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BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 14, 2013

U.S. to press Abe on yen 'devaluation'

The U.S. Treasury Department says it will pressure Japan to refrain from competitive devaluation while stopping short of accusing it of manipulating the yen.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 14, 2013

Tabloids sharpen claws for North Korea's 'X-Day'

Three months before the present crisis on the Korean peninsula, Shukan Jitsuwa (Jan. 24) ran an uncharacteristically astute article predicting that in addition to potential for armed conflict with China over the disputed Senkaku Islands, North Korea, under its inexperienced young leader Kim Jong Un, posed a serious threat to Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 14, 2013

Star Troupe's top otokoyaku star speaks out

Ahead of their current Taiwan tour, Yuzuki Reon, the current top otokoyaku (male-role actress) with the Takarazuka Revue, took time out between rehearsals at the city-center Tokyo Takarazuka Theater to share with readers of The Japan Times something of her view from such a lofty show-biz height.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 14, 2013

Iran's presidential hopefuls take aim at Ahmadinejad

Iran's political landscape has become increasingly divided during controversial President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's second and final term. But as a diverse array of candidates to replace him takes shape, nearly all the contenders seem united on one thing: attacking the president's legacy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 14, 2013

An era of Tokyo art worth another look

Like Britain, Japan is subject to the polarizing forces of the orthodox and radical, the two balancing the flabby middle.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 14, 2013

Myanmar's unrest: Colonial legacy undermines nascent democracy

Alarming outbreaks of sectarian violence pitting Buddhists against Muslims in Myanmar cast an ominous cloud over that nation's democratic transition from military rule.
Reader Mail
Apr 14, 2013

'Iron Lady' is worth emulating

Much has been written and said about the life and times of Margaret Thatcher. I was especially pleased to read Gwynne Dyer's balanced article "The Iron Lady's lasting legacy" and George Will's complimentary "Margaret Thatcher buoyed by vigorous virtues," both published April 11 in The Japan Times print...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 14, 2013

Three generations of one warring family find their own ways to deal with grief, loss

HOME FIRES, by Elizabeth Day. Bloomsbury, 2013, 256 pp., £11.99 (paperback)
Reader Mail
Apr 14, 2013

No reason to fear North's nukes

The argument posed in the April 9 AP article "Japan has real reasons to fret about North Korean nukes" does not hold up to scrutiny.
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2013

Testing children's English ability

Japan's obsession with testing is growing, according to new information from the Eiken Foundation of Japan. The foundation, which oversees one of Japan's most oft-taken English exams, the Eiken, has reported that the number of primary school students taking the Eiken test in practical English proficiency...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 13, 2013

Swallows' Balentien glad to return to diamond after WBC injury delayed season debut

Wladimir Balentien's season began with a lot of lonely days in Toda, Saitama Prefecture, a city of a little more than 126,000 (according to a 2012 population estimate) just across the Arakawa River, while his Tokyo Yakult Swallows teammates were busy taking on three of their Central League rivals.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 13, 2013

Bowker bashes two home runs as Giants end offensive slump

More than a few fans probably came to Tokyo Dome wondering when the Yomiuri Giants would score again. By the end of night, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows just wanted them to stop.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 13, 2013

Man City better off keeping Mancini

According to some reports, Manchester City has lined up various replacements should Roberto Mancini be fired this summer. This, of course, presupposes the club's power brokers have met to discuss possible successors in case they decide to fire the Italian.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 12, 2013

Ford, Toyota both claim to have top-selling car

For the second time in seven months, Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. both claim to produce the world's top-selling car. The clash shows how counting in the global automotive industry is complicated.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 12, 2013

Funahashi: 'Good stories don't need happy endings'

A graduate of the University of Tokyo's cinema studies course, Atsushi Funahashi studied directing at the School of Visual Arts in New York and shot his first two films, “Echoes” (2002) and “Big River” (2005), in the United States.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Apr 12, 2013

Tokyo Disneyland turns 30!

Tokyo Disneyland (or "TDL" as it's known to the Japanese) turns 30 on April 15, but like George Clooney, or heck, even the famed Mouse himself, age hasn't withered it a bit.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 12, 2013

'Sakura Namiki no Mankai no Shita ni (Cold Bloom)'

Grief doesn't have a sell-by date, not really. Decades after a loss, the absence is still felt, the memories remain.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 12, 2013

'Cosmopolis'

We want to like this movie, "Cosmopolis." David Cronenberg fills his movies with concepts and ideas, then turns them into something stupendous and horrible. Sigmund Freud is finished, Don DeLillo is next. But his cinema is losing its narrative quality the same way that painting did once upon a time....
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2013

A decisive but divisive leader

Margaret Thatcher will be remembered for her decisive neoliberalism even though it atomized people and widened economic disparity among Britons.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2013

Beware economists who peddle cute models

A study that mimicked the behavior of 2 million potential homeowners makes plausible assumptions about how the U.S. subprime crisis got started.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Apr 11, 2013

Fight looms for rival Syria rebel factions

As this remote corner of northeastern Syria fast slides out of government control, many Syrians are bracing for what they fear will be another war, between the relatively moderate fighters who first took up arms against the government and the Islamist extremists who emerged more recently with the muscle...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2013

Muza Kawasaki marks grand return

Tokyo Symphony Orchestra has returned to its home at Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / NOTEBOOK
Apr 10, 2013

Shibuya Ward picks mascot; take a cruise around Japan

ANNOUNCEMENTS
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2013

Why a Syrian no-fly zone is the right thing to do

Detractors of a Syrian no-fly zone miss the point. Its purpose would not be to resolve the conflict but to prevent escalation and provide leverage to talks.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2013

Plenty of industry left in post-industrial America

The “decline” of manufacturing in the U.S. refers mostly to job loss, which is stark and long-term. Output itself continues to climb but with fewer workers.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear