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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 6, 2012

'United'

In "United," soccer is described as "beautiful" — a wondrous amalgam of a simple ball, freshly mown grass and men doing godlike things with their feet. Set in Manchester, England, in the 1950s, "United" pays full tribute to this beauty with loving attention to the details of the sport.
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2012

Barclays ex-chief tries to deflect blame in rate-fixing probe

Fallen banking titan Bob Diamond on Wednesday described regulators on both sides of the Atlantic as partly complicit in a scandal involving the manipulation of a key interbank lending rate, telling a British parliamentary committee that government watchdogs had failed to act after his bank, Barclays,...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jul 4, 2012

Aoki returns to Tokyo; Aomori, Nara get expansion teams

The bj-league will add a pair of new franchises for the 2013-14 season, and Cohey Aoki, the only six-time All-Star in league history, is returning to the capital city.
EDITORIALS
Jul 4, 2012

Mr. Ozawa needs more than slogan

Former Democratic Party of Japan chief Ichiro Ozawa and 49 other DPJ lawmakers on Monday bolted from the DPJ, which Mr. Ozawa had helped come to power by leading it to a victory in August 2009 Lower House election.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jul 3, 2012

In formulating immigration policy, no seat at the table for non-Japanese

Last month the Japanese government took baby steps toward an official immigration policy. Ten ministries and several specialist "people of awareness" (yūshikisha) held meetings aimed at creating a "coexistence society" (kyōsei shakai) within which non-Japanese (NJ) would be "accepted" (uke ire).
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 1, 2012

The land where sex fears to tread

No love, no sex, no marriage, no kids — such, in glum outline, is Japan today. It's too bleak a picture, it can't be true! But it can't be false either. If it were, people would be marrying, making babies and having love affairs. Instead, statistics reflecting everything from marriage and childbirth...
LIFE
Jul 1, 2012

Disabled women speak out on discrimination

Being a woman in Japan often comes with a variety of challenges, but when you are a woman with disabilities here, the scale of hardships you must endure can be overwhelming.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jun 30, 2012

Where the wild things aren't

"I have this idea to get rich quick," says this friend. Like me, he is underwhelmed by his Japanese income. Unlike me, he still has dreams. He also has my attention. For we all want to get rich and "quick" is by far the preferred method. But then he says . . .
EDITORIALS
Jun 30, 2012

North Korea needs a new direction

A half year has passed since the Dec. 17, 2011, death of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. The "military first" policy is his legacy. North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong Un, his youngest son, should pursue the path of giving priority to improving the well-being of the North Korean people. Such a...
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2012

Rakuten's English drive ready to take full effect, chief says

Rakuten Inc. CEO Hiroshi Mikitani is happy with the improvement of his workers' English proficiency and all employees understand its importance as the company expands globally, he said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2012

May retail sales better than expected

Retail sales rose more than forecast in May, a sign that consumer spending will help sustain a rebound in the world's third-largest economy.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 27, 2012

More hurdles in store for Noda

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda managed to get the Lower House to pass the contentious tax hike bill, but his troubles are far from over, as demonstrated by the no votes cast by the Democratic Party of Japan's kingpin, Ichiro Ozawa, and more than 50 of his followers.
COMMENTARY
Jun 25, 2012

A success story with or without 'Tiger Moms'

High up in the category of news that's too familiar to be newsworthy is the latest poll that finds Asians to be the most-educated and highest-earning population in the United States.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jun 25, 2012

Liberating Japan's resources

Japan has long been characterized as a nation with virtually no natural resources like oil, natural gas, coal, iron and copper. More than 125 million people live on land area ranking only 61st in the world in terms of size.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 24, 2012

Giants get back to basics in victory over Swallows

Tatsunori Hara's first game back at home since his scandal broke was uneventful.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Jun 22, 2012

Yakuzen cuisine makes Chinese medicine easier to swallow

Yakuzen grows in popularity at fans learn you can eat your vegetables and take your medicine in one meal!
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 22, 2012

'Attack the Block' / 'We Need to Talk About Kevin'

When unarmed teen Trayvon Martin was fatally shot in Florida by paranoid neighborhood-watch vigilante George Zimmerman in February, the usual flurry of American media debate ensued. One of the more heated tangents came when celebrity newscaster Geraldo Rivera stated — on Fox News, naturally — that...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jun 22, 2012

Grouses need coach after Shimoji steps down

After nearly finishing with their first winning season in franchise history, the Toyama Grouses will not have Kazuaki Shimoji at the helm in 2012-13. Serious health issues appear to be the primary factor, league insiders told The Japan Times.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 22, 2012

Politics is inescapable at 'Arab Express' exhibition

The Arab Spring may not be all it's cracked up to be. There are clearly problems with a large swath of nations, formerly under various forms of authoritarian regimes, switching relatively quickly to "democracy," at least as it is understood in the West.
Reader Mail
Jun 21, 2012

Disposal of quake-tsunami debris

Regarding the June 12 Kyodo article "Gunma agrees to help dispose of Iwate quake-tsunami debris": I'm glad to hear this news. After hearing earlier that many people in a city of my prefecture had voted against accepting quake-tsunami debris, I was afraid that the number of areas willing to receive it...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 21, 2012

The photographs that leave a paper trail

In today's complex world, in which we are routinely overburdened with data, intuition and a visceral response to imagery is increasingly trumping rational discourse, according to Thomas Demand. But this is something the German artist, whose work is the subject of a major solo show at the Museum of Contemporary...
Jun 21, 2012

What can be done about Syria?

The indiscriminate killing of civilians including women and children in Syria continues. All we seem able to do is wring our hands and denounce the perpetrators.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jun 20, 2012

How Jordan kept Isiah off Dream Team

Ironic how last Thursday was Flag Day and here we are, draped in drool over the 20th anniversary of the narcissistic 1992 Dream Team.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers