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COMMENTARY / World
Feb 20, 2012

Myth of the U.S. president as master of events

Americans are presidency-addicted. We can't get enough information about our commanders in chief, yet there is a woeful misunderstanding of the office.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WEEK 3
Feb 19, 2012

Avant-garde shamaness takes a poetic journey to the Californian suburbs

In a YouTube clip from February 2011, Hiromi Ito begins a reading of an excerpt from her narrative poem "I Am Anjuhimeko (Watashi wa Anjuhimeko de aru)" at the Museum of Modern Aomori Literature by banging the palm of her hand loudly and repeatedly on the desk in front of her. She sits down, squares...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Feb 19, 2012

Setoyama says team play has Kyoto on pace for Final Four

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. Kyosuke Setoyama of the Kyoto Hannaryz is the subject of this week's profile.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2012

Reform means the world for Todai

When Japan's leading university announced in January that it intends to shift undergraduate enrollment from spring to autumn in line with colleges worldwide, the plan created waves far beyond the academic world.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2012

Store debuts Zambia bamboo bikes

A bicycle shop in Tokyo's Harajuku district has started selling bikes with bamboo frames made in Zambia, hoping riders hop on.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2012

Reactor 2 heat spike reading said faulty

A thermocouple device in the pressure vessel of reactor 2 at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 power plant read over 285 degrees Monday but Tepco dismissed the reading, claiming the device is faulty.
BASKETBALL
Feb 13, 2012

Aoki buzzer-beater propels Evessa to win over Brave Warriors

Game highlights may rarely appear frequently on national news telecasts, but the bj-league is providing lots of drama on a regular basis.
BASKETBALL
Feb 12, 2012

Palmer's heroics give Golden Kings win over Phoenix

David Palmer canned a game-winning 3-pointer with 6 seconds left to give the visiting Ryukyu Golden Kings a pulse-rising 80-78 victory over the two-time defending champion Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix on Saturday night in the bj-league.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 12, 2012

'Dinosaur Bridge' leads Tokyo push to ease traffic and boost economy

Tokyo's "Dinosaur Bridge" opens to vehicles Sunday after 10 years of construction, with the world's largest metropolis hoping it will cut traffic jams that slow vehicles to half of the nation's average highway speed and boost its economy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 10, 2012

NNTT hopes Generation 2.0 hears 'Silence'

The late classical composer Teizo Matsumura, American film director Martin Scorsese, and playwright/director Keiko Miyata may seem an unlikely trio, but they share a reverence for "Silence," the 1966 novel by Shusaku Endo.
Reader Mail
Feb 9, 2012

Clueless on 'Western sensibility'

I wonder if artist Muramasa Kudo is really as boring as Japan Times staff writer Yuhei Wada describes him to be in the Feb. 2 article "Retaining a 'Japaneseness' in Western style art."
BUSINESS
Feb 8, 2012

Sapporo buys into U.S. juice maker

Sapporo Holdings Ltd., which last year reported it had about $1.5 billion to spend on acquisitions, bought Florida-based juice maker Silver Springs Citrus Inc. to expand in the United States.
EDITORIALS
Feb 7, 2012

Questions over stress tests

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) on Jan. 18 judged "appropriate" the results of the stress tests of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture. On Jan. 31, an International Atomic Energy Agency team determined that Japan's stress...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Feb 7, 2012

These are a few of my favorite things about Japan

The Just Be Cause column has been running now for four years (thanks for reading!), and I've noticed something peculiar: how commentators are pressured to say "nice" stuff about Japan.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2012

TSE glitch no payday for platforms

Japan's alternative trading platforms missed out on a potential payday as regulators stopped them from fielding orders when a computer error caused the biggest trading disruption in six years Thursday at the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2012

DiCaprio visits America's dark past in 'J. Edgar'

Leonardo DiCaprio admits that he didn't hear much about the famously feared J. Edgar Hoover while he was growing up. That doesn't stop him from making an astute observation: "The man was a troll."
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Feb 1, 2012

Despite first loss in 30 years, Nintendo is still a contender

Late last month, Nintendo signaled that for the first time in more than 30 years it was posting an annual loss — of $845 million — something that until recently had seemed virtually impossible.
BASKETBALL
Jan 30, 2012

Parker takes control as Magic sweep Broncos

Jeral Davis' intimidating defense and Michael Parker's scoring prowess powered the Shimane Susanoo Magic to a runaway victory over the Saitama Broncos in the series opener.
Reader Mail
Jan 29, 2012

Fall enrollment will make waves

Regarding the Jan. 19 Kyodo article "Todai panel recommends fall enrollment (within five years)": I think this reform will have good effects on Japan. The movement toward fall enrollment by one of Japan's most prestigious universities will influence other institutions and motivate them to offer classes...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2012

Nuclear foes defy order to remove tents from the grounds of METI

Antinuclear activists camping out at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry refused to take down their tents Friday despite an order to do so by 5 p.m.
Reader Mail
Jan 26, 2012

Misquoted on emotive issue

The Japan Times regrettably has misrepresented my Jan. 22 letter, "Kick-start a new whaling agenda." The relevant passage in my original letter read: "Tokyo should therefore overturn its stance on whaling, including a resumption of commercial-scale harvesting, to kick-start a new agenda on food security."...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY
Jan 25, 2012

Conversations with Thaksin, Thailand's prime suspect

THE SHOCKING COUP: "The situation is no good." "It's just a matter of time," a top minister had told him. "We only have a few weeks left before they act." Another had told him: "Our days are numbered."
COMMENTARY
Jan 23, 2012

Typecast 'vulture capitalist' has work cut out

For Mitt Romney, it's the best of times and the worst of times. While his New Hampshire win brings him closer to the Republican nomination, his campaign narrative against President Barack Obama may be unraveling.
BASKETBALL
Jan 22, 2012

Golden Kings extend winning streak to seven

The Ryukyu Golden Kings have accomplished a number of firsts in their history, including this: They were the first time other than the Osaka Evessa to win a bj-league title. They also became the first professional sports team in Okinawa in 2007.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 22, 2012

Changing self and systems for a leaner and greener Japan

Year in, year out, it never ceases to amaze me what a difference a day makes.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 21, 2012

Aussie takes slippery slope to Hokkaido

Matt Dening, 44, grew up on sunshine in a small beach town south of Sydney. Like most Australian youths, Dening played "all the regular sports — swimming, cricket, rugby — but not really well."
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 21, 2012

Morrison, handlers have lost the plot

We may never know how good Ravel Morrison could have been, but we already know how bad he is.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat