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COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Mar 24, 2012

Looking for work in all the wrong places

"Know of any jobs? Anything at all?"
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2012

Takashimaya tells new recruits to dress, speak casually

Department store operator Takashimaya Co. will ban new recruits from wearing suits at its initiation ceremony April 1, hoping to create a relaxed environment in which the young employees feel free to voice their opinions.
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2012

Kono's BOJ nomination slammed

The government on Friday nominated BNP Paribas economist Ryutaro Kono to join the Bank of Japan's Policy Board, drawing criticism from lawmakers concerned that he won't support bolder action to end prolonged deflation.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 23, 2012

Auto thefts in Japan record first rise in a decade

Grand theft auto, the real kind, makes a slight comeback in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2012

Axed Goldman workers fight back

Three former employees of Goldman Sachs Japan are willing to take legal action if they don't get their jobs back or the company doesn't negotiate in good faith, a spokesman for the three said.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 23, 2012

Parmer says Phoenix primed for third straight title run

Attempting to win a third consecutive championship, the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix remain the beast of the East.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2012

'My Week With Marilyn'

In his book "Retromania," music critic Simon Reynolds makes the case that pop music/rock has gone distressingly meta, feeding on its accumulated history at the expense of any further forward evolution musically. It's a bold argument — and well worth a read — but one could probably make the same case...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 23, 2012

Yearly anime fairs a must for die-hard fans

Tokyo's otaku (geek) hub of Akihabara might be empty for the next two weekends as two major anime events hit the capital.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 23, 2012

Unlocking the secrets of the Inca civilization

The pre-Columbian civilizations of the Americas are very much in the public's mind this year due to the so-called Mayan Prophecy that suggests the world will end on Dec. 21. Perhaps any fear-mongering will have the positive effect of sparking increased interest in the region. Luckily, media company TBS...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 23, 2012

Unlocking the secrets of the Inca civilization

The pre-Columbian civilizations of the Americas are very much in the public's mind this year due to the so-called Mayan Prophecy that suggests the world will end on Dec. 21. Perhaps any fear-mongering will have the positive effect of sparking increased interest in the region. Luckily, media company TBS...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 23, 2012

NPB, players embrace normalcy ahead of upcoming season

Fans in the stands supporting their favorite teams and players this spring signalled more than just the return of baseball. It was the beacon of a slight return to normalcy.
Reader Mail
Mar 22, 2012

Martial arts among safer sports

In the March 15 editorial "Reason to skip judo class" — which expresses concern over the introduction of judo and other martial arts as mandatory sports in Japanese junior high schools — there is some confusing information.
Reader Mail
Mar 22, 2012

Making renewable energy feasible

Renewable energy has a Siamese twin: energy-use reduction. The two are inseparable, at least with the technologies available in the foreseeable future. The good news is that last summer's (July and August) electricity consumption was down 14 percent (see http://kaden.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20110928_480111.html),...
Reader Mail
Mar 22, 2012

Big risks without nuclear power

Since March 11, 2011, there has been a backlash against nuclear power among the public. Many people now equate nuclear power with danger. I, however, feel that the Fukushima nuclear accident was more of a human/managerial problem than a nuclear one.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 22, 2012

Showcase tour can be a first step into America — but only if you get it right

A showcase at South by Southwest or a slot on the Japan Nite tour can be a great way to launch a band Stateside — or a great waste of time and money.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 22, 2012

Photographing history: pioneers of technique

A good retrospective presents an artist's full career, challenges our preconceptions and encourages us to rethink his or her work and contributions. Two new exhibitions at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography do just that, shedding new light on two very different photographers: Felice Beato...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 22, 2012

Photographing history: pioneers of technique

A good retrospective presents an artist's full career, challenges our preconceptions and encourages us to rethink his or her work and contributions. Two new exhibitions at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography do just that, shedding new light on two very different photographers: Felice Beato...
COMMENTARY
Mar 22, 2012

Pinpointing the causes of the U.S. economic crisis

Four years after the onset of the financial crisis — in March 2008 Bear Stearns was rescued from failure — we still lack a clear understanding of the underlying causes. Hundreds of studies and books have given us an increasingly detailed picture of what happened without conclusively answering why....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2012

Join TPP but also expand in Asia: economist

Japan should adopt a two-pronged trade strategy — participate in the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement and further deepen economic ties with the rest of Asia — to achieve economic growth, according to the top economist at the Asian Development Bank Institute.
COMMENTARY
Mar 22, 2012

China's military buildup breeds distrust

Since China announced another big rise in its military spending earlier this month, Chinese officials in Beijing and diplomats posted in Asia-Pacific countries have been trying to spread an orchestrated message to the region: Don't be alarmed.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2012

Can the world's poor nations save the rest of us?

Events in 2012 so far have confirmed a new global dissymmetry. Caught between unprecedented financial insecurity and a somber economic outlook, the rich OECD countries and their middle classes fear geopolitical weakening and downward social mobility. In much of Asia, Africa and Latin America, however,...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2012

Goldman Sachs has a long history of duping its clients

Greg Smith doesn't know the half of it.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 20, 2012

Author sees parallels between prewar, nuclear indoctrination

The March 10, 1945, Great Tokyo Air Raid was the most destructive air attack in history. Nearly 100,000 people lost their lives after approximately 300 B29 bombers attacked Tokyo's present-day Sumida, Koto and Taito wards. Some 1,700 tons of napalm and incendiary bombs created a firestorm that raged...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 20, 2012

Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya: What have you learned about Japan and the Japanese people from 3/11 and its aftermath?

Mina Jeon, 36 (Tokyo)
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2012

Testing times for U.S.-South Korean alliance

The United States is now wrestling with the nuclear fears of two close allies — Israel and South Korea. Israel's alarm at the prospect of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon is existential in nature. The same is true of South Korea, whose capital sits only 40 km from the border with the North.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Mar 20, 2012

Randoseru

Dear Alice,
COMMENTARY
Mar 19, 2012

Chief executive falls on Hong Kong's reputation

Chief Executive Donald Tsang, chastened by the disclosure that he had accepted favors from Hong Kong and mainland tycoons, was on the verge of tears when he appeared March 1 before the Legislative Council and pleaded: "No matter whether you still trust me or not, don't lose faith in Hong Kong's institutions."...
COMMENTARY
Mar 19, 2012

Color GDP growth green

It is often said that the 21st century is the "century of the environment." This means two things: One is that the environmental problems of this planet, especially climate change and global warming, have become so serious that they are attracting more people's attention; and the other is that environmental...

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