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Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 11, 2012

Young hopes bloom eternal

The first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake is a time to commemorate the victims of that terrible tragedy. But it is also an opportunity to look to the future.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 10, 2012

Chelsea's revolving door won't stop

In any other business Roman Abramovich would be fired.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2012

Cuts to wasteful public works now said blocking rebound

After years of criticism for public works spending that rewarded political constituents at the cost of adding debt, the government succeeded in cutting the largesse in half. Now, that legacy of success is hampering an economic rebound.
EDITORIALS
Mar 9, 2012

The pay-cut bandwagon

Wage cuts for national public servants under a special law recently enacted will have repercussions in various areas. The law, jointly written by lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, was enacted by the Upper House on Feb. 29. The wages will be cut by an...
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2012

Calls mount for restrictions on foreign lawyers to be eased

A statute on foreign lawyers in Japan should be amended to allow them to practice law on an equal footing with Japanese attorneys, a legal expert said Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Mar 7, 2012

For fans, 'Metal Gear' without Kojima involved is 'game over'

Gamers know it: Every time Hideo Kojima finishes one of his "Metal Gear" stealth video games, he attempts to wash his hands of the wildly successful franchise and says, "That's it. I'm done."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2012

Island fortresses floated for Tohoku

The idea of building raised stadium-size "islands" to accommodate tsunami-ravaged communities might sound like a bad joke, but that's exactly what one architect is urging devastated towns in Tohoku to consider.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 6, 2012

Rebuilding lives in shattered Tohoku, one image at a time

As the minibus winds through the foothills of northern Fukushima, the Geiger counter flashes blue and buzzes loud alerts — but it doesn't distract Brian Peterson. The 35-year-old American holds up a boxy Konika Instant Press — what he calls his "magic camera" — then explains how to load it, set...
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Mar 6, 2012

Japan's revolving-door immigration policy hard-wired to fail

Last December, the Japanese government announced that a new visa regime with a "points system" would be introduced this spring.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Mar 5, 2012

Todai plan to shift school year could be catalyst for wider Japanese reforms

The University of Tokyo, locally known as Todai, has announced a draft plan to shift the start of its academic year from spring to autumn and called on 11 other major universities to join it. Public discussion of the proposal has been immense since the announcement in mid-January, and for good reason....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 3, 2012

'Alternative labor' helps Ishinomaki rebuild

Jamie El-Banna, 27, is a self-professed "cynical Londoner" who says he's "not a nice guy" and admits he is known to many as something of a party animal interested mostly in getting drunk. But a look at his recent track record reveals he's now spent over nine months volunteering in tsunami-ravaged Ishinomaki,...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 2, 2012

Boat show stresses awareness

If you're looking forward to a summer of marine sports or fishing, this might be the place to start. The Japan International Boat Show 2012 is currently underway in Yokohama and will continue through Sunday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 2, 2012

'Hugo'

'Hugo" is in 3-D, rated PG in the United States and features two 12-year-olds traipsing around a 1930s Parisian train station. All the ingredients for a cozy Disney picture, but in actual fact this is a Martin Scorsese movie, which picked up five Oscars at last weekend's Academy Awards.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 2, 2012

After 3/11, short-film director has one message: Don't forget

Isamu Hirabayashi is an incredibly versatile man. The 39-year-old Shizuoka native's day job is to direct TV commercials, and he normally works on five or six projects at the same time. Since 2002, he has also been active as a filmmaker, with his short films being shown at numerous festivals overseas,...
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2012

Keep females in Imperial clan: experts

Female members of the Imperial family must retain their status after marriage to maintain the Emperor system, experts told a government panel Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 1, 2012

Toquiwa gets a great gift from The Wedding Present

There's no doubt that the best way for an independent band to tour in another country is by opening for one that people have actually heard of. So when spunky all-girl Tokyo four-piece Toquiwa befriended 1990s indie-rock heroes The Wedding Present, its members jumped at the chance to support the British...
EDITORIALS
Mar 1, 2012

Anatomy of a coverup

The special investigative squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is investigating the alleged coverup of massive investment losses by Olympus Corp. following the arrests in mid-February of three of its former executives and four former securities firms employees.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 29, 2012

Noda tax quest one dimensional?

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has cleared numerous political hurdles since taking office in September, but his goal of raising the consumption tax and reforming the social security system may prove insurmountable as he wages a two-front battle.
BASKETBALL
Feb 29, 2012

Warriors to send Tyler to D-League

As the NBA All-Star break concludes, rookie post player Jeremy Tyler will join the Dakota Wizards, the Golden State Warriors' NBA Development League team, according to published reports in the Bay Area.
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2012

January retail sales beat forecasts, post 1.9% rise

Retail sales exceeded economists' forecasts in January, signaling that a recovery in consumer spending will help the economy return to growth this quarter.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Feb 28, 2012

Tepco's political tentacles

Just as Tokyo Electric Power Co. is under fire for trying to raise consumers' electricity bills before making sufficient efforts to streamline its management, a series of cases have surfaced in which the company appeared to be trying to strengthen its political influence by sending employees to prefectural...
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 2012

Dealing with Pyongyang

The United States and North Korea held two days of talks last week in Beijing — the first such talks between the two countries since the death of North Korea's long-time leader, Kim Jong Il, in December. The talks were a chance to look for signs of any changes in the North's positions under the leadership...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 26, 2012

Fantasy series 'O-Parts'; documentary on Japan's new budget airlines; CM of the week: Bath Roman

A new four-part fantasy series, "O-Parts" (Fuji TV, Mon.-Thurs., 11 p.m.), based on the popular manga, will air this week. Ryuhei Maruyama plays Kakizawa, an unemployed youth who is abducted by a mysterious man in black.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 26, 2012

Fuji-san: reflections on Japan's iconic mother mountain

MOUNT FUJI: Icon of Japan, by H. Byron Earhart. The University of South Carolina Press, 2011, 238 pp., $40 (hardcover) It is significant that in a country where nature has long been transfused with the numinous, that Japan's most iconic image is neither a building nor a monument, but a mountain — Fuji-san....
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Feb 26, 2012

Venturing into the zone on Showajima

In his "Meditation XVII," the English Metaphysical poet John Donne wrote in 1623 that "no man is an island, entire of itself." Well, yes — but some islands are entirely more manly than others.

Longform

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