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Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2011

English big business, and growing

When it comes to preparing for the April launch of compulsory English classes in elementary schools, the private sector appears to have a clear lead over public school teachers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 1, 2011

Solving parental child abduction problem no piece of cake

The Way of Cake is mysterious and paradoxical. A master of the Way can make his neighbors feel they have filled themselves with tasty cake without ever cutting off a piece. The Way allows its disciple to step outside the boundaries of rational thought by partaking of cake while continuing to possess...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 27, 2011

All hail the wonders of Japanese cuisine — if not what Japanese eat

Ask almost any Japanese living overseas what they miss most and they are more likely to say the food than their relatives. Ask virtually any tourist what excites them most about Japan and you are apt to be told "Japanese food."
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Feb 27, 2011

Notes from the underground

When my yoga class was canceled recently, I decided to explore Yoga instead.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 27, 2011

Skipping the ads gets harder as shows become infomercials

In the late 1990s, I did piece work for a public relations company, translating achievement reports into English for its non-Japanese clients. The reports outlined how and where the company had secured mentions of its clients' products in various media, and included equivalent advertising value amounts...
BUSINESS / U.S. THINK TANK SYMPOSIUM
Feb 26, 2011

Economic woes of Japan, U.S. 'homegrown'

Japan and the United States both face a common challenge of showing that their economic models remain relevant even as China increasingly drives global growth, said Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / U.S. THINK TANK SYMPOSIUM
Feb 26, 2011

Japan, U.S. must manage bold China

China's increasingly assertive diplomatic and security postures present a much tougher challenge than its economic rise, requiring closer cooperation between the United States and its allies such as Japan to manage the situation, scholars from American think tanks said at a recent symposium in Tokyo....
EDITORIALS
Feb 26, 2011

Toll system is seriously flawed

Under a system introduced by the former Liberal Democrat Party-Komeito coalition government, set to expire at the end of March, vehicles using the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system enjoy a variety of expressway toll discounts, including a ¥1,000 ceiling on weekends and holidays.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2011

Public pension fund may sell bonds for payouts

The public pension fund said it may become a net seller of bonds to cover payments in the world's fastest aging society.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 25, 2011

Western Union charges into the money transfer breach

After a new law governing foreign currency exchange takes effect in Japan, Western Union is first through the door.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Feb 25, 2011

Nationally themed gigs make no sense in a post-Web world

March is almost here, and on the music calendar that means eyes are on the South by Southwest (SXSW) music showcase in Austin, Texas. For many Japanese bands and for much of the local press, SXSW means the festival's Japan Nite event.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2011

' Taiheiyo no Kiseki — Fokkusu to Yobareta Otoko (Oba: The Last Samurai)'

Japanese mass-audience movies about the country's military during World War II are usually melodramatic, sentimental or blatantly nationalistic. But their pure-hearted tokkotai (suicide squad) pilots flying to certain death are hardly representative of the typical Japanese soldier who, as the war entered...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2011

DoCoMo adds smart phones, tablet to lineup

NTT DoCoMo Inc. unveiled two new smart phones and a tablet device Thursday as the carrier aims to penetrate more aggressively into the growing Japanese smart phone market.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2011

Steel merger to save ¥100 billion in costs: analysts

Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd.'s deal to create the world's No. 2 steelmaker may shave as much as ¥100 billion off costs as the companies consolidate operations, according to analysts.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Feb 23, 2011

West's son provides insight into legend's life

One of the things I loved most about my father was him being unafraid to show me his faults once we became coworkers.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2011

Expanding the scope of the export sector

NEW YORK — Since the end of World War II, the global economy's trade and financial openness has increased, thanks to institutions like the International Monetary Fund and successive rounds of liberalization, starting with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1947.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2011

Sapporo to go on spending spree

Seeking to expand in North America, brewer Sapporo Holdings Ltd. plans to spend as much as ¥125 billion on acquisitions and partnerships over a four-year period.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 20, 2011

The sticky subject of Japan's rice protection

Twenty-five years ago, Japan was a very competitive manufacturing country, and much of its economic policy since then has been in response to trade friction with the United States, which demanded greater access to Japanese markets for American agricultural products in order to offset Japan's trade surplus....
EDITORIALS
Feb 20, 2011

Adaptation to globalization

Recently there has been much debate in Japan over whether the "Galapagos syndrome" — development in splendid isolation from the rest of the world — fits Japan. Galapago-ists argue that Japan should embrace its falling position in the world, adjust to diminished expectations, and find contentment...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 19, 2011

Annals of cheap: Only Free Paper

Print publishers find success in the formula of 'make it free, and they will come.'
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2011

Tabloids feast on Imperial family foibles

Emperor Akihito is a quiet, studious type. The paragon of respectability. But, oh, what a family!

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past