Search - kyodo

 
 
EDITORIALS
Aug 13, 2012

Keeping retirees employed

The Lower House on Aug. 2 passed a bill to make it obligatory in principle for enterprises to keep employing through the age of 65 all workers who want to continue to work after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60. The bill is aimed at securing employment for such workers until they start receiving...
Reader Mail
Aug 9, 2012

Sure way to kill economic growth

Regarding the July 31 front-page Kyodo article "New growth strategy to focus on autos, FTAs": It's fine for the government to have a growth strategy, but the best one is just to get out of the way and let Japan's many innovative people and entrepreneurs lead the way.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2012

Hashimoto reeling after students' names leaked

Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) officials were reeling with embarrassment and threatening to file a police complaint this week after a weekly tabloid magazine published the names of the 888 students studying at an academy set up by the local political group and its founder, Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto....
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2012

LDP chief holds tax bill hostage to election

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda needs to give assurances that he will dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election before the Liberal Democratic Party votes for his social security and tax reform bills in the Upper House, the leader of the top opposition party said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2012

Obituary: Shunpei Ueyama

Shunpei Ueyama, a philosopher and former president of Kyoto City University of Arts, died of Parkinson's disease at his home in the city of Kyoto last Friday, his family said Monday. He was 91.
Reader Mail
Aug 5, 2012

Living in a drought of 'fun'

Regarding the Aug. 1 Kyodo article from Osaka, "Police crackdown has the club set up in arms": Basically, as everyone knows, in Japan, fun must be stopped. There should be no fun had here, except the type approved by old men, which really leaves drinking alone, smoking cigarettes, or undertaking some...
Reader Mail
Aug 5, 2012

Death penalty pros and cons

Regarding the July 31 Kyodo article: "Sugiura: End death penalty in name of democracy": Former Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura's comment that abolishing the death penalty in Japan would represent a step toward becoming a "mature democratic nation" is an unusual take for a Japanese on this difficult topic....
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2012

Fukushima trio show thanks with 13,000-km Paris-Tokyo marathon

Kyodo Three men from Fukushima Prefecture arrived in Tokyo from Paris on Thursday, completing a yearlong transcontinental marathon to thank people around the world for helping Japan recover from the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2011.
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2012

Japan still has a long way to go

Although I am strongly against the retention of the death penalty in Japan — and thus favor its immediate abolition — I disagree with former Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura's remarks that abolishing it would represent a step toward Japan's becoming "a mature, democratic nation," as he was quoted...
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2012

Ozawa vows new party will dethrone Noda's DPJ

Ichiro Ozawa vowed Wednesday to devote himself to expanding the support network for his new party to knock the ruling Democratic Party of Japan off its throne in the next Lower House general election.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2012

Strife-idled plant hits Maruti's dominance

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is weighing options for restoring production of its most popular models as recurring labor disputes at one of its plants threaten the company's lead in Asia's third-largest car market.
Reader Mail
Jul 29, 2012

Testament to a hero's grace

Regarding the July 25 front-page Kyodo article "Mariners deal Ichiro to Yankees": A player of firsts in a sport of records, Ichiro Suzuki elicits exaltation. It's a testament to this man's grace that he, in a matter of hours, took the field that had been his home for 11 years (Seattle Mariners' stadium)...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2012

Toyota takes first-half sales lead from GM

Toyota Motor Corp., rebounding from lost production after last year's natural disasters, is on an annual pace to outsell General Motors and Volkswagen and reclaim its title as the world's top-selling automaker.
Reader Mail
Jul 26, 2012

Adults accountable for bullying

The July 24 Kyodo article "Ministry to establish team to battle bullying" once again highlights our failure to act in due time and respond to the small acts. We once again chose to wait for the extreme to happen before taking serious action to curb or prevent such situations. We are always reactive,...
Reader Mail
Jul 22, 2012

Put a lid on 'malignant' shills

Regarding the July 16 Kyodo article "Public reactor hearing (Sendai) rocked by alleged government shill": A Japanese seminar or workshop usually has a question-and-answer time at the end for audience members. People are so shy that none wants to ask the first question. An awkward silence may ensue. To...

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan