze tsuyoi?" ("Why is it that only women are strong?") asks Aera (Mar. 26). The question may be a valid one, at least when limited to international sports events, where Japan's women over the past several years have been outshining their male counterparts as they excel in soccer, women's...
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2012

North Korea's failure that provokes

North Korea on Friday failed in its anticipated satellite launch, with the rocket splintering into pieces. The North should not attempt another launch or nuclear test, which will only contribute to heightening tensions in the region.
BUSINESS
Apr 13, 2012

Japan open to talks on bolstering IMF

Japan is ready to hold talks with other nations, including the U.S. and China, on how to answer the International Monetary Fund's call for more resources to handle Europe's sovereign debt crisis, Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Apr 13, 2012

Westin Tokyo Golden Week bus tour

For the Golden Week holidays, The Westin Tokyo in Yebisu Garden Place is offering a special accommodation plan that includes an open-air night bus tour of Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Apr 13, 2012

Reimpose weapons export ban

The Noda administration in December 2011 drastically relaxed Japan's long-standing weapons export ban. On the strength of this step, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on April 10 agreed with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron to push joint development of weapons.
Reader Mail
Apr 12, 2012

Texting piece leaves bad taste

Even though the When East Marries West column for April 7, titled "Texting in the proper context," was short, I felt incredulous after reading it. I would have read it again, but the text-speak writing was atrocious and difficult to read. People don't actually text like that in English; it surely defeats...
Reader Mail
Apr 12, 2012

LDP cooperation is no surprise

Regarding the April 6 editorial "Consumption tax tizzy": The Liberal Democratic Party will indeed cooperate with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's hapless march backward to the bad old days of pork barrels and amakudari (the practice of former government officials finding employment in the private sector)....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2012

Asian rivals elbow Japan aside in Washington

In the year of a U.S. presidential election, Japan is increasingly being overshadowed by its Asian neighbors in Washington just as the capital is increasingly functioning as a forum on global issues, according to a leading American expert.
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2012

New horizons for cooperatives

The United Nations General Assembly has designated 2012 as the U.N. International Year of Cooperatives. The world body recognizes the contribution of cooperatives to socioeconomic development, particularly their roles in poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.
Reader Mail
Apr 12, 2012

Classifying nonsubstantive facts

Regarding the April 6 front-page article "First glaciers in Japan recognized": This is the silliest research I have ever seen. Of course, there is ice movement; it's happening on a micro-scale in every place with ice and, by implication, with permanent ice.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 12, 2012

Fluterscooter brings a new shine to the flute

Without knowing it, you may have already seen a concert featuring Andrea Fisher. The Juilliard School of Music graduate has performed with John Legend and Herbie Hancock, and has spent time in the studio with hip-hop mainstays such as 50 Cent and Wiz Khalifa.
COMMENTARY
Apr 11, 2012

Why Japan and U.S. should ban the death penalty

Japan's decision to hang three prisoners after nearly two years without executions has been severely criticized by Amnesty International, which calls it a "retrograde step." Justice Minister Toshio Ogawa authorized the executions of three men, stating that this was his "duty" as minister. "Justifying...
EDITORIALS
Apr 11, 2012

Disasters impact land prices

For the fourth consecutive year, Japan's land prices have fallen. Prices decreased an average 2.6 percent in 2011, but the decline was smaller than the 3.0 percent in 2010 as the economy bounced back from the 3/11 disasters. Commercial land prices slipped 3.1 percent in 2011, less than the 3.8 percent...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Apr 10, 2012

Book is behind bullying of mixed-race children

Dear Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hirofumi Hirano,
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2012

Vaunted missile shield more for show than protection

With Aegis destroyers and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles deployed and standing by, Japan's military appears ready to shoot down any debris from North Korea's rocket — or even the rocket itself — should it threaten the country this week.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 10, 2012

Rape victim marks 10 years on lonely crusade for justice

It surely isn't very often that elite Japanese bureaucrats hear the words to the national anthem quoted at them — by a foreigner. Earlier this year, Australian national Catherine Fisher says she pulled the words of "Kimigayo" from her head during a frustrating meeting with officials from the ministries...

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?