Search - (2006-01-27)

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2013

The dynasty-loving Asians

To the extent that culture matters in politics, the recent spate of leadership changes in Northeast Asia suggests that Asian societies are more tolerant — if not supportive — of dynastic succession.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 7, 2013

No loss for words when expressing scale of DPJ's defeat

December's election aftermath offered a good chance to learn synonyms for "crushing defeat" and "overwhelming victory." Taihai (大敗, great defeat), kanpai (完敗, total defeat) — not to be confused with kanpai! (乾杯, cheers!) — kaimetsutekina haiboku (壊滅的な敗北, annihilating defeat),...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 6, 2013

Ueto stars as ex-con in NHK drama; a Japanese spin on "The Brothers Karamazov"; CM of the week: Parco

Strange casting decisions are often explained by advertising prerogatives, so we're not sure what prompted NHK to cast Aya Ueto against type to play an ex-con in the 10-part drama "Itsuka Hi no Ataru Basho de" ("In a Place Where the Sun Sometimes Shines"; NHK-G, Tues., 10 p.m.).
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 6, 2013

Abe returns to 'retrieve' Japan from its history — or will he just repeat it?

Way back in the heady 1960s, Japan was one big Cathedral of Optimism, and I found myself among a people who believed their country was finally on that road laid out before them in the post-feudal Meiji Era (1868-1912) to "catch up with and overtake" the West. And indeed, by the end of the decade Japan's...
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Jan 5, 2013

Burns, Ikeda share December honors on offense; Shimane's Parker, Davis recognized for defense

The Yokohama B-Corsairs and Niigata Albirex BB enter this weekend's marquee matchup as the hottest teams in the bj-league's Eastern Conference.
EDITORIALS
Jan 1, 2013

Back to the future for Japan?

As the new year kicks off and the coalition government of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito gets into full swing, Japan will see a drastic change in the direction of policies set by the DPJ government during its rule of three years and three months. It will not be a new direction, however, but...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 31, 2012

2013: Beginning of the U.S. economic recovery?

There is good reason to think that 2013 will finally be the year that the U.S. economic recovery really feels like a recovery: The biggest forces that have been holding the economy back finally seem to be subsiding.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2012

The fight to limit agricultural use of antibiotics can be won with the right political alliances

Ask a dozen food activists what political change they want to see in 2013 and you'll get a dozen different answers, maybe two dozen: Restrict sodium in packaged foods. Label genetically modified ingredients. End subsidies to big farms.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Dec 31, 2012

Supreme copout: twisted justification for guns

Suppose a Seung-Hui Cho, Jared Lee Loughner, James Eagan Holmes or an Adam Lanza shot and killed or seriously wounded any of the families of John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Would any of them have given different opinions in their 2008 and 2010 decisions?...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 30, 2012

As the new year approaches, Japan still reels from 2011

What a sad, sad country this is. What sad shape it's in, as this Year of the Dragon draws to a close. Economically, politically socially, individually, it is merely scraping by, surviving rather than living.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2012

Rightwing minister seeks to radically revamp education system

Conservative education minister Hakubun Shimomura said he wants to fundamentally change Japan's postwar school system to teach children about the nation's historical traditions and culture.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2012

Abe this time around to skip daily interviews in order to keep gaffes at bay

Apparently older and wiser after his first term in office, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will not hold daily press interviews any more to avoid the verbal slips that plagued his hapless predecessors.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2012

Aso takes reins of shrinking economy with fiscal gusto

Taro Aso, son of a cement magnate and a champion of pork-barrel spending when prime minister, is Japan's sixth finance chief in three years, auguring expanded fiscal stimulus in the world's third-largest economy.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Dec 27, 2012

Nationalism takes back seat to the economy

The lineup of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet seems to underline his determination to learn from his mistakes.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2012

Abe taps two women for key posts in LDP

Incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tapped two high-profile female lawmakers Tuesday for the top executive posts of the Liberal Democratic Party in an apparent effort to garner the support of female voters ahead of the Upper House election next summer.
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2012

Abe's ascent provides China with a chance to improve ties

Shinzo Abe, widely viewed as a rightwing nationalist, assumes office Wednesday as prime minister of Japan, the seventh time the country's leadership has changed hands in six years and his second turn at the helm since 2007.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2012

Formed in childhood, roots of Abe's conservatism go deep

Shinzo Abe, 58, who becomes prime minister again Wednesday, is regarded overseas, particularly in Asia, as one of the most-known — and probably most notorious — hawkish politicians in Tokyo.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 25, 2012

Sites for J-footy fans; variable service at Softbank

In response to our Oct. 23 column, " 'Prenups' uncommon but doable; aid for avid J. League fans," some of our readers wrote in with their favorite Japan soccer resources.
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2012

Asbestos victims need more help

The Tokyo District Court has ordered the state to award some ¥1.06 billion in compensation to 158 workers who suffered lung diseases such as lung cancer and mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos dust. This is a significant ruling in that it decided that the state's inadequate regulations were responsible...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 25, 2012

LDP returns with all its old baggage

They're baaaack. After warming the opposition bench for more than three years, the Liberal Democratic Party has returned to power, hungrier and more eager than ever to rule.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers