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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2011

U.S. dances on debt cliff edge

It was fascinating to watch U.S. President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner make their appeals to the nation in television addresses over their deadlock about whether and how to raise the $14.3 trillion ceiling on U.S. debts before the country runs out of money next week.
EDITORIALS
Jul 27, 2011

Second extra budget passes

The Upper House on Monday enacted the ¥1.998 trillion second supplementary budget for fiscal 2011. It includes ¥800 billion for reconstruction of areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, ¥545.5 billion in grants to local governments and ¥275.4 billion to cover expenses related to...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Jul 27, 2011

Compact new interchangable-lens camera plus a solar-powered lamp/charger

Japanese camera maker Pentax made the news earlier this month, having been acquired by Ricoh for ¥10 billion. But just prior to that, Pentax rolled out what it hailed as the world's smallest and lightest interchangeable-lens digital camera: the Pentax Q.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2011

K-pop stars luring Japan to buy Korean products

Yuko Ishii, a 53-year-old factory worker in central Japan, used to feel reluctant about buying products made in South Korea. That changed after she became a fan of pop stars such as boy band TVXQ.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2011

World Cup-winning women's soccer team may get top honor

The government is considering giving the People's Honor Award to the national women's soccer team, which won the Women's World Cup last week, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Monday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jul 26, 2011

Chair of the Japanese Association for Suicide Prevention Yukio Saito

Yukio Saito, 75, is the Chair of the Japanese Association for Suicide Prevention and CEO of the Japanese Federation of Inochi-no-denwa (Lifeline), Japan's first and largest telephone counseling service. For the past five decades, Saito has been educating the public and lobbying relentlessly to bring...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2011

Toadies to the debt-to-GDP ratio

Economists like to talk about thresholds that, if crossed, spell trouble. Usually there is an element of truth in what they say, but the public often overreacts to such talk.
EDITORIALS
Jul 25, 2011

TV broadcasts go digital

With the end of analog TV broadcasts on Sunday, Japan has completely switched to digital TV broadcasts, except in three Tohoku prefectures devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami — Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima — where the start of terrestrial digital TV broadcast will be postponed till the...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jul 25, 2011

The self-inflicted costs of a 'war of choice'

In mid-July when Mumbai was attacked with three explosions, The New York Times carried photos of some of the bloodied casualties up front — at least in its online version — and I wondered: If the newspaper for "all the news that's fit to print" had carried photos of victims of American bombing and...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 24, 2011

What chance a 'free market' would cure all the world's ills?

An old friend is a successful investment banker who makes more money in a year than I will make in my lifetime. Like many people, though, he would like to make even more.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 24, 2011

Taking in Tomonoura's many delights

"The most beautiful scenic view in Japan," was how the woman in the temple in Tomonoura translated it when I asked her the meaning of some calligraphy carved into a wooden sign mounted on the wall.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Jul 22, 2011

A win-win for Nadeshiko and Japan's merchants

Did retailers predict that the Japan women's team would win the World Cup? Probably not, but they're perfectly happy to capitalize on Nadeshiko fever now.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2011

Lay judges deny media influenced Ichihashi decision

The six lay judges who participated in Tatsuya Ichihashi's trial on Thursday denied that the heavy media coverage of the high profile case affected their decision and stressed that they based their ruling strictly on the evidence presented at the trial.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 20, 2011

'Nadeshiko' Japan feted upon return

Japan's Women's World Cup-winning soccer team made a triumphant return on Tuesday, with captain and tournament MVP Homare Sawa shrugging off suggestions she may retire in order to target gold at next year's London Olympics.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2011

Kan meets soccer champs, perks up

It looks like the victory of the "Nadeshiko" Japan women's national soccer team not only gave hope to a nation still recovering from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami but also energized unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who vowed Tuesday to persevere.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years