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EDITORIALS
Nov 9, 2012

Mr. Obama wins again

U.S. President Barack Obama has won a second term in the White House. His victory was narrow, but it was definitive. Equally important for him, his Democratic Party retained control of the U.S. Senate. On the other hand, as expected, the Republican Party maintained its majority in the House of Representatives....
Reader Mail
Nov 8, 2012

Unable to finish what he starts

I agree with Education Minister Makiko Tanaka's speculation that retiring Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara is an "out of control senior" (Oct. 27 Kyodo brief "Ishihara 'out of control': Tanaka"). Japan is rife with geriatrics running the country and the economy into the ground. Maybe it's unavoidable, considering...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Nov 6, 2012

If bully Ishihara wants one last stand, bring it on

On Oct. 25, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced his resignation from office. He now plans to stand for election to the Diet as head of a new conservative party. He suggested political alliances with other conservative reactionaries and xenophobes, including Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and Tachiagare...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 5, 2012

Excess supply, not lack of demand, weighing on the global economy

The demand and supply balance is adjusted through price fluctuations under a market economy. However, price changes often go too far, occasionally leading to creation of a bubble boom and its subsequent collapse. When Japan's bubble boom went bust in the early 1990s, Japanese companies were burdened...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / JAPAN-U.S. SEMINAR
Nov 3, 2012

U.S. needs Japan to remain nuclear, expert says

A "zero-nuclear" Japan will be a serious concern for the United States as its key ally both from economic and security standpoints, the chief of an influential U.S. think tank said at a recent seminar on Japan-U.S. relations.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2012

Abe, DPJ to discuss bond bill passage

After months of hardball with the ruling camp, Liberal Democratic Party President Shinzo Abe hinted he will cooperate with the Democratic Party of Japan in passing a critical bond-issuance bill.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2012

U.S. airman's home intrusion draws fire

The government lodged a protest Friday with Washington over the reported break-in and assault by a U.S. serviceman in Okinawa, an incident that comes less than three weeks after a high-profile alleged rape by two U.S. sailors of a woman in the prefecture.
EDITORIALS
Oct 31, 2012

Chipping away at Mr. Noda's rule

In a Lower House by-election on Sunday in the Kagoshima No. 3 constituency, a Liberal Democratic Party candidate, also supported by Komeito, defeated a candidate of the People's New Party — a coalition partner of the Democratic Party of Japan — who received full support from the DPJ. The DPJ's defeat...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2012

Shinsei eyes REIT linked to nursing care

Shinsei Bank Ltd., the Japanese lender partly owned by J. Christopher Flowers, plans to set up a health care real estate investment trust to capture growth in one of the world's fastest-aging nations.
EDITORIALS
Oct 29, 2012

Stumbling blocks for devolution

The abolition in principle of regional bureaus of central government ministries is a pillar of the DPJ-led government's policy of pushing devolution. Of some 300,000 national public servants, nearly 200,000 belong to regional bureaus of central government ministries. The first step toward the abolition...
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2012

Nation honors an athlete

The government will bestow the People's Honor Award on Ms. Saori Yoshida — a wrestler who has won three Olympic gold medals and 10 world championships — "for bringing hope and courage to society." As Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said in announcing the government's decision to give her the...
EDITORIALS
Oct 22, 2012

Pass the bond flotation bill

Due to the Diet's state of confusion, there is no predicting when a bill will be enacted to float bonds to cover some 40 percent of the fiscal 2012 budget. If this situation continues, it is inevitable that people's lives will be seriously impacted in a negative manner. The public's trust in the legislature...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 21, 2012

So, fat cats and a blue caterpillar will save Japan from nuclear hell. OK

If you visit the Alice Pavilion at the Shika nuclear power plant in the town of Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture, you will be happily entertained by Prof. Aomushi (Blue Caterpillar), who, water pipe in mouth, sits in the sun and, together with Alice, "teaches you about radiation."
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Oct 21, 2012

The colonial exposition, Japan branded 'aggressor nation,' Cuban missile crisis, Black Monday stock market crash

Despite rainy weather yesterday, the Colonial Exposition at Ueno [in central Tokyo] was visited by an enormous number of people, who thronged in and about the building to enjoy the queer objects.
EDITORIALS
Oct 17, 2012

Passing the buck on nuclear power

The government's irresponsible attitude toward nuclear power generation is becoming clear. It seems that the government does not want to pursue concrete steps to reduce and eventually end the nation's reliance on nuclear power despite its new long-term energy policy under which it is supposed to utilize...
JAPAN / IMF-WORLD BANK IN TOKYO
Oct 12, 2012

Sovereign debt, strong yen among tough topics at meetings

When Japan last hosted the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in September 1964, Tokyo was in the midst of preparing for the Summer Olympic Games which were to kick off a month later.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 9, 2012

North Korea abductees mark decade since coming home

Oct. 15 will mark the 10th anniversary since five Japanese citizens were repatriated from North Korea after being abducted by Pyongyang's agents in the 1970s. The government claims that the North has failed to properly address the fate of 12 more Japanese abductees that remain missing, while others say...
EDITORIALS
Oct 8, 2012

Nuclear industry steamrolls on

The government's Sept. 14 new long-term energy policy of "mobilizing all available policy resources to reach 'zero operation' of nuclear power plants in the 2030s" contains various contradictions, including the continuation of efforts toward an operational fuel cycle that makes new nuclear fuel from...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 6, 2012

Government will take its time deciding on reporting standards, Nakatsuka says

New financial services minister Ikko Nakatsuka on Friday said the government still hopes to make a final decision on whether to adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards in the next few months, but only after it finishes weighing their potential impact on Japanese companies.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
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