Search - 2012

 
 
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 24, 2012

100 years of Summer Games

When the 293 Japanese athletes compete in the London Games that start Friday, they will represent a century of the participation in the Summer Olympics, starting with marathoner Shiso Kanakuri and sprinter Yahiko Mishima in Stockholm in 1912.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 23, 2012

Bloom is off decentralization

A number of local political parties have cropped up of late clamoring for further "decentralization," which would shift much administrative and budgetary authority from the central government to local governments.
COMMENTARY
Jul 23, 2012

America's surprisingly good score on mobility

In America, we believe that anyone can grow up to be anything. You want to be president? Go for it. Among recent presidents, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Lyndon Johnson and Dwight Eisenhower all came from modest backgrounds.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2012

Libyan election another Arab Spring paradox

"We certainly did not expect the results, but ... our future is certainly better than our present and our past," said Sami al-Saadi, the former ideologue of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and the founder of the political party al-Umma al-Wasat, which finished third in Central Tripoli during Libya's...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2012

Dreams of isolation imperil island populations

The Japanese and the British may seem very different, but a closer look reveals something akin to a parallel destiny for these two island peoples.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2012

Court judgment in Canada may set guidelines for physician-assisted death in terminal cases

Gloria Taylor, a Canadian, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Over a period of a few years, her muscles will weaken until she can no longer walk, use her hands, chew, swallow, speak and, ultimately, breathe. Then she will die.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 22, 2012

Nomura has Carp in playoff picture

How does this grab you?
CULTURE / Books
Jul 22, 2012

The spirit behind Japanese cohesion

Building Democracy in Japan, by Mary Alice Haddad. Cambridge University Press, 2012, 270 pp., $20.34 (paperback) Mary Haddad seeks to refute those non-Japanese scholars who are dismissive of Japanese democracy because it doesn't measure up to western standards. She argues that they overlook and marginalize...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 20, 2012

Nara's 'No Nukes Girl' joins the protesters

Opportunities to see artworks by Yoshitomo Nara have increased dramatically in recent weeks — and it's not just because of his exhibition, "a bit like you and me...," which is at the Yokohama Museum of Art through Sept. 23.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2012

Marx: the return of the giant

If an author's eternal youth consists of his capacity to keep stimulating new ideas, then it may be said that Karl Marx has without question remained young.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 19, 2012

√thumm "Mimoro"

Kansai-based trio √thumm's music doesn't just mix clashing styles together, but also touches on two cultural representations of Japan today. The group attracted attention around Kansai with two albums of maximalist techno-pop, futuristic numbers resembling the modern overload of Perfume, albeit without...
COMMENTARY
Jul 19, 2012

Character assassination on the campaign trail

It's getting down and dirty in election land. Last week, President Barack Obama's campaign suggested Mitt Romney might be guilty of a felony for filing misleading papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission (a charge The Washington Post discounted); and Romney's team aired a new ad portraying...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 19, 2012

China and Japan: A 40-year friendship worth singing about

Forget allegations of spies and economic intrigue. Put aside the controversial Senkaku Islands and celebrate as the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing unites with the New National Theatre in Tokyo to commemorate the 40th anniversary of normalized relations between Japan and China. Two...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2012

Obama playing the China card?

According to the United States Federal Reserve, Americans' net worth has fallen 40 percent since 2007, returning to its 1992 level. Progress toward recovery will be slow and difficult, and the U.S. economy will be weak throughout the runup to November's presidential and congressional elections. Can any...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2012

East Asian miracle revisited

Almost two decades ago, the World Bank published its landmark study "The East Asian Miracle," analyzing why East Asian economies grew faster than emerging markets in Latin America, Africa and elsewhere. These economies, the study concluded, achieved high growth rates by getting the basics right, promoting...
BUSINESS
Jul 18, 2012

Consumer panel tells Tepco to cut pay 30%

Tokyo Electric Power Co. should cut salaries by at least 30 percent instead of 20 percent for regular employees and 25 percent for management before trying to push an electricity rate hike on households, a Consumer Affairs Agency panel said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 18, 2012

Honda, Toyota blunt N. American job losses

Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.'s North American plants, stalled by parts shortages a year ago, are leading an industrywide assembly surge buoying cities from the Midwest to the Deep South amid a languid U.S. economy.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 17, 2012

Should Tepco customers foot bill for nuclear fiasco?

Tokyo Electric Power Co. is desperately trying to raise prices to cover the drastic rise in thermal fuel costs caused by its triple-meltdown disaster at the poorly protected Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 17, 2012

Urbanites urged to head up, not down, to survive tsunami

Sitting across from me at a Naka-Meguro pizzeria, Riccardo Tossani pulled out his iPhone to check his Spyglass app. He glanced out the window to survey the adjacent taller buildings, ignoring the cherry blossoms that were in full bloom.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jul 17, 2012

Courts back workers' rock-solid right to strike

"Sensei, Japan is such a safe country because there are no strikes. Right?" A student at the university where I teach blindsided me with this remark the other day.
EDITORIALS
Jul 17, 2012

Amping up renewable energy

A feed-in tariff system to accelerate investment in renewable energy sources started on July 1. It is hoped that it will lead to the establishment of renewable energy facilities across Japan, thus helping revitalize local economies and reduce Japan's dependence on nuclear power.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2012

Finessing one big banking union for Europe

In the last few weeks, the idea of establishing a European banking union has become the latest remedy advanced as a solution to the long-running euro crisis. But whatever the merits of a banking union — and there are many — proposals to establish one raise more questions than can currently be answered....
Reader Mail
Jul 15, 2012

Leveling field should be in court

Regarding Sarah Fuidio's July 5 letter, "Leveling the field for women": July 4 was the 236th birthday of the United States, which relentlessly upholds its original constitution and the amendments. I take this occasion to express my great admiration for the U.S. Supreme Court for defending the constitution's...
OLYMPICS
Jul 15, 2012

Speculation increases on who will light flame

There's plenty of speculation and anticipation about who will light the Olympic flame on July 25 at the London Games Opening Ceremony.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 13, 2012

Tuneups good tests for Japan teams

Japan Olympic men's soccer team manager Takashi Sekizuka has warned his players their stay in London will be short-lived unless they show more imagination than they did in Wednesday's 1-1 final home warmup draw with New Zealand.

Longform

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What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji