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BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Jan 1, 2012

Ikeda's 3-point shooting provides big spark for Albirex offense

Yuichi Ikeda excelled as a 3-point shooter in December, having the type of month that most specialized shooters can only dream about.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / LIGHT GIST
Dec 27, 2011

2011: a year of disaster in quotes

This year produced more than its share of memorable quotes, many of which were inspired by the March 11 disaster and its aftermath. But figures from other fields, from sports to entertainment, also said things worth repeating. Here is a sampling, in chronological order:
JAPAN / Media
Dec 25, 2011

The aftershocks of 2011 will be felt for many years to come

We made history this year. They'll be writing about 2011 a hundred, maybe a thousand years from now, seeing it more clearly than we can. We're too close for a proper perspective. We know what it feels like — not yet what it means.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2011

The dark legacy of North Korea's ruling elite

Satellite images of Asia at night are eerily beautiful, illuminated as they are by hundreds and thousands of bursts of light. That light is what civilization looks like from space. It's the glow of fluorescent bulbs in office buildings and warm lamps in homes and bright runways crisscrossing airports....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Dec 20, 2011

Cultural relativism, Meiji, phonetics and eigo woes

Some readers' responses to Nicolas Gattig's Nov. 22 Zeit Gist column, headlined "MacArthur, identity theory and Japan's lingering eigo woes":
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Dec 18, 2011

Don't expect Japanese basketball to embrace a real, workable plan

Every few months a false sense of hope surfaces on the blogosphere and in the mainstream media, where optimists peddle the message that Japan's basketball "leaders" finally have their act together, that a new men's pro league will, ahem, finally replace the outdated, increasingly irrelevant JBL and the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2011

Imperial law revisited as family shrinks, Emperor ages

It's not an easy job, being the emperor of Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 16, 2011

Tokyo Ballet's top principal readies a final dance

On his second-ever professional tour in Europe, dancer Naoki Takagishi fought through injuries as he worked with modern-dance choreographer Maurice Bejart for the first time.
Reader Mail
Dec 11, 2011

Bhutan just trying to protect itself

I am ashamed that a paper like The Japan Times would run an article like the one Nov. 30, "Bhutan royals trip masks rights issues."
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Dec 10, 2011

Hamamatsu's Dixon recognized for leadership as team climbs in standings

With floor leader Jermaine Dixon providing inspired, smart leadership, the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix rediscovered their mojo in November, winning seven of their eight bj-league games.
COMMENTARY / World / 50 years of ASEAN
Dec 5, 2011

China: soft or crash landing?

Economists who believe that China can come to the rescue of an increasingly troubled global economy are now in a decided minority, with questions increasingly being asked whether China can save itself: Will China's economy achieve a soft landing, a hard landing or even suffer a crash landing?
Reader Mail
Dec 1, 2011

Olympus scandal is no surprise

I recently read an editorial in The Japan Times contemplating the damage that the Olympus scandal could have not only on the company itself but on the reputation of Japan Inc.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 1, 2011

Producer Miyahara wants more J-pop on the world stage

Tucked away in a cozy corner of Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, million-selling singer and rapper Soulja twirls an unsmoked cigarillo in his fingers while nodding his head to a hip-hop beat. "Yeah, that's good. I like that," he says to the man beside him, who is seated in front of a sound board and a colossal...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Nov 28, 2011

Learning to live with the builders of America

During one week this month, the drivers of four taxis that I took hailed from four different countries.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 27, 2011

Demand change: an open letter to Japan's rising generations

If you're like my 17-year-old, then you probably already know just about everything there is to know, and reading this column you'll likely just say: "Yeah, right, whatever," or "So?"
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 25, 2011

Are digital newspaper subscriptions worth it?

Japanese newspapers still have cold feet when it comes to embracing their digital editions.
COMMENTARY
Nov 22, 2011

Syrian uprising victimized

Syrians continue to be victimized, not only in violent clashes with the Syrian military, but also by regional and international players with various agendas.
COMMENTARY
Nov 22, 2011

Guess who's suddenly inviting Uncle Sam to dinner?

Real-life diplomacy reveals, as Lord Palmerston, twice British prime minister (1855-8, 1859-65), famously put it: "We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow." Over the decades the Palmerston Principle...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 18, 2011

Parmer not panicking over Hamamatsu's slow start

Jeffrey Parmer realizes the two-time defending champion Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix are a work in progress.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2011

Olympus hid balance sheet hole with sale of growing unit

Olympus Corp.'s 2009 sale of a profitable diagnostics unit it spent four decades building up for what appeared to be a bargain price is beginning to make sense as the company admits covering up decades of losses.
Reader Mail
Nov 10, 2011

Equality of housing insulation

The government's cancellation of summertime electricity curbs does not free us from the necessity of continuing to save electricity in these difficult times. Next, we face renewed energy reduction and savings quotas for the cold winter season.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Nov 1, 2011

Ganbatte and gaman stifle debate, hinder recovery

Nuclear debate discouraged Re: "Japan needs less ganbatte, more genuine action" by Debito Arudou (Just Be Cause, Oct. 4):
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2011

Wall Street mans the barricades

In spite of the current economic turmoil, some Americans do not have any problems with jobs, money or housing. Indeed, Houston oil executive John Schiller built a new Cape Cod house for just $50,000 a couple of years ago. A bargain, you might think, except that this was a play-house for his four-year-old...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Oct 30, 2011

Yea! As I walk through the valley of Todoroki . . .

Todoroki Valley Park, a protected green swath along Tokyo's only ravine, strikes me as an interesting and possibly quite sheltered destination on a brisk and breezy fall day.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 30, 2011

Irabu spent final days lost, without purpose

For the late pitcher Hideki Irabu, the surname Irabu had come from Hideki's mother. It was her surname, and Hideki's stepfather, Ichiro Irabu, had been a common-law husband.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 23, 2011

Only the Japanese public's will can raze that lethal 'village'

"Of all the places in all the world where no one in their right mind would build scores of nuclear power plants, Japan would be pretty near the top of the list," wrote Leuren Moret in a "Power and the people" Timeout special in The Japan Times on May 23, 2004.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Oct 23, 2011

Unbeaten Jets edge B-Corsairs in OT

Coming off a pair of victories in their first two regular-season games, wins over the two-time defending champion Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix, the Chiba Jets were fired up to play the first home game in team history on Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 18, 2011

Agent Orange revelations raise Futenma stakes

On Sept. 26, Nago City Council became the first municipality on Okinawa to adopt an official resolution calling for the governments of Japan and the United States to conduct an investigation into the spraying and storage of Agent Orange on the island.
BASKETBALL
Oct 16, 2011

Osaka's Washington reaches 5,000-point milestone; Jets win first game in team history

Star forward Lynn Washington scored his 5,000th point in an Osaka Evessa uniform on Saturday, leading the hosts to a 79-60 season-opening victory over the Takamatsu Five Arrows at Sumiyoshi Sports Center. The Chiba Jets, meanwhile, collected a win in their first game in the bj-league.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight