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JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 7, 2012

Bubble era's aviation legacy: Too many airports, all ailing

Japan has 98 airports, and most of them are operating in the red as a result of exaggerated demand forecasts and rampant, costly and arguably pork-barrel construction projects.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2012

Rising bond auction demand defies growing debt-burden concerns

Demand has risen at every note and bond auction in Japan this year, helping the nation maintain the world's second-lowest borrowing costs on a debt burden poised to exceed ¥1 quadrillion.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 6, 2012

Americans seem driven to work more for less

Recently a friend confided over dinner that her job was "killing" her. I was surprised. She is a director of a midsize nonprofit that is doing citizen diplomacy work in the Middle East, and she has often remarked on how gratifying it is to be involved in a program that brings historical enemies face...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 6, 2012

Hard to give yourself up when you're a wanted man

'Hirata Makoto desu. Shuttō shite kimashita." (「平田信です。出頭してきました」"I am Makoto Hirata. I've come to give myself up").
Reader Mail
Feb 5, 2012

Problem with some universities

In my opinion the reason why the not-so-prestigious private universities in Japan are said to be having a hard time attracting Japanese students is that many of the lecturers have poor academic knowledge and inferior research ability. As they lack the passion for teaching the importance of exploring...
Reader Mail
Feb 5, 2012

Yours-is-mine model doomed

Observing the furor on the Web and in newspapers last month over the attempt by members of the U.S. Congress to pass legislation aimed at cracking down on Internet piracy makes it clear that large numbers of people support the irresponsible positions of the Internet heavyweights such as YouTube, Google...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 5, 2012

Takada says being GM, manager equally challenging

Playing as a teammate with Shigeo Nagashima and Sadaharu Oh was awesome. Yu Darvish should win more than 15 games this season with the Texas Rangers.
Reader Mail
Feb 5, 2012

Test intended to cull foreigners

When Japan Airlines introduced foreign cabin attendants, the counter-argument at the time was that, in an emergency, Japanese passengers might not be saved because the foreign cabin attendants would not be able to communicate with them.
Reader Mail
Feb 5, 2012

Higher level of political discourse

Kevin Rafferty's Feb. 1 article, "President Obama's dreams are suffering nightmares," reads like a love letter to Barack Obama, calling him the "young, intelligent, telegenic president."
Reader Mail
Feb 5, 2012

Only Japanese-speaking nurses

Regarding the Jan. 31 article "Foreigners' poor test grades force rethink on nurse tests": Our society is aging fast and we need to improve nursing care, especially for more and more elderly people. So, hiring professional nurses from abroad is a very good way to increase the supply and release pressure...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Feb 5, 2012

The artist: Shimane's Davis is master of the blocked shot

"The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot."
BASKETBALL
Feb 5, 2012

Blackledge continues to make big impact for Phoenix

Ed OdevenSTAFF WRITER
Reader Mail
Feb 5, 2012

Trying to prove superiority

Those responsible for the nurse certification exam are, and always will remain, an arrogant lot. They hold these exams just to let people fail and, in their mind, once again prove the superiority of the Japanese over other nationals. Of course, the tests should be in English. And it's clear that if the...
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2012

Scientists say contamination of ocean fish minimal so far

The massive radioactive fallout from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has sparked fear in seafood lovers and commercial fishermen both at home and abroad, and some worry the contamination could pass through and even become more concentrated in the ocean food chain.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Feb 3, 2012

Geary has Yokohama in gear halfway through season

Among the league's four expansion teams, the Yokohama B-Corsairs have the best record (14-14) entering February.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2012

'The Hunter' / 'Poetry'

One of cinema's most constant motifs is the flawed, morally corrupt character who in the last reel listens to his conscience and decides to do the right thing. There's a good reason for this: Audiences know all too well how easy it is to be a "good German," and desperately wish it weren't so. You often...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2012

'Shinobido (Shinobido — Way of the Ninja)'

Ninja movies come with certain expectations, especially in the West. One is for action of the fantastic sort, with the ninja performing feats impossible to real human beings without assists from wires or CGI. Another is that, dramatically, they will be laughably bad.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 3, 2012

Botan: Put a little sukiyaki fire in your belly

On one side of the battered shōji screen with its panels of flimsy washi paper, the sleet and biting wind. On the other, a small old-fashioned hibachi brazier, its coals glowing softly. There's no contest: At Botan, the charcoal wins every time.
Reader Mail
Feb 2, 2012

Lower voting age doesn't help

Regarding Masami Ito's front-page article on Jan. 27, "Talks to start on lowering voting age": Representative democracy is an extortion racket. Lowering the voting age, like extending enfranchisement to women and poor males in the West, has resulted only in a lower quality of extortion, such as brutality...
Reader Mail
Feb 2, 2012

Ability to deal with uncertainty

Sawa Takamitsu, in his Jan. 24 article "More crucial than English," makes a number of interesting points that have to do with research budgets and even the involvement of business people in deciding the course of studies at Japanese universities. While I agree with everything the author says regarding...
Reader Mail
Feb 2, 2012

'Stress test' a charade for banks

The editorial "Power users on the hook" (Jan. 27), wittingly or otherwise, contains a perspicacious "King's New Clothes" revelation in the seventh paragraph: "Banks are pressuring Tepco (Tokyo Electric Power Co.) to restart the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant and to raise power rates as the conditions for new...
Reader Mail
Feb 2, 2012

May the spirit of Tsukiji survive

Having worked in the neighborhood of the Tsukiji fish market for almost two decades, I am surprised that the Jan. 29 article "Fish tales of Tsukiji" describes the atmosphere there and fishermen's spirits so well. Tsukiji is talked about a lot lately on TV programs and in the mass media, but the content...
Reader Mail
Feb 2, 2012

Upshot of starting in spring

I am writing with reference to the front-page Jan. 19 Kyodo article "Todai panel recommends fall enrollment." As a longtime resident and teacher here in Japan, there are many aspects of the current education system that I would like to see change. However, the April start to the academic year is not...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 2, 2012

"Winter Exhibition of Netsuke Art by Jin Kuwabara"

Netsuke are decorative button-like toggles invented during the Edo Period (1603-1867) to fasten shut inro pill boxes and tobacco pouches that men wore hanging from their kimono sashes. They were usually made from ivory, wood, ceramics or deer antler and in the shape of animals or spiritual figures.
CULTURE / Art
Feb 2, 2012

"Winter Exhibition of Netsuke Art by Jin Kuwabara"

Netsuke are decorative button-like toggles invented during the Edo Period (1603-1867) to fasten shut inro pill boxes and tobacco pouches that men wore hanging from their kimono sashes. They were usually made from ivory, wood, ceramics or deer antler and in the shape of animals or spiritual figures.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2012

Demilitarizing Muslim politics

Can Muslim governments free themselves from their countries' powerful militaries and establish civilian control comparable to that found in liberal democracies? This question is now paramount in countries as disparate as Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 2, 2012

The rootless woodblock prints of Kuniyoshi

There have been several exhibitions of the 19th-century ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi in recent years. In 2009, there was "Woodblock Prints of Eccentricity and Laughter" at the Fuchu Art Museum and last year we had "Utagawa Kuniyoshi: Unparalleled Ukiyo-e Artist" at the Ota Memorial...
CULTURE / Art
Feb 2, 2012

The rootless woodblock prints of Kuniyoshi

There have been several exhibitions of the 19th-century ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi in recent years. In 2009, there was "Woodblock Prints of Eccentricity and Laughter" at the Fuchu Art Museum and last year we had "Utagawa Kuniyoshi: Unparalleled Ukiyo-e Artist" at the Ota Memorial...

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