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BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2011

Bicycle sales triple as 3/11 haunts Tokyoites

Tokyo residents haunted by the memory of how the March 11 earthquake shut the world's busiest subway system are returning to bicycle travel, tripling the sales of retailer Asahi Co. in the area last month.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 19, 2011

Japan pension answers often case-specific

JM has a question about the Japanese national pension system: "I am an American citizen and permanent resident of Japan and have been living and working in the country continuously since 1988. During most of this time, I have been employed as a "local" hire by my company, and contributed to the Japanese...
COMMENTARY
Apr 18, 2011

Crisis cost and opportunity

The most powerful earthquake in the nation's history struck the northeastern part of Japan on March 11. Even more devastating than the quake itself was the tsunami that followed, as it took more than 20,000 lives and destroyed countless structures.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 17, 2011

Middle-aged maternity dramas; CM of the week: Febreze

Middle-aged maternity seems to be a subtheme for the spring TV season. In NHK's six-part drama series "Madonna Verde" (NHK-G, Tues., 10 p.m.), Ryoko Kuninaka plays Rie, a gynecologist-obstetrician who works at a university hospital. She herself becomes pregnant but later loses the child when she develops...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Apr 17, 2011

Viewing wildlife through a lens

I grew up in Britain, which is a crane-free zone, so from the very first time I arrived in Japan I was dreaming of seeing the iconic red-crowned cranes of Hokkaido. How much more iconic as a crane can you get than being dubbed Grus japonensis? But just how was I to learn about their haunts and habits?...
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2011

Tepco to meet 95% of demand

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday it will be able to raise its power-generating capacity to 95 percent of demand this summer instead of 85 percent. Tepco is planning to increase capacity to 52 million kw in July and 50.7 million kw in August compared with 46.5 million kw announced on March 25.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2011

The enemies of a digital universal library

Scholars have long dreamed of a universal library containing everything that has ever been written. Then, in 2004, Google announced that it would begin digitally scanning all the books held by five major research libraries. Suddenly, the library of utopia seemed within reach.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 15, 2011

Meet a smoking new rock band

Formed in Fukuoka in 2005, The Cigavettes knew it would only be a matter of time before they relocated to Japan's capital. After years of discussing it, the melodic rockers finally packed up their instruments, along with their Beatles- and Rolling Stones-inspired catalogue of catchy, radio-friendly pop-rock,...
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Apr 13, 2011

A cat-shaped mini-camera and stick-on controller-style gaming pads for iPhone

You could be fooled into believing that necono, from superheadz, is simply a decorative cat figurine to dangle from your key chain. It is, however, a quirky digital camera. and may just be the thing to coax a few smiles out of any camera-shy people you know.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 10, 2011

Perils of modern motherhood and keeping a dog; CM of the week: S.T. Corporation

The perils of modern motherhood are explored in the news drama series "Namae wo Nakushita Megumi" ("The Goddess Who Lost Her Name"; Fuji TV, Tues., 9 p.m.), whose promotional catchphrase is "Welcome to mamatomo hell." "Mamatomo" is a word that describes women who become friends through their children....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2011

Toyota to restart all domestic plants

Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday it will resume limited production at all domestic plants from April 18 to 27 after the March 11 catastrophe forced it to halt manufacturing due to parts shortages.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2011

Tepco pumps nitrogen into reactor 1

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it started injecting nitrogen early Thursday into reactor 1 at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant to purge the hydrogen inside and prevent an explosion, and the process went smoothly in the afternoon.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 8, 2011

'GA House Project 2011'

GA Gallery
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2011

Urayasu still dealing with liquefaction

URAYASU, Chiba Pref. — Flanked by Tokyo Bay and greenery, Urayasu has long been a popular home for young families. But the March 11 earthquake turned the resortlike city into one of tilting houses, cracked roads and thrust sewer pipes up.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BY THE GLASS
Apr 8, 2011

Won't somebody think of the wine?

Many Tokyoites counted themselves lucky when the March 11 quake left their homes largely intact, except, perhaps, for the odd broken glass. But while the damage was of course far more grave in the northeast, this wine writer would like to spare a thought for those in the hospitality business, whose stock...
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Apr 7, 2011

Hanami dilemma: to jishuku or not jishuku

Plan to defy the calls for self-restraint following the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and celebrate sakura anyway? There's a right way to do that.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2011

Fallout of nuclear and financial meltdowns

BRUSSELS — The metaphors used during the financial crisis of 2008-2009 — earthquake, tsunami, meltdown, black swan and fallout — are back with a vengeance, but now they are being recycled literally. In fact, the financial crisis and the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima nuclear-power plant in Japan...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 6, 2011

In a catastrophe, chitsujo serves Japan well

Something so immense has befallen Japan that it almost defies contemplation, let alone expression. It is a watershed event, shattering lives and the ground they are lived on; challenging also one of the unspoken (and unproven) assumptions underlying civilized life — that konton (混沌, chaos) is the...
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2011

Nuclear crisis man-made, not 'an act of god': experts

Despite protestations from the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. that the tsunami that knocked out the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant was unforeseeable, noted seismologists and nuclear experts say the crisis is largely man-made.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2011

Utility's shares plunge below previous low set in '51

Shares of Tokyo Electric Power Co. plunged Tuesday to their lowest point ever amid growing doubts about its ability to contain the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Longform

Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.
Do Japan's trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?