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COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2012

Corporate short-termism in the fiscal cliff's shadow

Economic trends are sometimes more closely related to one another than news reports make them seem. For example, one regularly encounters reports of governments' financial troubles, like the "fiscal cliff" in the United States and the debt crisis in Europe. And much attention has been devoted, often...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2012

Formed in childhood, roots of Abe's conservatism go deep

Shinzo Abe, 58, who becomes prime minister again Wednesday, is regarded overseas, particularly in Asia, as one of the most-known — and probably most notorious — hawkish politicians in Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2012

The facts on Fukushima's fish

The catastrophe at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant not only affected people directly in Fukushima Prefecture but also harmed the local economy. Sales of products from the prefecture have suffered, and tourist spots have lost business, because of rumors or misinformation about...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 24, 2012

Rip van Winkle returns to government with trade war on his mind

Japan is about to get a new government and it's just like old times. Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe, who is set to become prime minister, again sounds as if he has been spending his time out of office back in the 1960s.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 24, 2012

Actor Depardieu takes center stage in French tax debate

Gerard Depardieu, one of France's most beloved movie actors, has played memorable roles enshrining him as a monument of French culture: Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables," Cyrano de Bergerac in Rostand's kitsch classic and Obelix in a cartoonish spoof of wily Gauls resisting the Romans.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 23, 2012

Abe is a hawk, the public merely conservative

Commenting acidly on November's U.S. presidential election, American columnist George Will said all it showed was "whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney has the smaller gigantic number of Americans not wanting him to be president." Substitute the names of Prime Minister-elect Shinzo Abe and outgoing Prime...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 23, 2012

How to care for the children when we're at odds with the planet?

Perhaps this column should begin with a disclaimer like those found on CDs and DVDs that are intended to help protect kids from obscenity — Parental Advisory: Explicit Content.
Reader Mail
Dec 23, 2012

Way of compassion worth a try

What to say, what to do in response to a massacre like the most recent one in Newtown, Connecticut? As a U.S. national (and Anglican priest) who moved to Japan just over a month ago, I have felt deep gratitude for the regards and concern that the people of this country have shown me since news of the...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 23, 2012

"Family History"; Top athletes in unimaginable contests; CM of the week: Sato Shokuhi

The portion of resident Korean nationals in the sports and show business worlds is higher than it is in the general population. Athletics and entertainment were and still are two traditional ways for non-Japanese to escape poverty.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2012

Abe's return could ease yen, aid exporters

The economy has shrunk almost 10 percent in the half decade since Shinzo Abe was last prime minister, as a soaring yen hollows out manufacturing. Abe's return may be exporters' best chance yet to halt the damage.
Reader Mail
Dec 20, 2012

Monetary challenge for the LDP

As Japan awakes to a new government, the question of monetary easing is certain to take center stage in policy discussion.
Reader Mail
Dec 20, 2012

Mistake was taking job seriously

In his Dec. 13 letter, "Marching orders to the Japanese," Gregory Clark writes that "Former Olympus Corp. chief Michael Woodford ... was brought in to help a company in trouble, and failed."
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2012

Toyota to pay record fine

Toyota Motor Corp., the company that has paid the most in fines to the U.S. auto safety regulator, agreed to pay a $17.4 million civil penalty for delaying reports of a vehicle defect.
LIFE / Travel / TRAVEL INSIDER
Dec 19, 2012

Win a futsal tournament, receive Liverpool tickets; new Korean Air benefits program

Liverpool FC tickets Virgin Atlantic Airways has announced that it will again cohost the third All England Cup Futsal Tournament in Japan in March with the international banking group Standard Chartered Bank.
BUSINESS / ELECTION 2012
Dec 18, 2012

Keidanren chief praises election results, calls for strong leadership

Kyodo The chief of the nation's largest business lobby on Monday welcomed the Liberal Democratic Party's landslide victory in the general election and called for strong leadership in rebuilding the economy, promoting free trade and other issues.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 18, 2012

LDP charges back, vows to regain voter confidence

After winning more than two-thirds of the Lower House in Sunday's general election, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito are set to launch a coalition government as early as next week, with hawkish LDP leader Shinzo Abe becoming prime minister.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 18, 2012

DPJ blows chance to establish two-party rule

It took 54 years for the nation's politics to produce a viable opposition party, and 39 months for it to self-destruct after winning power, splintering prospects for an enduring policy-driven two-party system.
BUSINESS / ELECTION 2012
Dec 18, 2012

Torrent of support for LDP clears pipes for fiscal spigot

The magnitude of the Liberal Democratic Party's win in Sunday's general election smooths the path for fiscal stimulus in early 2013 as incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to end the economy's contraction.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Dec 17, 2012

Job one for Inose: stepping out from Ishihara's shadow

The Tokyo gubernatorial race ended Sunday with Vice Gov. Naoki Inose winning the top job, drawing the curtain on a lackluster campaign for the capital that was overshadowed by the Lower House election.
COMMENTARY
Dec 17, 2012

'Green' losers and winners

I have long advocated the path of "green growth" for Japan. During the past two decades, the Japanese economy has suffered from an extremely low annual growth rate averaging 0.9 percent in real terms and minus 0.2 percent nominally.

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