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Japan Times
JAPAN / QUEST FOR RECOVERY
Mar 10, 2012

Pupils excelled on 3/11 but life since a struggle

Shin Saito, a junior high school teacher in Kamaishi, still has nightmares about the day he and his students had to desperately dash to higher ground as tsunami crashed into Iwate's coast, barely managing to escape the terrifying waves.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2012

Cuts to wasteful public works now said blocking rebound

After years of criticism for public works spending that rewarded political constituents at the cost of adding debt, the government succeeded in cutting the largesse in half. Now, that legacy of success is hampering an economic rebound.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 9, 2012

Promoted sides seek to make mark against J. League powers

The following is the first of a two-part preview for the upcoming J. League season. Team-by-team previews of the nine lowest-ranked teams competing in the first division are listed.
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2012

Calls mount for restrictions on foreign lawyers to be eased

A statute on foreign lawyers in Japan should be amended to allow them to practice law on an equal footing with Japanese attorneys, a legal expert said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 6, 2012

Hamas' perilous maneuvers

Despite all of Hamas' assurances to the contrary, a defining struggle is taking place within the Palestinian Islamic movement. The outcome of this struggle — which is still confined to polite political disagreements and occasional intellectual tussle — is likely to change Hamas' outlook, if not fundamentally...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 6, 2012

Rebuilding lives in shattered Tohoku, one image at a time

As the minibus winds through the foothills of northern Fukushima, the Geiger counter flashes blue and buzzes loud alerts — but it doesn't distract Brian Peterson. The 35-year-old American holds up a boxy Konika Instant Press — what he calls his "magic camera" — then explains how to load it, set...
Japan Times
JAPAN / SPELLING BEE
Mar 5, 2012

A look back at the spellers who triumphed last year

Yuichi Yoshioka was crowned the winner of the second Japan Times Spelling Bee, held at The Japan Times headquarters in Tokyo in May last year, after he correctly spelled the word "presentient," landing a spot in the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee contest the following month in the U.S.
BASKETBALL
Mar 4, 2012

B-Corsairs make point with tenacious defense

As has been the case throughout the season, defense fueled the Yokohama B-Corsairs' win on Saturday, a 66-59 road triumph over the Osaka Evessa.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Mar 3, 2012

89ers' Fitzgerald, Shimura share monthly honor for brilliance on offense

Success on offense begins with good shooting, good passing and good teamwork.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Mar 3, 2012

Ice phenomenon warms up hearts in the Lake Suwa region

To the delight of local residents this winter, an elevated line of cracked ice appeared on the frozen surface of Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture for the first time in four years.
EDITORIALS
Mar 3, 2012

Lighten the Emperor's workload

Two weeks have passed since the Emperor underwent coronary-artery bypass surgery at the University of Tokyo Hospital on Feb. 18. We sincerely pray that his recovery will go smoothly and that he will be able to return to his normal daily life free from health concerns. Now 78, the Emperor had been saddled...
COMMENTARY
Mar 3, 2012

How to push reform forward

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has stated he would stake his political life on realizing integrated reform of the tax and social security systems. Japan's financial structure is worse than those of other advanced countries and even that of Greece, which was responsible for the euro crisis. Therefore it...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 2, 2012

Aomori's entry delayed a year by lack of sponsorship

By delaying its entry into the bj-league by a year, the Aomori expansion franchise will have more time to get its financial house in order. At least that's the basic assumption one has after last Friday's announcement made official what had been expected for several months.
Reader Mail
Mar 1, 2012

Simpler life a welcome change

I enjoyed reading the sentiments expressed in Amy Chavez's Feb. 25 column, "Austerity — we've embraced it in the countryside." As an young American adult who went through adolescence in the transitional times of the 1990s and early 2000s, I feel that some of these ideas of simplicity ring true in my...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 29, 2012

In Iraq, done in by the Clinton-Lewinsky affair

The recent public-television documentary on the Clinton presidency has focused attention anew on the scandal involving Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Overlooked is the important role this affair played in the confrontation with Iraq in 1998.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Feb 27, 2012

American safety tab in terms of drone deaths

Sometimes people make a startlingly mindless argument. One recent example is "Drones for Human Rights" (New York Times, Jan. 31).
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 27, 2012

The first rule of writing ate-ji: There are no rules

As a general rule, kanji (Sino-Japanese ideographs) are classified in dictionaries according to two readings: kun-yomi (native Japanese) and on-yomi (approximation of the original Chinese pronunciation). For example, 東, the tō in 東京 (Tokyo), meaning "east," is an on-yomi that came from the Chinese...
Reader Mail
Feb 26, 2012

Historical realities of getting old

In Craig Bowron's Washington Post article "At the end of a loved one's life, why is it so hard to let go?" (reprinted in The Japan Times on Feb. 22), certain impressions about life expectancy need to be further interpreted with examples from advanced societies other than the United States.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Feb 26, 2012

Nakase says goal is to coach in NBA

Isn't it funny how likes and dislikes can shape one's future when you least expect it?
MORE SPORTS
Feb 25, 2012

Toyo stars to enter NYC Half Marathon

Kento Otsu and Yuta Shitara, star members of Toyo University's record-setting team at the 2012 Hakone Ekiden, have been invited to run the NYC Half Marathon on March 18, it was announced recently by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Feb 24, 2012

Knight still wonders why no team would give him shot

As the playoff chase picks up steam in the coming weeks, several bj-league general managers could be shaking their heads and asking themselves, "Why didn't I sign Billy Knight?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 24, 2012

'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close'

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" was released last Christmas in the United States, slightly after the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. One would like to suppose that the filmmakers realized the crassness of opening a 9/11-themed film any closer to the actual anniversary, but I'd bet...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 24, 2012

Fiennes gets savage in Shakespeare's 'Coriolanus'

An angry mob of protesters waving banners and wielding bats advances on a government building protected by black-clad riot police. Hooded hotheads break open the gates and all hell breaks loose.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 23, 2012

akai ko-en try to avoid getting caught in the Web

With a layered sound that blends postrock dynamics and sprawling song structures with pure J-pop sensibility, akai ko-en is quickly becoming one of Tokyo's most talked-about new bands. But just try searching for the group on YouTube and see how far you get.
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2012

Grandparents stifle grief to raise orphaned boy

In the three prefectures hardest hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake last March 11, 1,580 children lost either one or both of their parents, according to a health ministry survey of Iwate, Fukushima and Miyagi conducted at the end of last year.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Feb 22, 2012

Smith's track record cause for concern

On a one-week assignment with the Nuggets last season in full anticipation of Carmelo Anthony exclusively spilling his guts to me about every aspect of his life and forthcoming destination, I accompanied the team on its charter to Phoenix.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
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