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Makiko Kitamura
For Makiko Kitamura's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 17, 2013
Veggie-heavy diet and yoga shown to slow cell aging
The fountain of youth may simply be a healthy diet and reduced stress after all, not a magic pill or expensive cosmetics.
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2011
Exporters say they need still more action to lower yen
Japanese exporters are calling for more action to weaken the near-record high yen even after government intervention prompted the currency's biggest drop since March.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2011
Quake levels playing field for imported cars
The record March 11 earthquake had an unexpected side effect for Bayerische Motoren Werke AG dealer Jun Kubota: His showroom in central Tokyo had its best April in at least three years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2010
Toyoda buries head as recall crisis grows
As Toyota's recalls spread to at least 7.6 million cars across five continents, President Akio Toyoda's only public comments on the matter have consisted of an impromptu, 75-second interview with NHK in Davos, Switzerland.
BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2010
JAL better off without government umbrella
Kiyoshi Watanabe bought Japan Airlines Corp. shares last year at about ¥100 and lost more than 90 percent of his investment on speculation the former flag carrier will file for bankruptcy. Yet he supports the government's decision to forgo a bailout.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2009
Is Mazda next in line for partner?
Mazda Motor Corp. may be the next carmaker to strike an alliance following plans by Suzuki Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to team up with overseas manufacturers, investors and analysts say.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2009
Nissan calls on composers of movie scores to give EVs sound
Toshiyuki Tabata spent 30 years as a Nissan Motor Co. engineer trying to make gasoline-powered cars quieter. Now he's consulting music composers to make electric cars noisier — and safer.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 14, 2009
Bucking trend, Honda backs hydrogen
Honda Motor Co. believes hydrogen will power the cars of the future, a stance at odds with the Obama administration's decision to drop automotive fuel-cell technology in favor of battery-run vehicles.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2009
Carmakers chase female buyers
More than 300 young women, sporting curly chestnut brown-dyed hair, heavy makeup and manicured nails crowded into a Toyota showroom, peering at a Prius painted candy-apple red and decorated with rhinestones and heart-shaped pink stickers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 22, 2009
Love hotel industry shrugs off recession
At 6:30 p.m. on a Friday, Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night" fills the lobby of the Hotel Mario outside Tokyo. A couple scans a board showing photos of the 50 rooms, which can be rented for a few hours. Only three are left.
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2009
Honda weathers crisis with Asia motorbike niche
Vanida Paipong, a 33-year-old noodle factory worker in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, will pay installments of 5,000 baht (about ¥13,600) a month on her 100cc Honda CZ-i motorcycle.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 15, 2009
Grandson to inherit a carmaker in decline
Akio Toyoda, grandson of Toyota Motor Corp.'s founder and the company's next president, will confront a challenge largely unknown to his ancestors — decline.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2008
Muscle cars giving 'otaku' new platforms to flex their fetishes
Masaya Taniguchi has a "heartache" plastered across the hood of his flaming red Audi TT Roadster.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on