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JAPAN
May 1, 2012

Tax hike small change in senior-care dilemma

The ominous demographics of aging Japan have long been seen by the people as a distant concern, not a present-day one. But that mindset is being called into question by a prime minister who says a crisis requiring immediate sacrifices has already begun.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 1, 2012

Constitution again faces calls for revision to meet reality

Thursday marks the 65th year since the Constitution took effect in 1947.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2012

Hopes for Noda-Obama talks underwhelm

When Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda meets with Barack Obama on Monday, they will hold the first formal one-on-one talks between a Japanese leader and a U.S. president in Washington since February 2009.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 22, 2012

Chernobyl expert takes a look at Tohoku's trees

Somewhere between downtown Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture, and the village of Ogisu an hour's drive to the northeast, Dr. Tatsuhiro Ohkubo pulls over to buy a box of sakura mochi.
COMMENTARY
Apr 20, 2012

How Beijing demonstrates a lesson in harmony

From the outside it seems as though China's leadership is facing its biggest crisis in a generation with the country's most prominent political star, Bo Xilai, the czar of Chongqing, suddenly dismissed from all of his posts while his wife and a household assistant stand accused of the murder of British...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 17, 2012

Bread and becquerels: a year of living dangerously

My New Year's resolution back in January was to survive this year, and many more to come, which means keeping myself and my family as far from harm's way as possible.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 14, 2012

Canadian black-belt takes pride in action not words

For Robert Hughes, the shortest answer is doing. From his early determination to procure a traditional Japanese sword to his more recent work with Japanese students in the poverty-stricken streets of the Philippines, Hughes, 54, has spent over 30 years in Japan allowing his actions to speak eloquently...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2012

Threat of monster tsunami poses ominous possibilities

The government's revised quake-tsunami estimates have sent shock waves across Japan and forced local municipalities to reassess their worst-case scenarios.
COMMENTARY
Apr 13, 2012

Russia's 'shadow market'

We should keep in mind that Russia is a country that has spent 70 years in an inhuman experiment aimed at arranging all sides of socioeconomic life within a giant centrally planned system. Even if this time is over, many features of today's life go on reminding us of this heavy and in many ways onerous...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2012

Fate of child abductions bill in Diet uncertain

The government finally submitted legislation to the Diet last month for joining the Hague Convention on international child abductions but its passage appears far from certain.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2012

Asian rivals elbow Japan aside in Washington

In the year of a U.S. presidential election, Japan is increasingly being overshadowed by its Asian neighbors in Washington just as the capital is increasingly functioning as a forum on global issues, according to a leading American expert.
COMMENTARY
Apr 11, 2012

What Mitt Romney needs in a vice president

Barack Obama's intellectual sociopathy — his often breezy and sometimes loutish indifference to truth — should no longer startle. It should, however, influence Mitt Romney's choice of a running mate.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 8, 2012

Mainstream media toes the line on sales tax

A bill to increase the consumption tax has finally been submitted to the Diet. Approval is by no means assured, owing partly to the fact that the substance of the issue has changed since the idea of a consumption tax was originally formulated. The Liberal Democratic Party saw it as a source of funding...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 7, 2012

Fighting the good fight for a healthy natural diet

Mamiko Matsuda, the best-selling author, translator and nutritional expert who divides her time between Japan and Houston, overcame an early struggle with poor health and disease to become an advocate for healthy diets and "natural hygiene."
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 6, 2012

Festival takes train fans for ride

Just because the cherry blossoms have begun to bloom nationwide, it doesn't mean weekend activities will be restricted to the park — any time of year is a good time for trainspotting.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Apr 1, 2012

Naohiko Jinno: Master of public finance brings life to numbers

Born the grandson of a once-prosperous textile manufacturer in Urawa, Saitama Prefecture, Naohiko Jinno says that when he was growing up he was told by his mother, over and over again, that money was not important.
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2012

Experts: 10% tax too minor to dent deficit

The Cabinet on Friday made good on its vow and moved forward on doubling the consumption tax by 2015, but some experts and lawmakers already see it as only a tiny step in cutting the ever-expanding fiscal deficit.
COMMENTARY
Mar 30, 2012

Russia's civil society is key

The future of democracy in Russia will depend on the correct relationship between "people" and "power" — the two major elements constituting any society.
EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 2012

Surprising choice for World Bank

U.S. President Barack Obama has named Dr. Jim Yong Kim as his nominee to lead the World Bank. In the past, that would have been the end of the process — Washington spoke and the bank complied. It is still probable that Mr. Kim will assume the post in June when it becomes vacant, but old certainties...
Reader Mail
Mar 29, 2012

Imbalance in Japan's economy

Regarding the March 4 Kyodo article "Food must be cleansed, Chernobyl expert warns": Many Japanese citizens are skeptical about the safety of products suspected of having been [irradiated by substances] released from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. Many are losing their jobs as demand for these products...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 27, 2012

Tohoku in rebuilding bubble

As Tohoku struggles to rebuild from last year's quake and tsunami, money continues to pour into the region in the form of central government subsidies for cleanup, repair and reconstruction.
COMMENTARY
Mar 26, 2012

Cyberspace: new face of war in the 21st century

For the past few years, there has been an explosion of ways in which countries can engage in destructive behavior. The use of cyberspace as a venue of battle has changed the nature of conventional warfare. This poses problems in terms of response to those threats as well as how to develop international...
Reader Mail
Mar 25, 2012

Root of fear is not knowing

The March 12 AP article "'Invisible enemy' stalks Fukushima" describes daily life for city residents of Fukushima and the negative effects from the stricken nuclear power plant. Many people also are affected emotionally because of the lack of information and the irresponsibility of the government's [statements]....

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?