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August 26, 2025
 

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CARTOONS / ZERO GRAVITY
Dec 18, 2011
Bento Pressure
CARTOONS / DAHL'S JAPAN
Dec 18, 2011
Santa Jobs
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 18, 2011
Their spirit seems willing but young Japanese are hesitant to get hitched
By Roger Pulvers
Back in the days of "there's gold in them thar hills," one of the prospectors' doleful refrains boasted the title "My Girlfriend's a Mule and a Mine." Across the Pacific and some 150 years on, I wouldn't be surprised if an echo of that plaintive air were not about to catch on among young Japanese males...
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2011
Declining business sentiment
The Japanese economic outlook is opaque. A Bank of Japan survey reports deteriorating business sentiment among major manufacturers in December. Clearly Europe's sovereign debt crisis, the historic rise of the yen's value and flood damage in Thailand are a cause of concern.
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2011
Hollow excuses from Tepco
Tokyo Electric Power Co. in early December made public an interim report by a study panel that it had appointed itself on the disaster that occurred at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The report details the unfolding of the disaster from the loss...
Japan Times
CARTOONS / NOODLES
Dec 18, 2011
Christmas
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2011
London versus the eurozone: The game is on
By Howard Davies
Ever since the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community in 1973, after the French withdrew Charles de Gaulle's veto of its membership, Britain's relationship with the European integration process has been strained.
EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2011
Nursing home dilemma
The health and welfare ministry is pushing a plan to increase the number of "single-unit rooms" in nursing home facilities for the elderly. Such rooms are placed around a common space so that elderly people can maintain relationships with others while enjoying privacy in their rooms. The ministry also...
EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2011
Cruel treatment of the elderly
The health and welfare ministry announced Dec. 6 that fiscal 2010 saw a record 16,668 cases of cruel treatment of elderly people by family members or other relatives, a rise of 6.7 percent from the previous year. The cruelty by nursing home workers resulted in 21 deaths, 11 fewer than in the previous...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2011
Merkozy's euro suicide pact
By Kevin Rafferty
British Euro-skeptics and many Conservatives were triumphant that Prime Minister David Cameron cast his veto in defense of the City of London at the European summit recently; to British liberals, it was a night of shame that the United Kingdom was so easily isolated; to Europe generally it was a chance...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2011
Foiling the threat from Iran
By Hugh Cortazzi
The recent assault on the British Embassy in Tehran, which the Iranian authorities did nothing to stop until it was too late, led to the rupture of diplomatic relations between Britain and Iran. All British diplomats were withdrawn from Tehran and Iranian diplomats were expelled from London.
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2011
Foundation for reconstruction
As late as nine months after the March 11 quake and tsunami, the foundation for pushing reconstruction has firmed up after the Diet finally enacted the fiscal 2011 third supplementary budget and laws to secure reconstruction funds, establish the Reconstruction Agency and set up "reconstruction special...
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
JICA to designate four Japanese cities as 'hometowns' for African nations
The Japanese flag (left) with the flag of the African Union
Man arrested in Kobe stabbing had been staying at hotel near victim’s home
Masashi Tanimoto arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a woman in Kobe, is sent to prosecutors on Sunday.
Japanese prefectures break with labor ministry on minimum wage
The ministry of labor has suggested a 6% minimum wage increase, but most prefectures reporting so far are opting to go slightly higher.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Is the LDP’s catch-all approach to politics still effective?
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15. Political commentator Toru Hashimoto has suggested that Takaichi ought to lead a group of like-minded hawkish politicians out of the Liberal Democratic Party and form their own party.
Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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