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COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 29, 2011

Tokyo: How have the events since the March 11 Tohoku-Kanto earthquake changed you or your plans?

Kota Totsuka
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2011

In wake of disaster, tax hike issue revisited

A tax increase to finance earthquake reconstruction may be unavoidable considering the nation's huge debt, two ruling party officials said, and two-thirds of the public agrees the measure may be necessary.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2011

Wild radiation spike in No. 2 proves false

Work to remove toxic water puddles in the reactor basements of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant ground to a halt Sunday after its operator reported a huge spike in radioactivity — a spike that officials later said was inaccurate.
BASKETBALL
Mar 28, 2011

Nakamura gets reward as focused Phoenix beat Northern Happinets

FUJIEDA, Shizuoka Pref. — Kazuo Nakamura, the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix's excellent coach, expects superior results from his players. And he usually gets them.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 27, 2011

Love, war and betrayal in old Siam

THE TALE OF KHUN CHANG AND KHUN PHAEN: Siam's Great Folk Epic of Love and War. Translated and edited by Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit. Silkworm Books, 2010, 970 pp., $60 (hardcover) Those who like their novice monks prim and proper, taming desires, meditating and selflessly engaging in good deeds...
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2011

Level of iodine-131 in seawater off chart

The level of radioactive iodine detected in seawater near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was 1,250 times above the maximum level allowable, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said Saturday, suggesting contamination from the reactors is spreading.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 27, 2011

Circumstances certain to make for challenging season

When it finally gets under way, this is going to be what one fan has called a "patchwork" baseball season in Japan.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Mar 27, 2011

Don't destroy that invader, it was here first!

NEW YORK — Among the most recent invaders of the United States to be exterminated that I learned about is the red lionfish. Before that, the Asian carp got all the attention. About the time the carp scare was quieting down the yellow jacket — yes, the wasp — came forward as a heinous invader to...
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2011

Tohoku disaster buys Kan time

It was only two weeks ago that Prime Minister Naoto Kan seemed on the verge of stepping down — his foreign minister, Seiji Maehara, had resigned, his popularity was at a historic low and a divided Diet had given him little hope of passing bills needed to enact the 2011 budget.
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2011

Shirakawa snubs '30s-style JGB-buying for rebuilding

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa is under fire for refusing to consider 1930s-style purchases of government bonds to fund reconstruction from the nation's largest earthquake on record.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2011

Tap water woes hit Chiba, Saitama, Ibaraki

The scope of radiation-contaminated tap water expanded Thursday, with radioactive iodine detected in tap water in Chiba, Saitama and Ibaraki prefectures, while the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which said the day before its drinking water was contaminated, scurried to distribute 240,000 bottles of water...
JAPAN / Q&A
Mar 25, 2011

It's in the water, food, soil: But what are the risks?

Radioactive materials from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant have been spreading, contaminating milk, vegetables, water and soil in Fukushima and neighboring prefectures.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2011

No. 3 cooling pump test-run readied

Work to restore key equipment at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant's crippled reactors continued Thursday, despite reports of smoke rising from reactors No. 1 through 4.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2011

Prince hotel spared wrecking ball to house evacuees

The Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka, once one of the trendiest hotels in Japan and set to close at the end of March, announced Thursday that it will remain open to accommodate refugees made homeless by the March 11 earthquake and radiation leaks at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
Reader Mail
Mar 24, 2011

Choices must not divide friends

I spoke with a Scottish friend over the weekend. He had left Tokyo with a group of friends while other friends had chosen to remain behind. As we chatted, he reflected on the friendships that had become strained over the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis. Even the relationship with his best friend soured,...
CULTURE / Music
Mar 23, 2011

Japan to the fore at SXSW despite disaster at home

AUSTIN, Texas — Minutes after arriving in downtown Austin, Texas, for the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference and Festival, I ran into a Japanese friend from Tokyo. While we were catching up, an American woman passing by overheard him mention Japan and instantly stopped to shake his hand. "I'm...
JAPAN / Media
Mar 23, 2011

Scatalogical 'Reactor Boy' web-cartoon eases fears of radiation

On March 15, four days after the Tohoku-Kanto earthquake and amid the heightened radiation fears following explosions at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Tokyo-based media artist Kazuhiko Hachiya started posting a series of short messages on Twitter.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2011

No joke: Higashikokubaru to run as independent for Tokyo governor

Former Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru ended months of speculation by formally announcing Tuesday his intention to run as an independent for governor of Tokyo in the April 10 election, promising to devote his energies to revitalizing Japan and decentralizing power.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2011

Rebound hinges on blackouts

The economy will probably see a rebound in the second half of this year after a blow that will be determined by the magnitude of electricity disruptions caused by the March 11 disaster, according to a survey of economists.

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