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JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 14, 2013

New thugs on block sidestep the usual suspects

Japan's underworld, namely the "boryokudan" (gangster organizations) better known as yakuza, have been targeted with crackdowns in recent years focused on cutting their funding and expanding their criminal liability. But a new type of thug appears to be acting with impunity by operating in a legal void....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 13, 2013

Can two U.S. senators' bipartisan bill finally halt 'Too Big to Fail' mantra?

Last month, an unlikely pair of senators — Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, and David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican — introduced a non-binding resolution calling for the end of the implicit subsidies that "too big to fail" (TBTF) banks enjoy.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 13, 2013

Is missile defense useful?

As Japan pours huge sums of taxpayer money into its missile defense system, the SDF is functioning more like a subcontractor for the U.S. armed forces.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 12, 2013

Japan's Suzaku satellite shows how all bets are off around Cygnus X-1

This month, the Vermillion bird of the South — which is currently flying 550 km above Earth — meets an astronomical swan some 6,000 light-years away.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 12, 2013

Inose's lack of media savvy may have ruined Tokyo's Olympic bid

Two weeks ago, Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose gave an interview to the New York Times in which he violated International Olympic Committee rules by publicly bad-mouthing Istanbul and Madrid, the Japanese capital's two rivals to host the 2020 games.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 11, 2013

Abe to take on intel-gathering taboos

As tensions with China and North Korea mount, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prepares to assail postwar political taboos and bolster Japan's intelligence-gathering capabilities.
JAPAN
May 11, 2013

Case closed over Inose's Islamic slight: Tokyo Olympics bid exec

The president of Tokyo's 2020 Olympics bid committee Friday downplayed Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose's recent criticism of Islamic countries, saying the matter had effectively been resolved by the incumbent's apology.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
May 11, 2013

Carmakers seen heading for big year

Japanese automakers are expected to reap further profits, possibly at record levels, in the current business year to next March thanks to the yen's decline and the positive U.S. economic outlook, experts said.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2013

Nishimuro tapped to take over Japan Post

The government has asked former Toshiba Corp. Chairman Taizo Nishimuro to take over as president and CEO of Japan Post Holdings Co., which controls the giant government-owned Japan Post conglomerate, government officials said Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 11, 2013

Genesis of a brawl: Decades of Sherpa resentment fuel confrontation on Mount Everest

It's an irresistible contrast. On the one hand, modern mountaineering superstars with their blogs and sponsorship deals, scrapping with outraged Sherpas on the slopes of Everest. On the other, one of the defining images of the 20th century, the photograph of Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary standing...
JAPAN / Politics
May 10, 2013

Japan protests China's Okinawa commentary

The government has lodged "a strong protest" against a commentary published by a Chinese state-run newspaper that questioned the legitimacy of Japan's ownership of Okinawa, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 10, 2013

'Chugakusei Maruyama (Maruyama, the Middle Schooler)'

Acclaimed as a comic genius in Japan, actor/scriptwriter/director Kankuro Kudo has been slower to find recognition abroad. His brand of hyperactive comedy, with its machine-gun dialogue and many references to local pop culture, is not the easiest for foreign audiences to understand, though his two previous...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 9, 2013

Huffington in Tokyo for launch of Japanese-language version of HuffPost

The Japanese version of the Huffington Post website aims to encourage reserved Japanese people to participate in online discussions and express themselves, Arianna Huffington, founder of the online media giant, said Wednesday.
CULTURE / Music / JAZZ NOTES
May 9, 2013

Female jazz acts are the real Cool Japan

One of the highlights of my Golden Week this year was a concert by the Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Jazz Orchestra at Blue Note in Tokyo. Reuniting her big band for the first time in a decade, Akiyoshi rolled back the clock with a superb set and some witty banter. The high point of the Sunday night...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 9, 2013

TICAD to redefine Japan aid to Africa

When the first Tokyo International Conference on African Development was held 20 years ago, circumstances in Japan and Africa were vastly different than they are today.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 8, 2013

U.S., South Korea show united front on North Korea

U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korea's new leader warn North Korea against further nuclear provocations, with Obama declaring that the days when Pyongyang could 'create a crisis and elicit concessions' were over.
JAPAN
May 8, 2013

Japanese official says government won't revise sex slave apology

Responding to criticism from a former U.S. ambassador to Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Tuesday the administration is not considering revising a key apology to wartime sex slaves.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2013

Globalized sacrificial altars

The Bangladeshi garment factory collapse poses moral questions for politicians and business executives worldwide, including: What is the value of a human life?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2013

Anshu Jain brings Deutsche Bank to world as client's man

Twelve days into his job as co-CEO of Deutsche Bank AG, Anshu Jain stood beside Germany's finance minister and in front of video images of lush forests and rolling rivers as hundreds of businessmen sang the national anthem.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years