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JAPAN
Aug 2, 2010

Activist hibakusha unhappy with disarmament efforts

OSAKA (Kyodo) Nearly 90 percent of the atomic bomb survivors who visited New York for a U.N. conference in May held to review the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty expressed dissatisfaction with Japan's efforts at disarmament.
COMMENTARY
Aug 2, 2010

Go past Koizumi's reforms to restore the Meiji spirit

LONDON — "Japan has lost its place in world, no longer serious economic power."
Reader Mail
Aug 1, 2010

Teachers seem to have given up

Regarding the July 26 article "65% of universities are setting academic bar lower for freshmen": Great article! I think anyone who teaches English here, as I have been doing for the past two years, will tell you that the number of teaching hours is not the problem. It's the style of education. As it...
COMMENTARY
Aug 1, 2010

Probable catalyst for violence

PARIS — Just before Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, Vuk Jeremic, the Serbian foreign minister, warned that in Africa alone "there are about fifty Kosovos waiting to happen." The 50 African wannabes can take heart, as the International Court of Justice has just ruled...
EDITORIALS
Aug 1, 2010

Globalization of crime

Japanese criminals, too, are becoming more internationally minded. According to a white paper released by the National Police Agency on July 23, domestic criminal organizations are forming partnerships with overseas crime syndicates to smuggle drugs and launder money, and foreign groups are increasingly...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2010

A vote for Hong Kong as most livable city

HONG KONG, PACIFIC PERSPECTIVES — For me, there is no question that Hong Kong is one of the world's most wondrously livable cities. After 30 years of having Hong Kong as my home, I would challenge anyone to claim that — on balance — any other city can deliver the same combination of virtues.
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 31, 2010

Aichi looking to host Flower Expo by 2020

Flower-growers in Aichi Prefecture have started campaigning to bring the International Garden and Horticulture Exposition, better known as the Flower Expo, to Aichi by around 2020.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2010

Kan proposes to slash Diet ranks

Prime Minister Naoto Kan vowed Friday to prop up the economy by slashing wasteful spending, including reducing the ranks of lawmakers, while budgeting for projects that stimulate the job market and "bring back vigor."
EDITORIALS
Jul 31, 2010

A call for death penalty debate

Until July 28, no executions had been carried out for a year in Japan, with death row convicts numbering a record 109. On that day, two inmates were hanged in the Tokyo Detention House.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 31, 2010

Ogijima, man-tree island of art

One of the greatest opportunities to visit the Seto Inland Sea is from now through Oct. 31. During this time, the Setouchi International Art Festival beckons you to discover up to six islands in Kagawa Prefecture and one in Okayama Prefecture.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 31, 2010

Long journey to safe harbor in an unpredictable world

Knowing Japanese troops had caused the deaths of her father's parents and siblings in World War II, Japan was about the last place Ha Thi Thanh Nga expected to end up. Today — some 30 years after arriving here as a refugee — Nga, 49, is helping other compatriots make lives for themselves here.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2010

Tax miscue caused poll loss, Kan admits

Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Thursday admitted his push to open debate on hiking the consumption tax cost his Democratic Party of Japan seats in the July 11 Upper House election but called on his colleagues to support his Cabinet and unite for the tough road ahead.
EDITORIALS
Jul 30, 2010

Ferment within the SDP

Ms. Kiyomi Tsujimoto, a Social Democratic Party stalwart and a star politician as much as party chief Mizuho Fukushima is, announced her departure from the party Tuesday. This could seriously damage the SDP unless it makes strenuous efforts to pursue idealism based on political realism — a difficult...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 30, 2010

Japanese dietary tips to prevent summer lethargy

Anyone who has spent a summer in Japan will likely be well- acquainted with natsubate, or "summer fatigue" — a general state of lethargy and tiredness, lack of concentration, sleeplessness and even mild depression.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 29, 2010

The Diet thinks about cutting some calories

Minna no To threatens to shake up the Diet with legislation that reduces government salaries. Pity the fool that contests it.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2010

Refugee studies forum created

With the number of asylum seekers on the rise, experts on refugee issues have recently launched an interdisciplinary academic organization to promote research in their field while steering public interest.
EDITORIALS
Jul 29, 2010

Limiting budget requests

The government has adopted guidelines for fiscal 2011 budget requests. Government spending and bond issuance will be at the same levels as in fiscal 2010. For the sake of long-term financial reconstruction, Cabinet ministers must refrain from bloating their budget requests. Since money will be tight,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 29, 2010

Pakistan's aid-addicted economy needs reform

LAHORE — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's just-concluded visit to Islamabad — for the second session of the strategic dialogue that she and her Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, launched in Washington earlier this year — brought some comfort to her hosts. The United States promised...
EDITORIALS
Jul 29, 2010

A year left on analog TV

Less than a year remains before the total switch to terrestrial digital TV broadcasts in Japan. Analog TV broadcasts are scheduled to end July 24, 2011. While preparations for the transition are being pushed, many problems must be solved to ensure a smooth transition.
COMMENTARY
Jul 29, 2010

A clash of interests in Asia

The show of force mounted this week off the Korean Peninsula by the United States and South Korea was the biggest in decades and was intended to warn North Korea not to take aggressive action against the South.

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?