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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 10, 2012

Unprofitable Mazda may be forced to sell assets, sever community ties

Should Mazda Motor Corp. dump the Hiroshima Carp?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Apr 3, 2012

Little houses crammed in a big city

The neighborhood of Minami Senju in Tokyo's Arakawa Ward is serviced by three train lines that provide easy, quick access to all parts of the city and beyond. East of these lines is an area called Shioiri, highlighted by a relatively new urban development complex centered around high-rise condominiums...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2012

Intelligent urban design that'll let people bloom

Two months ago, I was introduced to a startup called CityMart, a for-profit marketplace dedicated to helping vendors and city managers find one another — and to spreading municipal innovations outside of their home turf.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2012

Reconstructing Tohoku to fit today

The official and unofficial memorial ceremonies marking one year since the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Tohoku region of Japan, killing some 16,000 people, are now past. The question remains though: Will Japan's politicians and bureaucrats come together and heed a simple...
COMMENTARY
Mar 15, 2012

Brace for China's impending crash

Building a skyscraper is the ultimate expression of economic confidence, and more than half of the 124 skyscrapers currently under construction in the world are being built in China. But confidence is often based on nothing more than faith, hope and cheap credit, and a frenzy of skyscraper-building is...
COMMENTARY
Mar 14, 2012

Japan's cautionary tale for the U.S.

Since the financial crisis, a shadow has hovered over the U.S. economy: Japan. Could what happened there happen to us? The bursting of Japan's real estate and stock bubble in the early 1990s has had lasting consequences: a "lost decade" (actually, two) of meager growth and weak job markets. Though hardly...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 13, 2012

Electric cars aren't just for driving any more

Electric vehicles now being touted as batteries on wheels.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 12, 2012

Turkey moving to ensure religious rights for all

After decades of official neglect and mistrust, Turkey has taken several steps to ensure the rights of the country's non-Muslim religious minorities, and thus guarantee that the rule of law is applied equally for all Turkish citizens, regardless of individuals' religion, ethnicity or language.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2012

Nation marks first anniversary of disasters

Japan on Sunday marked a year since the massive earthquake and tsunami rocked Tohoku and its Pacific coastline on March 11, 2011, leaving nearly 20,000 people confirmed dead or missing.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 8, 2012

Revenge of the Japanese mandarins

Ever since the huge earthquake that hit Japan's Tohoku-Pacific coast on March 11, 2011, the country's mass media have obsessively focused on the magnitude of the physical damage and the loss of life. Repeated broadcasts of traumatic video images of the great tsunami and the damaged reactors at the Fukushima...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 7, 2012

Money isn't everything for renters…or is it?

When you rent in Tokyo, it's best to start with lower expectations.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 2, 2012

Soi 7: Meanwhile, elsewhere in Yoyogi-Uehara ...

Neighborhoods are like microclimates, each with its own ecology of dining opportunities. Some are arid desserts with barely a ramen shop in sight. Others are lush and fertile, with a rich range of cuisines and styles. And then there are the hidden corners, seemingly overlooked, that sprout an improbably...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 20, 2012

Beware of bureaucrats bearing student loans

The government is giving more and more loans to students who can't afford them.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 5, 2012

'Star Draft Council'; L'Arc-en-Ceil anniversary; CM of the week: Able/Chintai

"Star Tanjo" ("Birth of a Star") was one of the most influential TV series of the 1970s, an audition show that launched the careers of dozens of idol singers. "Star Draft Kaigi" ("Star Draft Council"; Nippon TV, Tues., 10 p.m.) takes the general structure of "Star Tanjo" — representatives of talent...
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2012

System glitch halts some trading on TSE

The Tokyo Stock Exchange suffered its biggest system glitch in six years Thursday, temporarily suspending trade of 241 stocks and other financial instruments for more than three hours.
COMMENTARY
Jan 27, 2012

Lesson of Great Recession is too hard to accept

The recent release of the 2006 transcripts of the Federal Reserve's main policymaking body stimulated a small media frenzy: "Little Alarm Shown at Fed at Dawn of Housing Bust," headlined The Wall Street Journal. The Washington Post agreed: "As financial crisis brewed, Fed appeared unconcerned." The New...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 24, 2012

Tepco pole position may scupper land buy

Mr. A writes: "We are seriously considering buying a property (house and land) in a residential neighborhood. On a corner of and inside the property, Tepco installed a light pole several years ago, apparently under an agreement with the current owner. It is believed that a nominal payment from Tepco...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 22, 2012

Can showbiz really sever yakuza ties?

Last August, comedian and TV emcee Shinsuke Shimada retired from show business following allegations that he'd been palling around with an underworld figure. His withdrawal came on the eve of the implementation of a well-publicized police crackdown on organizations that work with antisocial elements,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 15, 2012

Call of the powder: sublime snow in Japan

There is nothing quite like the adrenaline rush of hurtling down a steep, untracked slope of knee-deep powder. It is an uncomplicated pleasure, pure and exhilarating; carving turns into the untouched snow and sending up white plumes in your wake.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2012

Itami airport site to be Tokyo backup?

Imagine the following scenario: After decades of warnings from seismologists, a massive earthquake strikes Tokyo in 2022 and levels wide swaths of the city, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving hundreds of thousands more missing or injured.
COMMENTARY
Jan 5, 2012

Why Obama will (won't) win re-election in 2012

Could 2012 turn conventional wisdom on its head? Here's the conventional wisdom: U.S. President Barack Obama's re-election is vulnerable to the weak economy and high joblessness. Here's what might happen: The economy gradually improves, and although unemployment stays high (exceeding 8 percent), what...

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan