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EDITORIALS
Aug 4, 2012

Japan's ongoing suicide problem

The basic law to cope with Japan's high suicide rate went into force in 2006. Then in 2007, the government adopted an outline of policies to deal with this serious social problem. But the government was slow in tackling the problem and even after the outline was adopted, ministries and agencies failed...
EDITORIALS
Aug 4, 2012

Police lessons from 3/11

The National Police Agency on July 24 released a fiscal 2012 white book that contained a section titled "Large-scale disasters and the police" at its outset. The section details what actions the police took when the earthquake and tsunami devastated the Tohoku coastal region on March 11, 2011, and the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 3, 2012

'7 Días en La Habana (7 Days in Havana)'

Just last week this column trotted out the movie industry's defense — post-Colorado "Batman" shootings — that films don't influence actual behavior. Now along comes "7 Días en La Habana (7 Days in Havana)," a raucous compendium film that features scene after simmering scene of people getting righteously...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 3, 2012

Uchimura captures all-around gold

Kohei Uchimura doesn't punch in on a company time clock to begin his workday. Instead, the Nagasaki Prefecture native dons a gymnast's uniform, and like iconic painters Pablo Picasso, El Greco, et al, his daily existence is focused on producing a masterpiece.
OLYMPICS / LONDON POSTCARD
Aug 3, 2012

Atmosphere was electric as Phelps swam to record

What was the atmosphere like at the Aquatics Centre on Tuesday evening?
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2012

Kids' safety key worry in Fukushima

A year and half after the start of the nuclear crisis, many who attended the government's latest public hearing on energy policy in Fukushima on Wednesday still expressed concern about the impact of radiation on their children.
COMMENTARY
Aug 3, 2012

Pushing Seoul-Tokyo forward

There is an old Russian proverb that applies to current Japan-South Korea (ROK) relations: "Forget the past and lose an eye; dwell on the past and lose both eyes!"
EDITORIALS
Aug 3, 2012

Promoting entrepreneurship

A fiscal 2012 white book on the economy and state finances endorsed by the Cabinet on July 27 stressed the importance of entrepreneurship to accelerate innovation, an important factor for economic growth as Japan faces a declining birthrate and the graying of the population.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 3, 2012

World Cosplay Summit to hit its climax in Nagoya

Last week the London Olympics kicked off with no shortage of spectacle. However, if it's visual delights you're looking for then it might be better to turn your eyes toward Nagoya instead of London. This event is all about cosplay — the very essence of spectacle.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 3, 2012

Hasegawa gets the perfect portrait

Making a documentary on a crusading 90-year-old photojournalist who is famously fearless and uncompromising is not for the timid. Saburo Hasegawa, who has been directing television documentaries on a range of social issues since the 1990s, was initially afraid that his subject, Kikujiro Fukushima, might...
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2012

U.S. study remains wise option

Unlike the situation with young Chinese and South Koreans, the number of Japanese students entering American universities has been declining over the past decade. Fewer students may be qualified to study in the United States, and others are probably choosing to study in other countries. The latter action...
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2012

Give credit where credit is due

The characterization of the recession and auto industry bailout by Yoshi Tsurumi in his July 26 article, "Detroit lives, thanks to a courageous decision," is a clear case of Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS), a condition that causes otherwise intelligent people to blame U.S. President George W. Bush for...
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2012

Group responsibility drawback

Regarding Tyas Huybrechts' July 29 letter, "The will to take on bullying": The Japanese education system is based on bullying. From elementary school on, students are placed in han with four or five of their classmates. While euphemistically translated as "lunch groups," han are about a lot more than...
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2012

Japan still has a long way to go

Although I am strongly against the retention of the death penalty in Japan — and thus favor its immediate abolition — I disagree with former Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura's remarks that abolishing it would represent a step toward Japan's becoming "a mature, democratic nation," as he was quoted...
Japan Times
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 2, 2012

Marial epitomizes the Olympic spirit

There are more than 10,000 athletes listed as participants in the London Olympics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 2, 2012

Fuji Rock gets a blast of sunshine, and a wave of Cool Britannia from Radiohead, Noel Gallagher, The Stone Roses

Chances are that anyone who regularly makes it out to the valleys of Naeba, Niigata Prefecture, for the annual Fuji Rock Festival will tell you that it's not for the weather. If there's one thing every year that punters will cross their fingers and hope for more than quality performances from their favored...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 2, 2012

Phelps most decorated Olympian in history

The first truly transcendent sports moment of the London Olympics took place around 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 2, 2012

Architect Andrew Burns and artist Brook Andrew introduce Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale's new Australia House

"Surely, post 3/11, post Global Financial Crisis, we need to make buildings and spaces that are simple and allow us to remember essential things," says Andrew Burns, the architect behind the new Australia House in Urada, Tokamachi City.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2012

Nippon Yusen slashes spending as rates slump

Nippon Yusen K.K. will slash spending on new vessels by at least ¥260 billion as rates to transport commodities slump due to the swelling global fleet.
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 1, 2012

Hirai's impact on swimmers profound

Valentine's Day is not associated with a passion for one's job, but rather, you know, a different kind of affection.
COMMENTARY
Aug 1, 2012

Disease hindering the development of Africa

The high cost of treating certain diseases, most notably HIV/AIDS, when coupled with the indirect costs from lost worker productivity, is having a serious negative impact on African economies. More effort must go toward primary care, especially in rural areas, accompanied by activities to promote health,...
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2012

Hiroshima to grade states on disarmament

As the 67th anniversary of Hiroshima's atomic bombing approaches, the prefecture is trying a new tactic to achieve the goal of global nuclear disarmament.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2012

China flexing more muscle in Pacific: report

This year's defense white paper underscores China's rapid military buildup and constant muscle-flexing in the Pacific Ocean as a shared concern of the international community.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Aug 1, 2012

Get your sick days ready for 'Dragon Quest X'

For many gamers, "Dragon Quest" is shorthand for Japanese role-playing games. The series is iconic. It's loved by players young and old.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jul 31, 2012

Gawking children are tolerable, but adults have no excuse

Belated readers' responses to "Parents, please keep your kids away from me at feeding time" by Christy Bridgeman (Hotline to Nagatacho, May 22) and J. Bradley Bulsterbaum's letter on the subject, "Cut gaijin-gawking children some slack — it's how they learn" (Have Your Say, June 26):
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jul 30, 2012

Tunisian hoop team eyes upset in London

Here's something I do know: Adel Tlatli is a name unknown to most people following the Olympics.
COMMENTARY
Jul 30, 2012

China's gunboat diplomacy

There is a saying in international diplomacy: Watch what countries do, rather than what they say.
Reader Mail
Jul 29, 2012

Osprey safety issue a canard

Concerning the July 24 front-page article "Ospreys reach Iwakuni; protest held": I think those opposed to the Osprey's deployment are being foolish and disingenuous. I feel for Okinawans, who carry the heaviest burden among Japan's prefectures in hosting U.S. military facilities. But right now, that's...

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic