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JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 16, 2012

Shale oil vein raises energy, tech hopes

For the first time ever this month, shale oil was extracted from a Japanese oil field.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 14, 2012

For diplomacy's sake, Japan must bring its big-city dogs of war to heel

Not many would remember the name Norris Poulson.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 9, 2012

North Korea abductees mark decade since coming home

Oct. 15 will mark the 10th anniversary since five Japanese citizens were repatriated from North Korea after being abducted by Pyongyang's agents in the 1970s. The government claims that the North has failed to properly address the fate of 12 more Japanese abductees that remain missing, while others say...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 7, 2012

Tabloids return fire, urge China business pullout

On Sept. 29, the 40th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, Sankei Shimbun editorial writer Ryutaro Kobayashi asked how it would be possible for Japan to continue discussions with a China that had "lost its national dignity."
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 7, 2012

Animal Welfare Law left neutered

The friction between competing political parties no longer fortifies the effectiveness of lawmaking. If anything it confounds the process. The opposition Liberal Democratic Party has openly vowed to be legislatively uncooperative until the ruling Democratic Party of Japan calls an election, so in order...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 3, 2012

Nippon Ishin no Kai: Local but with national outlook

After months of preparation, Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's new political party, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), was formally inaugurated at a mid-September gathering that drew more than 3,000 supporters.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 2, 2012

Abuse by Irish priest could be tip of iceberg

It is over three years since it was revealed that an Irish Catholic priest had abused several children in Japan. His victims here are probably still unaware their tormentor was a serial offender.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 28, 2012

'Ashura (Asura)'

An anime with a sad-eyed waif as the hero must surely be something for the kiddies, no? Well no, if the waif carries a blood-stained axe and greedily devours human flesh like a starved wolf.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 25, 2012

Cesium contamination in food appears to be on wane

It's been 18 months since the Fukushima nuclear disaster contaminated much of the prefecture and beyond, and reports are still coming in about radiation in food exceeding the government limit.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 18, 2012

Vicious nuclear fuel cycle proving difficult to break

Under the government's new energy strategy, announced last week, Japan will aim to end its reliance on nuclear energy during the 2030s. But the public was quick to spot a contradiction, as the strategy states that the nation's contentious nuclear fuel cycle policy will remain intact.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 16, 2012

Getting food on tables is increasingly difficult

The cover of Nikkei Business of Aug. 27 carried a photograph of a sirloin steak atop a sizzling platter. The meat was artfully trimmed to form the shape of the Japanese archipelago.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2012

Reformed Myanmar ready for foreign investment

The rapid political developments in Myanmar since last year, including the April by-elections that saw democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi elected to parliament, have resulted in the easing of economic sanctions by Western nations, with businesses rushing to plan new investments to explore opportunities...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 11, 2012

Isle row Rule No.1: Protect what you have

The nation's territorial disputes heated up in August when the South Korean president made an unprecedented visit to the Takeshima Islands, which his country holds, and Chinese activists briefly landed on the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 5, 2012

Buy now to beat the consumption tax increase ... or don't

The pros and cons of making big-ticket purchases before the consumption tax increase.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 4, 2012

Part of aging process: Preparing for the end

When young people say "shukatsu," they mean job-hunting. But nowadays, older people are grimly playing on the word by changing the kanji for "shu" to convey a different kind of activity: preparing for "the end."
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 2, 2012

Will the Takeshima dispute break the Korean wave?

"There's something sad, when a political problem goes so far as to spill over to the entertainment industry," rues journalist Kaoru Kikuchi in Sunday Mainichi (Sep. 9).
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2012

Have refrigerators really made our lives better?

My refrigerator died on a Saturday. I ignored the early signs of trouble with it — a Kenmore unit just four years old, yet suddenly unable to keep milk from spoiling or ice cream from melting into sugary soup.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 28, 2012

Revival eludes nation's birthrate

It sounds like a broken record: Japan is beset by a low birthrate and an aging society.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Aug 25, 2012

Conductor-composer hits right note with Tokyo children's choir

Steven Morgan creates instant harmony with the wave of his hand. For 15 years, he has been conducting some of Tokyo's leading English choirs, bringing the pleasure of choral music performances to both singers and audiences alike.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2012

Noda unswayed by talks with rally leaders

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda should listen to the voices of the people and abolish all atomic reactors as soon as possible, organizers of the weekly antinuclear rallies told the nation's leader in a face-to-face meeting Wednesday.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 21, 2012

Japan's hold on Olympic judo slipping

Judo became an Olympic sport in the 1964 Tokyo Games and was dominated by the country of its origin until the 2008 Games in Beijing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 17, 2012

The art of making monsters

Good news for monster fans: Not one, not two, but three separate tokusatsu exhibitions are stomping their way through downtown Tokyo as you read these words.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 17, 2012

'Shokuzai (Penance)'

How much will they miss you when you're gone? Directors typically keep putting off the answer to that question as long as possible, working until they drop. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, whose 2008 dysfunctional family drama "Tokyo Sonata" won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival,...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 14, 2012

Did hearings on Japan's energy future let public send clear nuclear signal?

The 11 government-sponsored hearings on what the public thinks the nation's future energy mix should be in light of the Fukushima nuclear crisis ended earlier this month to mixed reviews.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 7, 2012

Curbs afoot as narcotic quasi-legal herbs slip through regulatory cracks

The use of "dappo habu" (quasi-legal herbs) that are dried and mixed with stimulants to make narcotics is spreading, and many people are ending up in hospitals for drug poisoning.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2012

Share rout cues record margin trades

Sharp Corp.'s biggest one-day stock slide in 37 years sent its shares sold short in Japanese margin-trading accounts surging to a daily record as investors bet volatility will continue.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear