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COMMUNITY / Issues / LIGHT GIST
Dec 25, 2012

The year in quotes: 25 windows on the way things were in 2012

It was a year dominated by Japan's spats with its most powerful neighbors, China and South Korea, over tiny specks in the sea, and by national soul-searching over nuclear power and the calamity that struck Japan in March 2011. It ended with the stunning political resurrection of the Liberal Democratic...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 23, 2012

Public works funds best spent fixing aging infrastructure

Last week's Lower House election was all about what people didn't want — the Democratic Party of Japan — but the issue foremost in voters' minds was the state of the economy, and new prime minister Shinzo Abe has made that his first priority by pledging to boost inflation through monetary easing...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2012

Abe's return could ease yen, aid exporters

The economy has shrunk almost 10 percent in the half decade since Shinzo Abe was last prime minister, as a soaring yen hollows out manufacturing. Abe's return may be exporters' best chance yet to halt the damage.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2012

Inpex OKs $20 billion to finance Aussie LNG project

Inpex Corp. signed $20 billion in loans for its Ichthys project in Australia, helping to complete financing for a liquid natural gas venture that will supply the fuel to power producers in Japan and Taiwan.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 9, 2012

Granderson sharing passion for baseball on tour of Asia

Curtis Granderson doesn't have to be here. He's got money; he's got fame; he's been an MLB All-Star three times; and, well, he's a New York Yankee.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 25, 2012

Attitude change needed to shake up the workforce

Several weeks ago the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, hung around briefly after the IMF finished up its annual meeting — which happened to be in Tokyo this year — and appeared on a special hourlong edition of NHK's in-depth news show "Closeup Gendai." The topic was working...
Reader Mail
Nov 25, 2012

Not so fast with the setting sun

Regarding Kevin Rafferty's Nov. 15 article, "Japan's sun is setting quickly": For the past 18 years, Western journalists have been predicting doom and gloom for Japan, but they now sound very frustrated that it is not happening.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 25, 2012

First love no use when the last hope for Japan is the chance to marry

Boy meets girl. They fall in love. What happens after that ... well, it depends on the individuals, the mores of their generation and the availability of a few square meters of private space.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 23, 2012

Williams says changing Saitama track record not easy

Tracy Williams is the Saitama Broncos' eighth head coach since the team entered the bj-league in 2005. Only ex-NBA forward David Benoit lasted more than one season during his time at the helm — 2006-08 — and the Broncos were 36-48 in those two campaigns.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2012

Subaru's lack of China plant pays off

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga has become a market darling for something he failed to do: build a factory in China.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2012

Abe call for unlimited BOJ easing rattles bond market

The bond market is growing more concerned that a new administration led by opposition leader Shintaro Abe calling for unlimited easing will stoke inflation and weaken the nation's finances.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 14, 2012

Consumers batten down their wallets

Consumers are closing their wallets as the economy's outlook darkens, making it harder for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to stave off the nation's third recession in four years.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 11, 2012

The changing face of fatherhood in Japan

My maiden brush with paternity in Japan was in 1982. New to the country and new to my job, I said to my boss, "My wife is expecting a baby on such-and-such a day and I'll want that day off."
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2012

NRA to probe flawed nuke fallout forecasts

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said Friday it will scrutinize all simulations for the potential spread of radioactive materials from atomic power plants after it was found that the projections were riddled with mistakes.
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2012

Mizuho China fund to bank on new leaders

Mizuho Asset Management Co. is opening a China fund, betting new leaders in the world's No. 2 economy will boost growth and quell the Senkaku territorial dispute that has prompted other banks to cancel planned funds.
EDITORIALS
Nov 5, 2012

BOJ needs bolder approach

The Bank of Japan has taken an additional monetary easing measure, including expanding its asset-purchase fund by ¥11 trillion to a total of ¥91 trillion and keeping its key short-term interest rate at around zero to 0.1 percent. It will loan funds at an annual interest rate of 0.1 percent to financial...
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Nov 4, 2012

Angry mobster looms large over politicians

In Japan these days, the political world seems to be mirroring "Beat" Takeshi Kitano's latest yakuza film, "Outrage Beyond," which depicts Japan's ruling party as being well and truly in bed with the mob.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2012

BOJ ranks say Japan is in 'recessionary phase'

The economy may have entered a "recessionary phase," according to some Bank of Japan policymakers.
BUSINESS
Nov 2, 2012

Sharp widens loss forecast to ¥450 billion

Sharp Corp. announced Thursday its group net loss for the business year to March is expected to reach a record ¥450 billion due to shrinking demand for its main products.
EDITORIALS
Oct 28, 2012

Mr. Ishihara goes national

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced Thursday that he will resign and return to national politics by launching a new political party and becoming its leader. He is stepping down as governor nearly two and half years before his term expires. Given his popularity and personality, and voters' frustration...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Oct 26, 2012

Sumo World Championships a shadow of former self

Thousands of kids in Japan attend amateur sumo clubs every weekend. Many adults join them as part of fitness regimes.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person