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CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Nov 12, 2009

Maywa Denki's Otamatone wiggles off the shelves

Harmonizing music, art and nonsense, the brilliant minds behind Maywa Denki release their Otamatone into the wild.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2009

Base relocation remains thorn in side of Japan-U.S. ties

OSAKA — On April 12, 1996, Okinawa Gov. Masahide Ota was meeting with prefectural officials when Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto telephoned with big news.
COMMENTARY
Nov 12, 2009

APEC remains toothless

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping will hold its annual summit meeting in Singapore this weekend, with the leaders of its 21 member-nations expected to attend. But do we really need yet another high-level global talk-fest?
COMMENTARY
Nov 12, 2009

Re-energizing America's role in trade talks

International trade has been an engine of growth for many Asian countries, enabling them to create jobs and raise living standards faster than in countries elsewhere in the world that were unready to take advantage of surging trade opportunities.
BUSINESS
Nov 11, 2009

JAL rehab plan revealed, includes DBJ bridge loan

The government revealed on Tuesday a set of measures to keep Japan Airlines Corp. afloat, including a bridge loan by a government-linked bank and possibly a special law to reduce pension benefits for retired workers of Japan's top airline.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 11, 2009

Life in Japan can be a long and fraught train ride

Here's an illuminating little tale: In the early years of the Meiji Era (1868-1912), a Japanese official was sent to France to study the police system (which, incidentally, was replicated here). Traveling across the Paris suburbs in a crowded train one summer afternoon, the official was assailed by acute...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2009

U.S.-Japan collaboration on high-speed rail

PRINCETON, N.J. — Traveling at up to 300 kph and boasting an impeccable safety record, the Shinkansen exemplifies Japan's technological prowess. It could also become a new frontier in the U.S-Japan partnership.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 10, 2009

As status symbol, it tops the rest

The commercial-residential complex of Roppongi Hills opened six years ago, boasting offices, a museum, cinema, condominiums, restaurants and shops, becoming a popular tourist destination and a high-status residence in a part of central Tokyo otherwise known for its nightlife dens.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2009

JFE pauses ship-building merger with IHI

JFE Holdings Inc.'s shipbuilding unit, the nation's second-largest by output, said plunging demand will force it to prolong its evaluation of the merger planned with IHI Corp., 19 months after the tieup was proposed.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 9, 2009

Can aliens buy music more cheaply?

While many industry types are convinced the Web is bad for the music business, they're actually are people who want to PAY for their songs.
EDITORIALS
Nov 8, 2009

Lifeline for enterprises

The government has submitted a bill to the Diet to help small and midsize enterprises overcome cash-flow problems. An increasing number of enterprises earning operating profits are going bankrupt after being pressed by lenders to repay loans. It is hoped that this bill will help such companies avoid...
Reader Mail
Nov 8, 2009

Aid to Afghanistan a nonstarter

Regarding the Nov. 4 article "Japan eyes $4 billion in Afghanistan aid": Why spend $4 billion where Japan has no business being? This is a U.S. war; America is destroying buildings and homes and killing civilians with missiles. Now it wants to rebuild what it has destroyed. Stupid!
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 8, 2009

A journey to Venice, eco-friendly toilets and special police drama

Vienna has always held a special fascination for the Japanese, who celebrate the New Year with Strauss waltzes and lieder as much as they do with mochi (rice cakes) and otoshidama (New Year gift money). A prime influence in this regard is the 1931 German movie "Der Kongress Tanzt" (Congress Dances),...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 8, 2009

Japan's roundabout road issue

One of the most contentious components of the Democratic Party of Japan's manifesto is the pledge to make all expressways free. In media survey after media survey, the portion of respondents who don't support the proposal has been consistently between 60 and 65 percent. The Liberal Democratic Party has...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 8, 2009

A journey to Venice, eco-friendly toilets and special police drama

Vienna has always held a special fascination for the Japanese, who celebrate the New Year with Strauss waltzes and lieder as much as they do with mochi (rice cakes) and otoshidama (New Year gift money). A prime influence in this regard is the 1931 German movie "Der Kongress Tanzt" (Congress Dances),...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 7, 2009

Yoko Ono, forever a force for peace

Even before she married John Lennon, even before she embarked on a career as an avant-garde and conceptual artist, Yoko Ono was under scrutiny, first by her teachers and peers, later by people of a different region as her family fled the fire-bombings of Tokyo.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 6, 2009

Yokohama gets creative directive

In 2004, Yokohama launched an ambitious initiative to promote urban renewal centered in its Minato Mirai district called Creative City Yokohama. Rather than simply attempting to attract business, the Creative City initiative has focused on building cultural capital through the funding of alternative...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 6, 2009

Tempura Uoshin: A masterclass at the counter

Tradition, craftsmanship, and understated refinement. These are attributes expected of any place serving traditional Japanese cuisine of a certain quality. When it comes to tempura, those same values are every bit as important.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 5, 2009

China issues tech, investment calls

The global economic crisis triggered by the Lehman Brothers fiasco has left China with an opportunity to pursue further sophistication of its industrial structure from labor-intensive to a more technology- and capital-intensive model, a Chinese official said Wednesday in Tokyo.

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