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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 16, 2012

An aging country learning to adapt

Occasionally in this space I refer to a financial writer called "Gucci-san" who contributes a weekly column to Aera. Apparently, he works for an investment consulting firm that does a lot of work in mergers and acquisitions. In a recent piece he said that some of his clients are involved in importing...
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 15, 2012

Idled reactors' fate holds center stage in nuclear hub Fukui

On a snowy afternoon just a few days before the general election, local politicians and many residents of Fukui Prefecture were in a state of shock and wondering what the future holds, after a team of nuclear experts declared it is highly likely that a fault under the Tsuruga nuclear plant's reactor...
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 14, 2012

Dismayed Tohoku faces first post-3/11 poll

A mere 15 minutes before Azuma Konno, a Democratic Party of Japan candidate running in Sunday's Lower House election, was set to make a stump speech in front of JR Sendai Station last Friday evening, a 7.4-magnitude quake struck deep off Miyagi's shore, flooding one coastal district with 1-meter-high...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 14, 2012

Jackson bids for more magic with 'The Hobbit'

When asked what "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" offers that "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy didn't, actor Sir Ian McKellan pauses before answering.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 14, 2012

Older voter glut helps politicians avoid long-range problems

Japan faces structural problems that threaten future generations, including snowballing government debt, swelling social security costs, a low birthrate and a rapidly aging population.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 13, 2012

"Beauty and Artistry of Great Masters of Modern Ceramics in Japan: Kenkichi Tomimoto, Uichi Shimizu and Kosei Matsui"

Inspired by the British ceramist Bernard Leach, Kenkichi Tomimoto decided to pursue a career as a ceramicist at the beginning of Taisho Era. He was also influenced by Soetsu Yanagi, who spearheaded the Mingei (folk arts) movement, and succeeded in creating a new style of gold and silver embellished pottery...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Dec 11, 2012

Is Shintaro Ishihara the most dangerous man in Japan? Readers discuss

Parallels with wartime general
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 11, 2012

'Changed' Abe makes case for fresh chance

In an article published Monday in the monthly Bungei Shunju magazine, Liberal Democratic Party President Shinzo Abe apologized for abandoning the prime ministership a year into his term in 2007 but insisted he is a changed man and deserving of another chance.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 9, 2012

"Give it a try!"; A Matsumoto mystery; CM of the week: Pizza Hut

Celebrity couples are very popular among variety-show producers, but in recent years they have shown more interest in another two-for-one bargain: the parent-child pairing. This week a special two-hour edition of the consumer challenge show, "Otameshi Ka!" ("Give It a Try!"; TV Asahi, Mon. 7 p.m.) will...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 9, 2012

Liberals left behind in turn to the right

The Latin morpheme liber (free) has a lot to answer for. Take the word "liberal," which represented a fairly clear political position until American "conservatives" demonized it. But liberals are not "libertarians." The former are seen to favor government schemes that guarantee the welfare of the populace...
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 7, 2012

Third force's reform proposals flashy but unreal

The so-called main third force parties hope to cast themselves after the Lower House election as viable alternatives to the established parties by proposing ambitious, even radical, reforms in a number of areas.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 7, 2012

Dark-matter detector using DNA conceived

That wonder molecule of life on Earth, DNA, is being enlisted in the search for an exotic species dwelling in the cosmos: dark matter.
Reader Mail
Dec 6, 2012

No shortcut to the master level

A thank you to Amy Chavez for her Dec. 1 column, "The best-ever tips on learning Japanese." I am pleased that Chavez knows how to write the truth with heart. Her article is the stake in the heart of those that whine about Japanese being difficult to learn.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2012

Automakers' Thai expansion may buoy baht

A year after Thailand's worst floods in seven decades devastated the economy, currency forecasters are betting the baht will outperform its Southeast Asian peers next quarter as Japanese companies commit more funds.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 4, 2012

Israeli tax action greets Abbas at home

Returning to a hero's welcome Sunday after gaining limited recognition of statehood at the United Nations, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas faced fresh punitive action by Israel, which froze the transfer of more than $100 million in tax revenue collected for his cash-strapped government....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Dec 2, 2012

Michael Woodford: Japan's whistle-blower supreme speaks out

Michael Woodford glances out of the floor-to-ceiling window of his multimillion-pound loft apartment, which looks out across the River Thames toward the City of London, the so-called Square Mile that is among the world's leading financial and commercial centers.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 2, 2012

Surge of support for Hamas fading in Gaza

Strung across chaotic streets and through mazes of narrow alleys, the iconic green flags of the Islamic Resistance Movement, better known as Hamas, festoon the gray cement-block buildings.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 2, 2012

Abe's rightism: Campaign ploy or governance plan?

The main election slogan of the Liberal Democratic Party, which polls say will prevail in the Dec. 16 general election, is "Restoring Japan," underlining its determination to reclaim the power it lost three years ago.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 1, 2012

Vows DPJ made to get in sounded too good to be true

Goshi Hosono, the handsome policy chief of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, is one of the few politicians who has retained his popularity despite predictions the party is headed for a crushing defeat in the Dec. 16 Lower House election.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 30, 2012

'You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger'

Have you noticed that it's a lot easier to find older men in the movies than older women — in front of the camera and behind it?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 29, 2012

"From the Lleca to the Cohue: Photography in Penitentiary Centers"

Nelson Mandela once said that nothing offers more telling clues to the reality of a nation than observing how humanely its prison inmates are treated. Originally from Venezuela, this exhibition is being shown in Japan for the first time, with its primary objective being to raise global awareness of the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 29, 2012

Ikko Tanaka's designs live on

The idea of a retrospective makes me nervous. Simply put, it often signals the end of something. So in the case of a designer's show, a retrospective feels like a parting shot, final note or a bid farewell. Not what you want if your motivation is continuous relevance.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 29, 2012

Egypt protests highlight growing political divide

Egyptian opposition forces rallied across the country Tuesday and into early Wednesday in the biggest show of dissent against the country's first democratically elected leader since he precipitated a political crisis last week with an apparent bid to assume near-absolute power.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 27, 2012

'Third force' elements scramble for poll position

So far 16 political parties are fielding candidates for the Dec. 16 Lower House election.

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