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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Feb 10, 2014

Tokyo model community melds fashion and compassion

Male model Dean Newcombe runs what surely must be the most photogenic all-volunteer organization around. And although some of the volunteers are indeed fashion models, the 'model' in Intrepid Model Adventures refers to role models as well as the catwalk variety.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 9, 2014

Tokyo voters split by priority shift to welfare

Media outlets at home and abroad are playing up the Tokyo gubernatorial election as an effective public referendum on whether Japan should ditch its atomic plants, focusing on the battle between anti-nuclear candidate Morihiro Hosokawa and ex-health minister Yoichi Masuzoe, who is backed by pro-nuclear...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2014

China's credit boom raises flags on risk levels

The growth of credit in China at a breakneck pace, including the spike in local-government debt by 70 percent since 2009, is raising serious concerns about the level of risk in China's financial system.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2014

Amendment not needed for collective defense: Abe

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterates his administration's position that the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution on its own gives Japan the right to collective self-defense.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2014

Chronic fatigue plagues nursing staff nationwide

Over 70 percent of nursing staff suffer from chronic fatigue, and 75.2 percent thought about quitting their job, according to a nationwide survey of workers in the nursing field.
EDITORIALS
Feb 3, 2014

New horizon in stem-cell research

A team of scientists led by 30-year-old Dr. Haruko Obokata has challenged the established theory in biology that it is impossible to reprogram specialized cells to become stem cells without tampering with cell nuclei.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Feb 3, 2014

The housing conundrum: To own or not to own

The population is not increasing and there's a shrinking pool of potential buyers for the home you bought 20 years ago, or 10 years ago, or even yesterday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 2, 2014

Give foreign nurses in Japan a boost by treating accord as long-term remedy for labor shortages

If there is any seriousness in overcoming the nursing shortage in Japan, the welfare of foreign nurses should be prioritized, including allowing further visa extensions.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Feb 1, 2014

Japan: Why kill whales off Antarctica?

The Japanese whaling fleet — this year just a factory ship, three catchers and what is being called a "surveillance" vessel — left Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture in secret on Dec. 9, 2013 bound for the Southern Ocean and its annual hunt that will keep it away from home through March.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Feb 1, 2014

War against stalkers broadens its aims

If you would, dear reader, please take a moment of your time today and let Prime Minister Shinzo Abe know that you'd like him to treat Japan's stalking problem seriously. Let him know that you'd like the Diet to make real laws that would protect the women who are subject to harassment, humiliation, injury...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Feb 1, 2014

The Tattoo Murder Case

Still reeling from the effects of war, Tokyo, in 1948, was ripe with intrigue, not to mention men and women capable of plotting monstrous crimes. Akimitsu Takagi's crime mystery "The Tattoo Murder Case" was first published that year and his gritty scenes of the city are described with the authenticity...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 31, 2014

Asia's emerging democratic axis

A Japan-India democratic axis, with U.S. support, could reshape the Asian strategic landscape and block the rise of a Sino-centric Asia. A rudderless India is in search of its own Shinzo Abe.
EDITORIALS
Jan 29, 2014

Wage hikes can help end deflation

This year's wage negotiations have started, and for the first time in five years, Japan's largest labor organization will demand across-the-board raises in wage bases. The Japan Business Federation concurs but in more evasive language.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2014

Road urged removed before games

Developer Mitsui Fudosan Co. said Wednesday it is in talks with the government about the removal of a highway near Tokyo Station ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 28, 2014

New dawn breaking over Japan

Writing from Davos, Switzerland, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says it is not twilight, but a new dawn, that is breaking over Japan, thanks to his administration's overcoming the notion that certain reforms could never be carried out.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 27, 2014

Can big names help the plight of small factories?

The smooth, metallic surface reflects the sunlight coming through the window. Without touching it you can see that this is an object made with great care — even though it came from a factory. I'm inside a shop run by Lexus in Tokyo, but what I'm looking at isn't part of a luxury car, it's a small metal...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 27, 2014

Have your say on English education

Letters and online responses to the Jan. 6, 13 and 20 Learning Curve columns by Teru Clavel on English education.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 25, 2014

'Abe-genda': nuclear export superpower

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is now in New Delhi to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Indian Republic. His presence speaks volumes about closer diplomatic, security and economic ties and, at least from Tokyo's perspective, a common agenda on responding to the rise of China. India remains...
Reader Mail
Jan 25, 2014

Pleasure reading presents hurdles

Having the esteemed professor emeritus Stephen Krashen contribute to the ongoing question of English education in Japan is always pleasurable. However, his letter of Jan. 16, "Recreational reading will score," raises more questions than it answers.
EDITORIALS
Jan 24, 2014

Limits of secrecy oversight panel

An expert council for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be able to serve as a minor check against the arbitrary application of the new state secrets law, but the the defects of the law will remain.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 24, 2014

Over 1 in 10 men have experienced 'paternity harassment': survey

Survey results show a staggering gap between the government's push for a family-friendly working environment and workplace realities.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2014

SoftBank to Dentsu, firms start to court gays

With less than a 0.1 percent share of Japan's car market, Alfa Romeo knew it couldn't match the marketing muscle of the local giants like Toyota Motor Corp., which together make nine out of every 10 vehicles sold in the country.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 24, 2014

Abe talks economy, not diplomatic rifts, at Diet opener

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe opens the 150-day ordinary Diet session with a policy speech that reaffirmed his vow to push up wages and expand consumption to make his 'Abenomics' economic policy sustainable

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