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EDITORIALS
Aug 4, 2012

Japan's ongoing suicide problem

The basic law to cope with Japan's high suicide rate went into force in 2006. Then in 2007, the government adopted an outline of policies to deal with this serious social problem. But the government was slow in tackling the problem and even after the outline was adopted, ministries and agencies failed...
EDITORIALS
Aug 4, 2012

Police lessons from 3/11

The National Police Agency on July 24 released a fiscal 2012 white book that contained a section titled "Large-scale disasters and the police" at its outset. The section details what actions the police took when the earthquake and tsunami devastated the Tohoku coastal region on March 11, 2011, and the...
COMMENTARY
Aug 3, 2012

Bullying begins at the top of the U.S. food chain

The huge humpback whale whose friendliness precipitated a surreal seven-year — so far — federal hunt for criminality surely did not feel put upon.
COMMENTARY
Aug 3, 2012

Pushing Seoul-Tokyo forward

There is an old Russian proverb that applies to current Japan-South Korea (ROK) relations: "Forget the past and lose an eye; dwell on the past and lose both eyes!"
EDITORIALS
Aug 3, 2012

Promoting entrepreneurship

A fiscal 2012 white book on the economy and state finances endorsed by the Cabinet on July 27 stressed the importance of entrepreneurship to accelerate innovation, an important factor for economic growth as Japan faces a declining birthrate and the graying of the population.
OLYMPICS / LONDON POSTCARD
Aug 2, 2012

Volunteers, fans enrich experience, ambiance

People watching is one of the most enjoyable aspects of being in England during the 2012 Summer Olympics.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2012

Speculative bubbles without financial markets

A speculative bubble is a social epidemic whose contagion is mediated by price movements.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2012

Syria's tipping point to desperation

During World War II, Winston Churchill famously drew a distinction between "the end of the beginning" and "the beginning of the end."
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2012

Hiroshima to grade states on disarmament

As the 67th anniversary of Hiroshima's atomic bombing approaches, the prefecture is trying a new tactic to achieve the goal of global nuclear disarmament.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2012

China flexing more muscle in Pacific: report

This year's defense white paper underscores China's rapid military buildup and constant muscle-flexing in the Pacific Ocean as a shared concern of the international community.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 31, 2012

China appears to be losing its diplomatic grip

In 2016, China's share of the global economy will be larger than America's in purchasing-price-parity terms. This is an earth-shaking development; in 1980, when the United States accounted for 25 percent of world output, China's share of the global economy was only 2.2 percent. And yet, after 30 years...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 31, 2012

How would changing jobs affect my visa?

S.E. has been working at the same English school for 16 years but is thinking of leaving her job and moving to another part of Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2012

Strife-idled plant hits Maruti's dominance

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is weighing options for restoring production of its most popular models as recurring labor disputes at one of its plants threaten the company's lead in Asia's third-largest car market.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jul 30, 2012

Tunisian hoop team eyes upset in London

Here's something I do know: Adel Tlatli is a name unknown to most people following the Olympics.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jul 30, 2012

U.S. has turned the tables on its old Declaration

On Independence Day (July 4), The New York Times printed the Declaration of Independence, as it had done — the daily noted in an article on the preceding day — for 90 years, since 1922.
OLYMPICS
Jul 30, 2012

Lochte takes gold as Phelps misses medal

He made it look easy, and he made history in the process, beating the greatest swimmer of all time.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jul 29, 2012

Gasol leads by example for club and country

Fact: Kobe Bryant is one of the five most famous athletes on the planet.
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Jul 29, 2012

Fierce focus key to Kitajima's quest

Four years after Kosuke Kitajima's brilliant repeat double-gold performance in Beijing, he begins his quest for an unprecedented third consecutive 100 — and 200-meter breaststroke sweep.
EDITORIALS
Jul 29, 2012

Billionaire's tax to help the poor

In searching for new sources of funding, the United Nations this month called for a tax on billionaires to raise money for poor countries. According to the assessment in the U.N. World Economic and Social Survey, an annual tax on the world's super-rich would yield almost $400 billion a year.
CULTURE / Books
Jul 29, 2012

Effect of spiritual force on the post-3/11 crisis

This Precious Life: Buddhist Tsunami Relief and Anti-Nuclear Activism in Post 3/11 Japan, by Jonathan S. Watts. International Buddhist Exchange Center, 2012, 208 pp., $10.00 (paperback) T he response of the Japanese people to the triple catastrophe of March 2011 won global admiration. The deeply ingrained...
CULTURE / Books
Jul 29, 2012

The story of a U.S. Marine who convinced his enemies to live

ONE MARINE'S WAR: A Combat Interpreter's Quest for Humanity in the Pacific, by Gerald A. Meehl. Naval Institute Press, 2012, 246 pp., $34.95 (hardcover) Of war memoirs there is no end, though soldiers of any given war eventually fade away. Also, their memories of a conflict may remain vivid decades later,...
EDITORIALS
Jul 28, 2012

The joy of the Olympic Games

Queen Elizabeth II opens the 2012 Olympics on Saturday Japan time (Friday local time). This is the third time that London hosts the Olympics. This year's Olympic Games mark the 30th modern Olympics since the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 27, 2012

Cinema underneath the stars

Sometimes just looking at the ocean is enough to cool your body down on a hot summer night. Maybe that's why this year's Starlight Cinema event is taking on the theme: A Blue Oasis in the City.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake