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EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2012

LDP back in the saddle again

The Liberal Democratic Party, which was badly defeated in the Lower House election in August 2009 and had to give up power to the Democratic Party of Japan after ruling the nation almost without interruption since 1955, made a comeback in Sunday's general election. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Dec 15, 2012

Writer, teacher, advocate finds her stride in the Japanese countryside

For Jane Joritz-Nakagawa, her sociopolitical outlook colors all aspects of her life, as a writer, educator or activist. "Activism runs through what I read and what I write and what I'm teaching; It's all one big thing, as the same mindset invades all those activities. It is inescapable," she says.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Dec 11, 2012

Is Shintaro Ishihara the most dangerous man in Japan? Readers discuss

Parallels with wartime general
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Dec 11, 2012

Do Japan a favor: Don't stop being a critic

Remember grade school, when the most demanding question put to you was something as simple as "What color do you like?" Choose any color, for there is no wrong answer.
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2012

Halt provocative rocket launch

North Korea plans to launch a long-range rocket sometime between Dec. 10 and 22 with the excuse that it is placing a satellite in orbit. South Korean missile experts estimate that the North Korean three-stage liquid-fuel rocket has a range of about 10,000 km, capable of reaching the western part of the...
Dec 1, 2012

Making the case for Palestine

Nowhere are the grievances that perpetuate violence and war more evident than they are in Palestine today. But the world's politicians continue to dance around the problem rather than confront it. The recent deadly violence in Gaza is only the latest proof that people living under occupation and siege...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 27, 2012

Assad's ability to retain power questioned after rebel advances

Syrian rebels are making significant advances in their battle against government forces, raising new questions about President Bashar Assad's ability to hold onto power and adding urgency to the quest by the international community for a unified and effective political opposition that could take control...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / OUR MAN IN TOKYO
Nov 20, 2012

Envoy acts as bridge between Japan, Armenia

It didn't come as much of a surprise to Grant Pogosyan when the offer came to him from the Armenian government to become his home country's ambassador to Japan.
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2012

Meeting Chinese aspirations

The Chinese Communist Party on Thursday selected China's new leadership headed by Mr. Xi Jinping. He will lead not only the party as general secretary of the party's Central Committee but also the military as chairman of the party's Central Military Commission. He is expected to be elected China's president,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Nov 13, 2012

There's much more to Mormonism than this

The truth of Mormon As a Mormon living in Japan, I would like to take a moment to comment on John Spiri's article "Against all odds, Mormons in Japan soldier on" (Zeit Gist, Oct. 23).
Reader Mail
Nov 11, 2012

Own version of history and law

In the article "Japan, China engage in war of words at ASEM summit," Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is quoted as telling Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi: "Historically speaking and in line with international law, there is no doubt that the Senkakus are an integral part of our territory and Japan...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Nov 6, 2012

If bully Ishihara wants one last stand, bring it on

On Oct. 25, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced his resignation from office. He now plans to stand for election to the Diet as head of a new conservative party. He suggested political alliances with other conservative reactionaries and xenophobes, including Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and Tachiagare...
Reader Mail
Nov 4, 2012

Cyber war needs an enemy

The Oct. 30 opinion piece "When should a cyberattack be considered an act of war?" was an excellent article by Ellen Nakashima. She raises important questions and implies some potentially catastrophic answers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 1, 2012

Res Artis plots a path for future art residencies

The 1990s saw a tremendous emphasis, continuing through to today, on artist residency programs, run by museums and galleries, educational establishments or independent foundations and organizations.
Reader Mail
Oct 28, 2012

Invitation to multiculturalism

In Michael Hoffman's Oct. 21 article " 'Only immigrants can save Japan,' " Hidenori Sakanaka is quoted as saying: "A new Japanese civilization will realize a multi-ethnic community, which no nation has ever achieved, and, in due course, it will stand out as one of the main pillars of world civilization."...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 25, 2012

What is art in the face of disaster?

Broadly speaking, two types of art have emerged in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and the ensuing tsunami and nuclear crisis. On the one hand there is art that has been made for the crisis — that is to say, for the benefit of those who were or are suffering from its manifold effects. On...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 23, 2012

Against all odds, Mormons in Japan soldier on

According to the Mormon version of postbiblical events, Joseph Smith, guided by an angel in 1823, found sacred golden plates buried in Manchester, New York, outside Rochester. The plates are claimed to have been buried around the year 400, having been brought from Central America by a man named Mormon....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 23, 2012

Leadership development meeting draws Girl Scouts from around world

No matter what nationality you are, it's likely that several times in your life you have come across a Boy Scout or a Girl Scout dressed in that unique uniform — be it a friend or someone else from the community.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 20, 2012

American artist takes personal approach to traditional painting

Finding places in Tokyo can be complicated. All too often a simple address is not enough. That's why many people here look like treasure hunters roaming the streets armed with a map or its modern equivalent, the smartphone.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 9, 2012

A guide to navigating Japan's exotic legal-eagle menagerie

A common mistake made by foreigners trying to accomplish things in Japan is to go to a lawyer (bengoshi) with their problems. It is not a mistake because of a bunch of hooey about Japanese people not looking to the law for solutions, but because a lawyer may not be the best man or woman for the job....
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Oct 9, 2012

Call to stop dolphin hunt in Taiji makes waves

Some of the many readers' letters The Japan Times received in response to the Sept. 11 Hotline to Nagatacho column, "Stop the annual Taiji dolphin massacre, make your children proud" by Deb Bowen-Saunders:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Oct 2, 2012

Second homes may be cheap, but they are often in disrepair

Atami The ad said the property was 2 km from Ajiro Station on the Ito Line, but it was difficult to tell how far we were traveling in the agent's car. Most of the trip was up a steep, winding road into the hills above Atami on the Izu Peninsula, an area developed in the 1970s by the Tokyu Corporation...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 2, 2012

Abuse by Irish priest could be tip of iceberg

It is over three years since it was revealed that an Irish Catholic priest had abused several children in Japan. His victims here are probably still unaware their tormentor was a serial offender.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Oct 1, 2012

Flip-flop on no-nuclear energy policy bodes ill for the future of Japan

On Sept. 14, the Japanese government presented to the public a new national energy strategy. This long-awaited plan included as its focal point the objective of eliminating nuclear power by the end of the 2030s. Less than a week later, however, Japan's hopes for a nuclear-free world were dashed. In the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 29, 2012

Pro tips on how to act like a native Japanese

This column is for Kim Bostwick, who is moving to Japan this week. I've made a list of pertinent things to know for her smooth transition into Japanese culture. Do these things, and people will mistake you for a native Japanese:
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 18, 2012

Vicious nuclear fuel cycle proving difficult to break

Under the government's new energy strategy, announced last week, Japan will aim to end its reliance on nuclear energy during the 2030s. But the public was quick to spot a contradiction, as the strategy states that the nation's contentious nuclear fuel cycle policy will remain intact.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2012

Quebec vote signals uncertainty for Canada

Political uncertainty shadows Quebec in the aftermath of a contentious provincial election campaign. Since the vote, the specter of separatism has re-emerged in the multiethnic Canadian province where political rhetoric by the French-language-focused Parti Quebecois could bring about the return of economic...
Japan Times
LIFE
Sep 9, 2012

Tohoku fisheries fight back from 3/11

"The facts about much of Japan's social, political, and financial life are hidden so well that the truth is nearly impossible to know," writes Alex Kerr in his acclaimed 2001 study "Dogs and Demons: Tales from the Dark Side of Japan." He continues, "A lack of reliable data is the single most significant...

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan