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BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 4, 2011

Is the pension waiver for full-time housewives unfair?

Are full-time housewives entitled to full pensions? That's up to a Diet debate.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 4, 2011

Korean craft works that embody our desire to live forever

Something that all cultures share is a fascination with longevity and immortality, and the art world is filled with imagery that addresses this. In Korean works of the Goryeo (918-1392) and Joseon (1392-1910) dynasties, this often took the form of auspicious symbolism.
JAPAN / History
Mar 4, 2011

Maehara apologizes to Aussie ex-POWs

Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara officially apologized Thursday to a group of five former Australian prisoners of war for the hardships they endured at the hands of their Japanese captors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 4, 2011

'Chatroom'

Speaking strictly from a J-cinema fan/patriot point of view, "Chatroom" is a cause for celebration. It's set in London, stars some of the brightest young talent in the United Kingdom, centers around the timely topic of social networking — and the whole thing is directed by Japanese horror meister Hideo...
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2011

Kodansha International to close doors

Kodansha International Ltd., a leading English-language publisher of translated books on Japan, is closing down by the end of April, sources said Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 4, 2011

Showing art can be a load of rubbish

How are Africans seen by the rest of the world? Often as victims of tragedy, requiring our pity and charity, as I discovered when I showed a class of students a photo of the respected Ghanaian artist El Anatsui. The picture — in the catalog for his exhibition now on at the Museum of Modern Art, Hayama...
EDITORIALS
Mar 4, 2011

The morning after in Ireland

Once again, while the world has been transfixed by events in the Arab world, legal but no less revolutionary change has been occurring elsewhere. For there is no word other than "revolutionary" that fits the Irish voters' rejection of Fianna Fail, the party that has dominated Irish politics since independence,...
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2011

More surprises likely in North's transition, defector warns

Recent signs indicate that further turbulence is expected when North Korean leader Kim Jong Il hands the reins of power to his son and heir apparent, Kim Jong Un, a high-ranking North Korean defector said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2011

Activists may shift tactics in Taiji

TAIJI, Wakayama Pref. — In the fervor of the Academy Awards in Hollywood on Sunday, last year's winners were a distant memory. Half a world away in the fishing village of Taiji, few will ever forget the film that won in 2010 for Best Documentary Feature.
Reader Mail
Mar 3, 2011

Let new mascot charm investors

Regarding the Feb. 23 article "TSE unveils new mascot": Aging population? Massive shortage of workers in nursing and health care? Higher taxes ahead and fewer workers per retiree? The decline in overall population but no immigration policy? Archaic trade-unit rules that keep the initial cost of investing...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / MAKING INROADS
Mar 3, 2011

PC titans' joint venture shakes up global market

On Jan. 27, the biggest personal computer maker in Japan joined hands with the world's fourth-biggest in planning to launch a new company in June.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2011

English big business, and growing

When it comes to preparing for the April launch of compulsory English classes in elementary schools, the private sector appears to have a clear lead over public school teachers.
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2011

Budget passed but 16 in DPJ skip vote

The Democratic Party of Japan's executive council said Tuesday it will suspend the party membership of the leader of 16 DPJ rebels who refused to attend a Lower House plenary vote on the fiscal 2011 budget, which cleared the chamber anyway in a session the opposition camp prolonged into the early morning...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2011

A call for philosophical thinking

HIROSHIMA — It has been long since hope for the future was lost, and a vague sense of anxiety is now prevailing among us. Yet this feeling of uneasiness should be the beginning of our thinking philosophically. We should rather take it as an unexpected blessing.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Mar 2, 2011

Nets roll dice with acquisition of Williams

NEW YORK — For five months, beginning with a clandestine, late September night meeting between general managers Billy King and Masai Ujiri in a back room at New York City's Ritz Carlton, the Nets pursued Carmelo Anthony, only to get outbid last week by the Knicks, who surrendered the last piece demanded...
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Mar 2, 2011

The Nintendo 3DS faces stiff competition, and not just from other game consoles

In 2004, Nintendo released the Nintendo DS, a dual-screen gaming handheld that was revised several times over the next few years as the DS Lite, DSi and DSi XL (LL in Japan) and went on to become one of the most popular consoles ever. The Kyoto-based gamemaker is obviously hoping to repeat that success...
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2011

Saved miner triumphs as marathoner

Chilean miner Edison Pena said Monday he is ready to tackle more races and continue making "a positive impact on the world" after completing the Tokyo Marathon in a personal-best time the previous day.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2011

Tanita working on hand-held gauge that shows who pigged out

Ate too much? With only one drop of urine, a new device developed by health care firm Tanita Corp. can check for overeating.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2011

Nintendo's pioneering 3-D hand-held debuts

Nintendo's latest game machine, offering glasses-free 3-D images, went on sale Saturday ahead of a global rollout, and analysts say it promises to be the world's first 3-D mass-market product.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 27, 2011

Ditching materialism for the simple life

There's a new notion floating around. Perhaps you've heard of it: Danshari. Its three kanji characters signify, respectively, refusal, disposal and separation. Prosaically it means cleaning or tidying up, but there are psychological and religious dimensions, deriving in part from yoga, which suggest...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 27, 2011

Skipping the ads gets harder as shows become infomercials

In the late 1990s, I did piece work for a public relations company, translating achievement reports into English for its non-Japanese clients. The reports outlined how and where the company had secured mentions of its clients' products in various media, and included equivalent advertising value amounts...

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?