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Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2012

Sales tax shouldn't be the priority: Takenaka

Before hiking the 5 percent consumption tax, the government should first cut trillions of yen in public spending and adopt measures to spur economic growth, former economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka says.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 21, 2012

Three prefectures' trash flowing down to isle

Discarded trash and other debris is being carried by rivers running through Aichi, Gifu and Mie prefectures and washing ashore on Toshi Island in Ise Bay, an Environment Ministry study found.
BASKETBALL
Jan 21, 2012

Happinets cut Terry following arrest

After being arrested for theft of alcoholic beverages at an Akita convenience store last weekend, veteran swingman Curtis Terry has been released by the Akita Northern Happinets, the bj-league team announced on Thursday.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 20, 2012

Players, coaches fired up by large turnout at All-Star Game

The largest crowd in bj-league history, 14,011, witnessed Sunday's All-Star Game at Saitama Super Arena, and the positive energy from that experience carried over to players from throughout the league.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 20, 2012

Condors fly in the face of contemporary dance scene

The Japanese are often described as being inward-looking and stoic, with a sense of humor that often fails to connect with people from overseas. However, there are still rare birds among that bunch.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 20, 2012

'Road to Nowhere' / 'Two-Lane Blacktop'

Every film buff knows the Terence Malick story by now: a visionary director who made a couple of landmark films in the 1970s, then disappeared for two decades before staging a late-life comeback, which culminated with "The Tree of Life" winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes last year. Fewer know the story...
Reader Mail
Jan 19, 2012

Unfair criticisms of education

Some recent comments criticizing Japan's education system are devoid of reality. It's true that more Japanese students used to go abroad when the country's university system was not developed, just as China sends thousands of students abroad today because its university system is not yet fully developed....
Reader Mail
Jan 19, 2012

Don't expect reform to cut costs

According to the Jan. 14 editorial "Scrutinize Osaka mayor's moves," Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto is now fleshing out a plan to reorganize and integrate the Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City governments to end the duplication of services and organizations. He has been insisting that the conventional Osaka...
Reader Mail
Jan 19, 2012

Why go along with warmongers?

Regarding the Jan. 13 front-page article "Iranian oil imports to be cut to aid U.S. pressure": Politicians in the Diet seem to forget, or to not even know, that at one time (mid-19th century) Japan was doing fine on its own when U.S. warships showed up on its doorstep and demanded entry. This neighborly...
Reader Mail
Jan 19, 2012

Breath of fresh air by comparison

I realize that the Jan. 17 article "Corporate Japan: woeful lack of outside directors" was on Corporate Japan, but actually fraud and deception are no different within any big corporation.
CULTURE / Art
Jan 19, 2012

"Yoshiro Amitani"

When Yoshiro Amitani (1923-1982) was studying at Kyoto University, he met the famous yōga (Western-style painting) artist Ryohei Koiso (1903-1988), whose studio he visited many times and whose work greatly inspired him.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 19, 2012

"Yoshiro Amitani"

When Yoshiro Amitani (1923-1982) was studying at Kyoto University, he met the famous yōga (Western-style painting) artist Ryohei Koiso (1903-1988), whose studio he visited many times and whose work greatly inspired him.
Reader Mail
Jan 19, 2012

Prisoner of a personal pronoun

I always enjoy Kaori Shoji's writing, and her Jan. 16 article, "Men can be sexy when talking about themselves," was hilarious.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 19, 2012

Plasticzooms dress up new sound on 'Starbow'

Sho Asakawa is visibly excited. The vocalist from Tokyo rock band Plasticzooms has just come from Tower Records in the capital's trendy Shibuya district, where an exhibition of his artwork and clothing are accompanying the promotional display for his band's new album, "Starbow."
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 18, 2012

Clippers looking like the real deal

In Kobe Bryant's initial meeting with Mike Brown, he cautioned the Lakers' newly hired coach "not to pull back," to coach him "like everyone else; otherwise the players will turn on you," he told me during dinner in Los Angeles just before Christmas.
BASKETBALL
Jan 18, 2012

Blackledge joins Phoenix

Forward Lawrence Blackledge has agreed to play for the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix after his release from the Osaka Evessa last week, the two-time defending bj-league champion announced on Monday. The Japan Times first reported the move in last Friday's editions.
COMMENTARY
Jan 18, 2012

Loyalty alone is not enough

Japanese have been taught over the centuries that loyalty is the supreme virtue. Loyalty to Japan and to the emperor was inculcated into every child in prewar Japan. The emphasis now seems to be on loyalty to the company employing you, loyalty to your section in the company and loyalty to your immediate...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2012

U.S. no longer land of the free

Every year, the U.S. State Department issues reports on individual rights in other countries, monitoring the passage of restrictive laws and regulations around the world. Iran, for example, has been criticized for denying fair public trials and limiting privacy, while Russia has been taken to task for...
COMMENTARY
Jan 17, 2012

Democracy and growth: Russia's great challenge

At this particular historic moment, the urgency of the economic assimilation of new natural and human resources worldwide is somehow obscured by the global crisis and by the necessity of reforming the global financial system.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2012

Entrance exam system faces review

The education ministry on Monday ordered a review of how the nation's unified college entrance exams are managed after delays and slipups affected more than 4,500 test-takers over the weekend.
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2012

Machinery orders climb 14.8% as firms stay optimistic on investment

Machinery orders rebounded in November, signaling that companies are willing to invest even as the yen remains strong and the global economy slows.
Special Supplements
Jan 17, 2012

The Japan Times Academy

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BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 16, 2012

Whaling may be sunk by commercial reality

Activism aside, is there a market for whale meat large enough to sustain the industry?
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 16, 2012

Aoki takes All-Star shooting crown from Okada

Sharpshooter Cohey Aoki, a long-distance and free-throw shooting maestro, thrilled the masses during Sunday's bj-league All-Star Game 3-Point Shooting Contest.
COMMENTARY
Jan 16, 2012

British influence and the EU

At the European crisis summit in December, David Cameron was snubbed by his European colleagues. His "veto" on accepting treaty changes believed by other members to be necessary to save European economies left Britain isolated.
Reader Mail
Jan 15, 2012

Won't dumb down the homework

Regarding Minoru Matsutani's Jan. 10 article "Student count, knowledge sliding": I teach university-level English conversation for first-year students and have become increasingly frustrated with my students' performance concerning the basic English that is taught in all junior highs throughout Japan....
Reader Mail
Jan 15, 2012

Shedding light on war victims

Regarding John Tirman's Jan. 12 article, "U.S. overlooks the true tolls of its wars" (reprinted from The Washington Post): It is hypocritical of President Barack Obama to praise American troops who served in Iraq when he voted against any invasion of Iraq and criticized the previous administration's...

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