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Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 1, 2011

Trendy Harajuku draws crowds

For several decades, the trendy Harajuku district in central Tokyo has been a magnet for young people seeking the latest fashion trends and also for those who want to express their own style.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2011

FCCJ looks to woo new journalists

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan is launching a new membership campaign to make it easier for a new generation of journalists and nonjournalists to join.
EDITORIALS
Jan 31, 2011

Shoring up the 'basic' pension

The government is trying to reform both the social welfare system and the tax system as Japan's financial condition deteriorate. Before discussing overall changes, it must strengthen the "basic" portion of pensions.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 30, 2011

'LED smiles': How a nonexistent Japanese schoolgirl craze became a meme

A nonexistent Japanese style trend turned into Internet meme this past week, thanks to a New York Times blog, the online version of The Guardian and other news websites. If the report — which was passed verbatim from site to site, tweet to tweet — was to be believed, the latest craze among Japanese...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 30, 2011

Cultural insensitivity no laughing matter

The tempest in a teapot whipped up by a segment on the British quiz-cum-comedy show "QI" has prompted debate on cross-cultural sensitivity. The BBC has apologized for the segment, which, contrary to a statement issued by Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, did not make fun of its subject, the late Tsutomu...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 29, 2011

Kaiten-zushi chains gird for battle

You got your exclusive high-grade sushi, and you've got your bargain sushi, good for the whole family.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2011

U.N. envoy vows to press North on abductions

A special rapporteur for the United Nations on human rights in North Korea urged Pyongyang on Friday to resolve the long-standing abduction issue and deal with wider matters relating to humanitarian and human rights regarding its people.
COMMENTARY
Jan 29, 2011

The task awaiting Tunisia

SEATTLE — Hunger strikes. These were the last resort for Tunisian activists as they fought against a brutal and highly oppressive regime. Prior to the ousting of Zineal-Abidine Ben Ali by an unprecedented people's uprising on Jan. 14, there seemed to be no end in sight to the regime's wide-ranging...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 29, 2011

It's just me against the machine

I have news for those who fear the machines will one day rise against us.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2011

Two abductees 'alive' in '06

KAGOSHIMA (Kyodo) Two Japanese abducted by North Korea were reported alive there as of 2006, despite Pyongyang's claim they died decades earlier, a relative of one of them claimed Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 28, 2011

Greed is good again in 'Wall Street' sequel

BEVERLY HILLS, California — After having announced a week earlier that he had beaten cancer, Michael Douglas took the stage at the Golden Globes awards ceremony in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 16 and was greeted with a warm round of applause.
Reader Mail
Jan 27, 2011

Living with the fear of being shot

Thank you for the Jan. 23 editorial, "Making sense of Tucson." Despite the deluge of news and comment following the tragic shooting, I had yet to read or hear a single reference to what I believe Americans call "the elephant in the room," namely the link between gun ownership and gun violence. One would...
Reader Mail
Jan 27, 2011

The will to commit mayhem

I fault some of the points raised in the Jan. 23 editorial, "Making sense of Tucson." First, with regard to the claim that anyone can get a gun with a high-capacity ammo clip, there are several steps in place to prevent that. These laws are split between federal and state control, and if memory serves,...
Reader Mail
Jan 27, 2011

Leadership crisis delays solutions

It is with a frustrated and sinking feeling that I read the comments of the Liberal Democratic Party chief in the Jan. 24 article "LDP pledges to send ruling party packing." With all the problems facing Japan, what Japanese politics doesn't need is more of the same tribal mentality, greed and power faction...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2011

New EU envoy cagey on FTA pact

Newly appointed EU Ambassador to Japan Hans Dietmar Schweisgut said Wednesday various issues need to be dealt with before Japan and the EU can conclude a free-trade accord.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2011

Facing the specter of famine

SINGAPORE — In India, a potentially huge economic and social crisis is in the making, involving extensive rewriting of recipe books to exclude a favorite ingredient. Onions are in short supply and their prices have risen by 80 percent, too expensive for many Indians to afford as part of their daily...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2011

Worse rare earth shortages 'yet to come'

Trade statistics have revealed the country's import of rare earth minerals from China surged by more than 50 percent in the January-November period last year from the same period in 2009 — even though it plunged by two-thirds in the October-November period due to export restrictions by Beijing.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person