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Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 26, 2010

Honda to up China output 28% by 2012

Honda Motor Co. will raise production capacity in China by 28 percent to 830,000 vehicles a year by the second half of 2012 and introduce two new models, Chief Executive Officer Takanobu Ito said Tuesday in Guangzhou.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 25, 2010

National health insurance a basic universal safety net

All Japanese citizens are required by law to be covered by public health insurance.
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2010

Liberating NASA from the risks to people

NEW YORK — People first landed on the Moon while I was a teenager. Decades later, space travel was still reserved for a small corps of astronauts and cosmonauts, and wealthy space tourists — six so far. The space business was the preserve of a few governments, plus large cost-plus contractors who...
CULTURE / Books
May 23, 2010

Murder, mayhem and brain eaters abound in two Thai thrillers

Thailand, as I write this, is stepping back from major civil unrest. And Canadian author Christopher G. Moore has been blogging frontline dispatches from his home in central Bangkok.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2010

Trust in Toyota's tainted brand to be tested when incentives end

DETROIT — U.S. buyers were willing to overlook Toyota Motor Corp.'s safety troubles the last few months thanks to zero-percent financing and other deals, but as the lure of incentives fades, the carmaker has a tough job: Winning over consumers who no longer trust the brand.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 22, 2010

Betrayal of Triesman an absolute disgrace

LONDON — Imagine having dinner with a friend you trusted. You talk freely about your marriage . . . maybe your job . . . perhaps discussing a future business deal.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 22, 2010

The bright career of a literary 'shadow hero'

American author Paul Auster once called translators "the shadow heroes of literature," who have enabled us to understand that we all live in one world. He could also be describing Juliet Winters Carpenter, 61, one of the best-known literary translators from Japanese to English, who has won praise for...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 21, 2010

Animation fest sparkles

A collection of surreal, witty and thought-provoking short animation films currently showing at the Laputa Animation Festival 2010 in Asagaya, western Tokyo, stands splendidly apart from the plethora of mainstream anime works that vie for airtime on Japanese TV.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 21, 2010

'King' Solomon mines fresh lease on life

After a few relatively lean years, the Japan Blues & Soul Carnival has landed a big fish again in the person of Solomon Burke, a soul legend of the 1960s who is currently enjoying an incredible late-career renaissance, while serving as an inspiration to everybody from Mick Jagger to Joss Stone.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 21, 2010

Directing the flow of theatrical creativity

Any time you go to a theater in Japan you are sure to be handed several colorful flyers for other shows — and among them you will almost certainly find the face of Tetsuya Chiba. At 46, and the father of three boys, Chiba is one of the country's most popular and best-known stage actors, known as much...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
May 21, 2010

In-season tomatoes hit Grand Hyatt

The Italian restaurant Fiorentina at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo is showcasing tomatoes, which are in season in Italy and Japan.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
May 21, 2010

Time for league to adopt real playoff system

Nobody wants their business referred to as a "Mickey Mouse operation," unless, of course, they happen to work for the Walt Disney Company.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 21, 2010

Rogue Wave

A powerful flood of change threatens to wash through the Tokyo rock scene courtesy of the upcoming Rogue Wave event on May 25.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 21, 2010

Enjoy the company of Ryoichi Yamazaki's reluctant 'hoodies'

The typical white cube gallery is not unlike a sumo ring. Both are bare, sanctified spaces, where we can stare intently at the participants' strenous efforts to impress. While the dohyo is purified by salt, the antiseptic agents in the case of the white cube gallery are white paint, light and an attitude...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 21, 2010

New history of art in the 21st century

To the extent that it exists in the popular consciousness, contemporary art is frequently associated with ideas of "newness" and "antitradition." This is partly to do with the legacy of the early 20th-century Dada movement. Responding to the social ferment surrounding World War I, the Dadaists rejected...
EDITORIALS
May 20, 2010

Threat to livestock industry

The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Miyazaki Prefecture is the worst on record in Japan. As of Tuesday, infection was confirmed in animals at 126 farms and facilities in one city and four towns. The number of cattle and pigs that are to be culled has climbed to some 253,000, due to the farm ministry's...
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
May 20, 2010

A traditional Christian pattern?

Dear Alice,
JAPAN
May 19, 2010

NPOs' social roles still in stage of infancy

When he set up a nonprofit organization 35 years ago to sell organic vegetables, Kazuyoshi Fujita never expected his pursuit would grow into a big business.
SOCCER / World cup
May 18, 2010

Technology fuels Japan's 2022 bid

Japan is banking on its reputation for technological innovation to win hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup.
COMMENTARY
May 18, 2010

Overhaul industrial policy to bolster the economy

Japan's industrial power is so stagnant that it seems a crisis is in store for our economy. Even as it lags far behind the United States in creating intelligent information systems, Japan is finding that South Korea, Taiwan and China are catching up with it in manufacturing.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 18, 2010

Still waiting for that last paycheck

Reader TS writes: "I return to the U.S. next week and I was supposed to receive my final pay check from a really bad ALT company . . . last week, but did not receive payment. I've called them but the secretaries say that the people in charge are not in the office. I called my direct contact and he has...
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2010

'Honor killings' aimed at suppressing castes

CHENNAI, India — India can be sparkling white and deadly black. While it brags about its scientific achievements, including space exploration and nuclear arms, fancy cars and elite educational institutions, it must hang its head in shame over some heinous, dark-age practices.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go