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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2011

The cute 'n' kooky world of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Japan's newest pop idol

A recurring theme in the Strange Boutique column has been the question of what has gone wrong with pop music in Japan. Amid discussions of the pernicious influence of advertising agencies, record industry conservatism in the face of declining sales, and the faceless, self-replicating Eurobeat monstrosity...
Japan Times
JAPAN / POWERING THE FUTURE
Sep 28, 2011

Wind power quest faces stability, regulatory hurdles

Southern Awaji Island is technically in Hyogo Prefecture. But its location — within sight of Shikoku just across the Inland Sea — bright sunshine, and strong gusting winds give it the feel of a subtropical island.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2011

Libyan effect on protection

The invocation of the responsibility to protect (R2P) in Libya has drawn surprisingly intense criticism.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 28, 2011

Aides' convictions bode ill for Ozawa

The convictions Monday of Democratic Party of Japan ex-leader Ichiro Ozawa's former aides for making false entries in his political funds records will inevitably impact the kingpin's own trial that starts next month and weaken his clout in the ruling party, legal and political observers said Tuesday....
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Sep 26, 2011

Two 'systematic' acts of brutality and coverup

When Mark Hatfield, who had served as a U.S. Senator from Oregon for three decades, died in early August, obituaries noted that he was one of the first U.S. soldiers to visit Hiroshima not long after the atomic bombing of the city, and that experience led him to work for nuclear arms control later, after...
EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2011

Another murder in Kabul

The assassination of Mr. Burhanuddin Rabbani is a body blow to the Afghanistan peace process. The killing Sept. 20 demonstrated once again the ability of the enemies of peace in that country to penetrate the inner reaches of government as well as the seemingly implacable opposition of the Taliban to...
Reader Mail
Sep 25, 2011

Three issues in Chilean protests

Cesar Chelala's Sept. 16 article, "In Chile, dissent has a woman's face," has aspects of Chile's student protests all wrong, and Camila Vallejo's role as well. Students have combined three different movements into one, but their objectives remain separate.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 25, 2011

Now is the time for a 'brand Japan' that creates and inspires

On Sept. 19, just as this column hit deadline, news outlets reported that a massive demonstration was taking place in Tokyo, rallying tens of thousands of people against nuclear power.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Sep 24, 2011

Wenger needs to get a grip before season is a total loss

The reporter from the Middle East newspaper could not have expected the Sir Alex Ferguson hair dryer-type response from Arsene Wenger.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 23, 2011

The energy for trilateral ties

The Japan-U.S.-Australia trilateral relationship looks great on paper. Three major democracies and advanced economies in the Asia-Pacific region, geographically distant but sharing numerous common values and interests.
EDITORIALS
Sep 23, 2011

To the brink of worst case

More than six months since the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant started, people not directly affected by it appear to be gradually losing their acute concern about the crisis.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 23, 2011

Thinking the unthinkable in Europe

To resolve a crisis in which the impossible has become possible, it is necessary to think the unthinkable. So, to resolve Europe's sovereign-debt crisis, it is now imperative to prepare for the possibility of default and defection from the eurozone by Greece, Portugal and, perhaps, Ireland.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Sep 23, 2011

Broncos, 89ers making strides at different pace

The old-fashioned scoreboard, featuring hand-turned numbers, in the far corner of toasty Hanno Civic Gymnasium displayed the following scores when it was over: Saitama 90, Sendai 51.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 23, 2011

In a galaxy not so far away....

"Japanese space engineers could just possibly be the most boring people on the face of the Earth," laughed an aeronautics engineer working for JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), during a brief interview with The Japan Times.
COMMENTARY
Sep 20, 2011

End the grad student quotas

Starting in the 1991 academic year (April 1991 through March 1992), a number of leading national universities in Japan underwent major structural changes, led by the Law School at the University of Tokyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 20, 2011

Hold the cesium: Ways to reduce radiation in your diet

Is our food really safe?
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2011

Building a free, democratic Libya

For decades, the possibility of a Libya without Moammar Gadhafi'seemed just a dream. But today, Tripoli's central square is adorned with the three colors of the pro-democracy forces flag.
COMMENTARY
Sep 19, 2011

'Our prosperity is not a threat to our neighbors'

Modern-day China still seems to search for a clear-headed sense of its true self and its proper place in the 21st-century sun.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2011

China's historic rise (or slowdown)

Is China on the brink of eclipsing the United States as the world's economic megapower, with the yuan taking over from the dollar as the global currency, and China able to exercise financial, military and political hegemony?
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2011

India and China in deep water over sovereignty

An unidentified Chinese warship demanded that the INS Airavat, an amphibious assault vessel, identify itself and explain its presence in the South China Sea after it left Vietnamese waters in late July, London's Financial Times reported.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Sep 19, 2011

Japan faces crossroads for rebranding itself after Fukushima crisis

The Fukushima power plant crisis has clearly damaged Japan as a country brand. There has been an outpouring of sympathy for the victims and a widespread admiration for Japan's perseverance, stoicism and orderly response, but the overwhelming perception overseas is negative: disbelief that such an accident...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 19, 2011

When men were men and smoked like chimneys

The question "tabako wo osui ni narimasuka?" (「タバコをお吸いになりますか」"Do you happen to be a smoker?") is something you don't hear all that often. So many public venues in the Tokyo area have banned smoking altogether, or simply operate on the assumption that no one in their right...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 18, 2011

Sakana-kun in Tohoku; Sanma x Okamura; CM of the week: Sukiya

Although he's now teaching and consulting for aquariums, the TV personality and fish expert Sakana-kun has not lost any of his bubbly, childlike demeanor. A marine otaku (obsessive) since he was a boy, Sakana-kun is basically self-taught, and much of his learning was acquired by talking with fishermen...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2011

Hong Kongers share postdisaster insights

Most Hong Kongers are enthusiastic about Japan — its fashion and pop culture have been popular for years, hundreds of thousands vacation in the country each year, and more of its food is imported there than anywhere else, with fresh sashimi flown in daily from Narita airport.

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