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COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2012

Abe's ascent provides China with a chance to improve ties

Shinzo Abe, widely viewed as a rightwing nationalist, assumes office Wednesday as prime minister of Japan, the seventh time the country's leadership has changed hands in six years and his second turn at the helm since 2007.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2012

BOJ's ¥23 trillion JGB spree sees record gains

Japanese government bonds are headed for the longest run of annual gains on record, buoyed by central bank purchases almost equivalent to Malaysia's economic output.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Dec 25, 2012

Stuck on a Good Design Award winner

The Good Design Award winners were announced last month and there are plenty of great ideas to take in — make sure to check out the GDA website to browse through all of the new ideas.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Dec 25, 2012

Benshi Midori Sawato

Midori Sawato is a benshi, a unique kind of performer who provides live narration to silent films at the movie theater. The benshi brings the characters in films alive using different voices and vocal expressions. They sit to the side of the screen, watching the movie with the audience and using their...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 25, 2012

LDP returns with all its old baggage

They're baaaack. After warming the opposition bench for more than three years, the Liberal Democratic Party has returned to power, hungrier and more eager than ever to rule.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Dec 24, 2012

Big Bulls give coach Oketani happy birthday

Before his 35th birthday, Iwate Big Bulls coach Dai Oketani had already guided his former club, the Ryukyu Golden Kings, to a pair of bj-league championships.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 24, 2012

Switching to mama mode is not easy for today's gals

Bad news on the kekkon sensen (結婚戦線, marriage front) — hardly anyone's doing it. According to a government survey, more than 60 percent of single men and close to 50 percent of single women are not in relationships, nor are they particularly interested in dating. At this rate, Japan's already...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / THE YEAR IN BOOKS
Dec 23, 2012

Alternative histories about JFK

The 50th anniversary of the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy next November is expected to see a flood of new works on that topic. Two alternative history novels have already appeared on this theme. In Stephen King's "11/22/63: A Novel" (Scribner), Maine high school teacher Jake Epping...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 23, 2012

Popular slugger Ramirez, family opening Latin-style cafe in Tokyo

Most foreigners who come to Japan to play baseball do just that — and only that. Whether a career lasts a few games or several years, the guys go back to their home country to continue playing ball, stay in the game as coaches or managers or find another job outside the game. A few, however, have stayed...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2012

Starbucks pours fewer drops of drip per cup

A cup of Starbucks coffee in Japan just got smaller.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2012

'Abenomics' — a dangerous policy of print and spend

The "landslide" victory of Shinzo Abe and the Liberal Democratic Party was much less than it seemed. The party won only 43 percent of the popular vote in the constituencies and a mere 28 percent in the proportional representational seats.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 22, 2012

Santa-san is coming to town — it's going to be different this year

Christmas is going to be different this year. Oh, you haven't heard? Read on.
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2012

BOJ will ease more, denies Abe pressed

The Bank of Japan on Thursday boosted its asset-purchasing program from ¥91 trillion to about ¥101 trillion and promised to review its medium- to long-term price stability goals next month.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 21, 2012

'Les Miserables' / 'Anonymous'

At this time of year, it feels good to unplug the computer, stash your electronic devices away and crack open something heavy and dense. While this could be a mega-size box of chocolate (or bottle of bourbon), it's just possible our senses crave something more demanding, more literary and Old World....
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Dec 21, 2012

Osaka lights up for the holidays

The downtown area of Osaka is currently aglow with a variety of lights for the holidays, to the delight of couples and photographers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2012

James Bond can't fix Sony as Japan makers hit lows

Even James Bond and Spider-Man can't rescue Sony Corp.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 20, 2012

"Tadasu Takamine's Cool Japan"

The term "Cool Japan" was recently used by the Japanese government to help boost global interest in some of the nation's most admirable achievements, such as its altruism and pursuit of cutting-edge technology.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2012

Abe prepares ruling bloc, pressures BOJ

Liberal Democratic Party President Shinzo Abe, who will become prime minister on Dec. 26, and New Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi agreed Tuesday to compile a large-scale supplementary budget for fiscal 2012 as they kicked off talks to form a coalition government.
COMMENTARY
Dec 19, 2012

Will the second time be a charm for the Fed?

It was big news last week when the Federal Reserve announced that it wants to maintain its current low-interest rate policy until unemployment, now 7.7 percent, drops to at least 6.5 percent. The Fed was correctly portrayed as favoring job creation over fighting inflation, though it also set an inflation...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Japan Pulse
Dec 18, 2012

2012: The year in gear

From innovative cars and cameras to phone-controlled appliances, the best of Japan's gadgets and gear in 2012.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 18, 2012

LDP charges back, vows to regain voter confidence

After winning more than two-thirds of the Lower House in Sunday's general election, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito are set to launch a coalition government as early as next week, with hawkish LDP leader Shinzo Abe becoming prime minister.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 18, 2012

DPJ blows chance to establish two-party rule

It took 54 years for the nation's politics to produce a viable opposition party, and 39 months for it to self-destruct after winning power, splintering prospects for an enduring policy-driven two-party system.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 18, 2012

Nothing left for the election-gutted DPJ to do but rebuild

The drubbing taken by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Democratic Party of Japan on Sunday left it with just 57 seats and one option: to rebuild.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Dec 17, 2012

LDP aware voters just punished DPJ

The Liberal Democratic Party's overwhelming victory Sunday means hawkish Shinzo Abe is going to be prime minister again.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Dec 16, 2012

Arashi looks at Japan's future; Christmas and the single woman; CM of the week: Nissan

Boy band Arashi has been getting a lot of work recently from NHK. In addition to their second consecutive hosting gig for the year-end song contest, they've been tapped to navigate "Asu ni Kakeru Tabi" ("Travels Building a Bridge to Tomorrow") a series of five programs, three of which air this week (Mon.-Wed.,...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Dec 16, 2012

Beware: Devil birds at work in the woods

The final months of the year seem something of an afterthought following the delightful palette of autumn colors; they offer only fickle moods and fickle weather.

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