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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 12, 2011

China solar cell leader sees heated market via '12 feed-in tariff debut

The Japanese unit of Chinese solar panel maker Suntech Power Holdings Co., backed by its competitive edge in Japan's highly potential solar panel market, is looking to more than double its sales next year after suffering unexpected supply disruptions this year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 11, 2011

An audience with Kyoko Kagawa

Kyoko Kagawa is among the fast dwindling number of living witnesses to Japanese cinema's Golden Age of the 1950s and '60s.
Reader Mail
Nov 10, 2011

Foolish habits of Earthlings

We hear TV reports that the population of the world just hit 7 billion. Space and resources on Planet Earth are limited, so why does the population of the world keep increasing limitlessly? We see television images of women in some countries holding malnourished children whose skinny faces are swarming...
Reader Mail
Nov 10, 2011

It's motorists who need schooling

The Japan Times editorial staff clearly failed to consult bicyclists before penning its snarky Nov. 3 editorial "Schooling for cyclists," regarding the National Police Agency's decision to put the brakes on sidewalk use by riders in the 14-69 age group.
Reader Mail
Nov 10, 2011

Myth of an overpopulated world

Chris Clancy's letter Nov. 6 letter, "The challenge of population growth," is based on the myth — yes, the myth — that the world will be overpopulated soon, if it isn't already. The truth is, the world is not overpopulated.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2011

How the West can keep Russia from turning back

Vladimir Putin is back, and with him are the most primitive foreign policy initiatives. At the beginning of his first term as Russia's president, Putin sought contacts with Cuba, Libya and North Korea.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 10, 2011

Kaela Kimura "8Eight8"

Spiders are excellent. How many legs have you got? A spider has four times more. Ha! And four times more eyes too! You and I will never be as cool as a spider — that's just the way it goes.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2011

Crime in America: execution of the mentally ill

Christopher Johnson's execution by the State of Alabama creates serious doubts about the justice of a measure that is widely criticized by human rights advocates throughout the world. According to the group Equal Justice Initiative, the Alabama Supreme Court planned the execution without even engaging...
Reader Mail
Nov 6, 2011

Mouthpiece of the policy agency

The Nov. 3 editorial "Schooling for cyclists" appears to be a myopic regurgitation of bureaucratic rhetoric — in this case, National Police Agency talking points.
Reader Mail
Nov 6, 2011

Deportee's death in detention

I was truly shocked after reading the Nov. 1 Community page article "Justice stalled in brutal (March 2010) death of deportee (Abubakar Awadu Suraj of Ghana)." Thank you for putting this story on The Japan Times Web site. Please keep us informed of the outcome of the court case and truth of what really...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Nov 6, 2011

Kiyoshi Nakabayashi: Ex-Tokyo cop speaks out on a life fighting gangs — and what you can do

Kiyoshi Nakabayashi well remembers how, when he was a high school student in the late 1950s and early '60s, newspapers were full of stories of violent gang wars being fought out openly on the streets of Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2011

No chain reaction in reactor 2, expert says

The discovery of xenon in the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant's reactor 2 earlier this week was likely a result of "spontaneous fission," a nuclear expert said Friday, agreeing with an earlier conclusion by Tokyo Electric Power Co. that some of the melted fuel did not reach the condition of "criticality,"...
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Nov 5, 2011

Gardener, Hargrow share offensive accolade for October

There were 56 bj-league games in October, the 2011-12 season's opening month. And now it's time to recognize some of the league's top players for their overall excellence.
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 4, 2011

Innovation abounds at Tokyo Designers Week

If ever proof was needed of the efficacy of Tokyo Designers Week, the annual designers' trade show currently under way at Tokyo's Meiji Jingu Gaien park, then it is apparent at booth D14, where designer Atsuhiro Hayashi is showing his wares.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Nov 4, 2011

Innovation abounds at Tokyo Designers Week

If ever proof was needed of the efficacy of Tokyo Designers Week, the annual designers' trade show currently under way at Tokyo's Meiji Jingu Gaien park, then it is apparent at booth D14, where designer Atsuhiro Hayashi is showing his wares.
COMMENTARY
Nov 2, 2011

U.S. military spending cuts have gone too far

We shouldn't gut defense. A central question of our budget debates is how much we allow growing social spending to crowd out the military and, in effect, force the United States into a dangerous, slow-motion disarmament.
Reader Mail
Oct 30, 2011

Inflammatory attitude to 'influx'

The information contained in the latest population figures given in The Japan Times ("Population stat positive, but via foreigner influx," Oct. 28) ignores many factors, making it misleading at best, bordering on nationalistic at worst.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 30, 2011

Less acclaim, more fun for Japan's Ig Nobel Prize winners

Since Hideki Yukawa in 1949, a total of 16 Japanese nationals have been named recipients of Nobel Prizes. In 2010, when the most recent Japanese winners were announced to receive prizes for chemistry, NHK interrupted its scheduled programming with a nyuusu sokuho (breaking news) announcement.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 29, 2011

Late surge makes Giants a good bet in Central League Climax Series

The Tokyo Yakult Swallows faced the Yomiuri Giants 24 times this season and for the first time in 11 years proved themselves to be the better team.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 28, 2011

Shimane's Yamamoto plays a cerebral game

The Shimane Susanoo Magic have begun their second season in terrific fashion, winning four games on the road.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Oct 28, 2011

The most popular exhibition in the world

Once upon a time, more than 1,000 years ago, there was a small island nation ruled over by an emperor and empress. Fascinated by what lay across the sea, the emperor sent out envoys to bring back treasures from afar — glittering glassware, lutes capable of talking with the gods, stunning ceramics and...
Reader Mail
Oct 27, 2011

Power-wielders do Japan no credit

I support and encourage Japan, and hope and pray for its future. I admire and praise those in the devastated north for their patience and endurance. But such feelings for this country are continually eroded by the disgraceful behavior of those Japanese who, in their lofty positions, should know better....
CULTURE / Books
Oct 23, 2011

Documenting disaster

THE TOHOKU EARTHQUAKE and Tsunami, the Fukushima Nuclear Reactor, and How the World's Media Reported Them, by Eric Johnston. The Japan Times, 2011, 96 pp., ¥1,260 (paperback) Seven months after Japan's devastating March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters, the jury remains out on media reporting...
EDITORIALS
Oct 23, 2011

Releasing psychiatric patients

A recent report by Bloomberg news that the government is planning to reduce the number of patients in psychiatric hospitals signals an important shift in Japan's view of mental health. According to the report, which was not well circulated in the Japanese press, the health ministry set a 10-year timetable...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Oct 23, 2011

Pele's message of solidarity in Tohoku

In world sports, there are few names more iconic than that of Brazilian soccer legend Pele.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 23, 2011

Attitude, lifestyle contributed to Irabu's demise

Hideki Irabu was given a king's welcome in New York.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 22, 2011

Telling time with animals

There are many ways to tell time: the sundial, the 12-hour clock and the 24-hour clock. But there is a much more interesting way to tell time too, one the Japanese used in ancient times: by animal.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 21, 2011

Kabaya starts strong as B-Corsairs evolve

With four games in the books, the expansion Yokohama B-Corsairs now have several relevant things that can be discussed in team meetings. A few trends have started to emerge, too, including the solid play of guards Masayuki Kabaya and Kenji Yamada.
EDITORIALS
Oct 17, 2011

A decade of war in Afghanistan

Oct. 7 marked the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan. It has been a bitter decade. The initial success in driving the Taliban from power quickly turned to stalemate as U.S. attention shifted to Iraq. The hope that the war-torn country, a proxy battleground of great power...

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