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Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 7, 2012

Many voices but no clear messages

With so many parties — and their seemingly mix-and-match policy positions — vying in the Dec. 16 Lower House election, voters are facing a difficult choice. Even so, all the sudden mergers and policy rejiggering suggest the new parties would be no better than their predecessors at breaking the tradition...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2012

Noda will schedule election for Dec. 16

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Wednesday he plans to dissolve the Lower House on Friday and schedule the general election for Dec. 16.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 18, 2012

Shilling for our side over the Senkakus

Akihiro Suzuki does not think war will come, but if it does, he believes Japan will prevail.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 27, 2012

Noda's hapless diplomacy

Strange though it may seem, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who heads the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, is seeking support and advice from former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori of the No. 1 opposition Liberal Democratic Party in his bid to restructure Japanese diplomacy in general as well as improve...
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2012

Upper House passes bill to hike sales levy

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda achieved a major goal Friday when the Upper House passed his administration's social security and tax reform bills that will double the sales tax to 10 percent by 2015.
EDITORIALS
Aug 1, 2012

Good fight by 'green' candidate

In the Yamaguchi gubernatorial election held Sunday, Mr. Shigetaro Yamamoto, a former bureaucrat of the infrastructure and transport ministry supported by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, was elected the new governor, beating three other candidates.
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.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 10, 2012

Rape victim marks 10 years on lonely crusade for justice

It surely isn't very often that elite Japanese bureaucrats hear the words to the national anthem quoted at them — by a foreigner. Earlier this year, Australian national Catherine Fisher says she pulled the words of "Kimigayo" from her head during a frustrating meeting with officials from the ministries...
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2012

Prefectures to get debris disposal requests: Noda

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced Sunday that the government will officially ask prefectures to store and dispose of some of the 22 million tons of debris generated by the quake and tsunami last year.
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
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
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.
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...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2012

Will shrinking the Diet solve anything?

A company saddled with a hefty debt load might try to get back on a healthy track by laying off employees or reducing pay.
COMMENTARY
Feb 3, 2012

Let economic impetus drive a deal in territorial dispute

Judging by the latest events in the seemingly endless territorial dispute between Japan and Russia over the "Northern Territories," the Japanese side has decided to confirm its steadfast stance by presenting strong historical and judicial arguments — some traditional, some rather new.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 19, 2011

Lawmaker attitudes, Tohoku both in dire need of transformation

The extraordinary Diet session closed Dec. 9 after the Upper House endorsed the opposition-submitted censure motion against Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa and consumer affairs chief Kenji Yamaoka. Was anything else accomplished? The legislature passed the third extra budget of the year for disaster...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 11, 2011

'Chushingura' in a wide-show style; Watanabe/Minami's TV drama debut; CM of the week: Saikyo Jump

Dec. 14 is a special day in Japan. On that date in 1702, the 47 retainers of the Lord of Ako exacted revenge on Kira Kozuke-no-suke, the Edo official who caused their lord's death a year earlier. This story is known popularly as "Chushingura" and has been adapted hundreds of times in various forms.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 21, 2011

Primer for decontamination

The potentially lucrative business of decontaminating areas of radioactive substances released from Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station may well go to companies handpicked by a government organization that has long played a leading role in promoting the construction of nuclear...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Oct 16, 2011

Unseen fight to save Tokyo from floods

At 2 a.m. on Sept. 21, Typhoon Roke, the 15th and biggest tropical storm yet to assault Japan this year, was over the Pacific 200 km south of Shikoku making its way slowly and ominously westward toward the main island of Honshu.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 25, 2011

Japan's noisy neighbors keep-a knocking

Sanshoku, the word for "encroachment" in Japanese, is written with characters meaning "silkworm" and "to eat." Imagine a mulberry leaf, being slowly consumed from the outer edges, nibble by nibble, by writhing white worms. Then overlay this leaf on a map of the Japanese archipelago, and look at the spots...
EDITORIALS
Aug 14, 2011

Changing times

Many Japanese felt that an era had ended with the announcement of the last print edition of Pia, the "Time Out" of Japan. Providing information on film showings, stage productions, concerts and art exhibitions as well as various countercultural events, Pia was founded in 1972 by university students influenced...
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2011

Japan must ditch nuclear power: Kan

Japan should gradually become a society that does not have to rely on atomic power, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Wednesday amid the continuing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2011

LDP planning major energy policy rethink

The Liberal Democratic Party, which promoted nuclear power during its postwar reign of nearly five decades, launched a special committee Tuesday to draft a new comprehensive energy policy that its members say could lead to a drastic shift in thinking.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2011

Radioactive debris dilemma unresolved, growing worse

Second of two parts

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?