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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Sep 11, 2012

Fukushima city: Are you happy with the post-3/11 reconstruction efforts in Tohoku so far?

Mieko Sasaki Housewife, 72 From the start nothing was managed properly. I'm upset that nothing has been resolved, even though I am 50-60 km away from (radiation) hot spots. I'm worried for the next generation but I want to say thank you to people from around the world for looking out for us in our hour...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Sep 11, 2012

Hotelier sees disaster bring out best in Japanese

As a veteran of the tourism and hotel industries in Japan for more than two decades, Tony Virili says he will "never forget" what took place at one of his firm's franchise hotels in Sendai on March 11, 2011.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2012

Growth in last quarter halved to 0.7% pace

The economy expanded in the second quarter at half the pace the government initially estimated, underscoring the risk of contraction in Japan as Europe's debt crisis caps exports.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Sep 10, 2012

Today's J-blip: Gari Gari Kun corn soup ice pop sold out in three days

Japan reeeally has a soft spot for corn soup.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 9, 2012

"Give it a try!"; A winning family drama; CM of the week: Japan Tobacco Consulting

Long-running variety show "Otameshi Ka!" ("Give it a Try!"; TV Asahi, Monday, 7 p.m.) usually tests its guests' knowledge about products offered by famous manufacturers or retail and restaurant chains. This week's two-hour special tries something different.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 9, 2012

Joy among the clouds and shadows

Yoko Sakata was an ordinary "office lady," not earning much and not aspiring to much, when she began suspecting her boyfriend of having an affair. She hired a private detective, who confirmed her fears and then paid her a compliment: "You have good intuition." He offered her a job. She grabbed it. That...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Sep 9, 2012

Yamadera, the man with 1,000 voices

Prior to interviewing Koichi Yamadera, a top voice actor, mimic and TV celebrity, I thought it would be tacky to ask him for samples of his many voices, from the characters on the popular "Anpanman" kiddy cartoon show to the hero of Hitoshi Takekiyo's new animated horror-comedy "Hokago Middonaitazu (After...
Japan Times
LIFE
Sep 9, 2012

Sea changes set in motion

Between 20 and 30 percent of Japan's marine fisheries production was lost in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck the Tohoku region of northeastern Honshu on March 11, 2011, followed by huge tsunamis and explosions and reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. In...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Sep 9, 2012

Aki Basho 2012: Time for ozeki Harumafuji to step up his game

When the Aki-basho starts today, all eyes will be on one man, and this time it is not yokozuna grand champion Hakuho. Rather the focus of sumo fans throughout Japan and around the world will be on ozeki Harumafuji. Looking to secure a second consecutive championship victory and thereby guarantee his...
Reader Mail
Sep 9, 2012

Stop panicking over birthrates

Regarding the Sept. 4 front-page article "Population of Tokyo to drop to half by 2100": So much fuss has been made in the news media about the declining birthrate that it would be easy to mistake it for an impending disaster.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Sep 9, 2012

My seminal link with manga god Osamu Tezuka

In this month's column I am going to claim an audacious link with that great "god of manga," Osamu Tezuka.
COMMENTARY
Sep 8, 2012

Tokyo-Seoul: enough is enough!

Enough is enough! Obviously, the political leadership in Tokyo and Seoul never learned about the First Rule of Holes: When you find yourself in one, stop digging. Each side seems to be going out of its way to make a bad situation worse, even while providing private assurances that it won't let the situation...
BASKETBALL
Sep 8, 2012

Stern expects big revenue for Nets

NBA commissioner David Stern said the Brooklyn Nets may jump into the league's five highest revenue teams in the franchise's first season in the Barclays Center.
Reader Mail
Sep 6, 2012

Building a musical following

Regarding Ian Martin's Aug. 30 column, pay to play is not a system unique to Japan. Ticket sales, space and equipment rental are a fact of life for musicians everywhere. Of all the performance-level musicians in the world, only a very small percentage make their living with music. And, by and large,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 6, 2012

"Chardin"

It was not until the middle of the 19th century that the world began to re-appreciate the talent of Jean-Siméon Chardin (1699-1779), with artists such as Edouard Manet and Paul Cezanne citing him as a major influence. Unlike Johannes Vermeer, another painter whose work regained popularity after years...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 6, 2012

Where Obama and Romney differ on foreign policy

This presidential election will likely determine whether the United States and Russia undertake a major new reduction of nuclear weapons; whether U.S. arms are supplied to Syrian rebels; whether more U.S. troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan next year; and whether Washington renews pressure on Israel...
EDITORIALS
Sep 6, 2012

Expectations for Russia in WTO

Russia joined the World Trade Organization on Aug. 22 to become its 156th member. Two days later, the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu jointed the WTO as its 157th member.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 6, 2012

Feel the Roots

What do you get when you mix prehistoric Jomon Period ruins and free-spirited, improvised percussion and rhythm? Jomon Trance, that's what. A genre coined by global music group RaBiRaBi, it's a sound that "blends the ancient and the future to create a new ceremonial space."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 6, 2012

Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, Jaga Jazzist and Bruut! challenge jazz's conservative image

Grammy Award-winning bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding recently told the Los Angeles Times that one of the problems in bringing jazz to a wider audience was essentially one of image.
COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2012

Nationalists making waves in Japan-China ties

Forty years ago this month, Japan and China established diplomatic relations. However, the two countries are clearly in no mood to celebrate because of a heated territorial dispute over tiny uninhabited islands called the Senkakus by Japan and the Diaoyus by China. They are under Japanese control but...
BUSINESS
Sep 6, 2012

Lenovo, NEC say alliance solid despite stock selloff

Lenovo, the world's second-largest computer maker, and NEC both said they are committed to their partnership in Japan after NEC sold its stake in the Chinese company to raise cash.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 6, 2012

JAL reportedly gets all IPO orders

Japan Airlines Co.'s ¥663 billion initial public offering, the largest since Facebook Inc., has drawn orders for all the stock being sold, according to two sources with knowledge of the transaction.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 5, 2012

Japanese baseball union approves participation in 2013 WBC

After weeks of uncertainty, the Japanese Professional Baseball Players Association has decided to participate in next year's World Baseball Classic, it was revealed on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 2012

A dialogue with North Korea

Japan and North Korea on Aug. 31 ended three days of talks in Beijing and agreed to hold a new round of talks, which will be upgraded with the participation of bureau chiefs of each country's foreign ministry. The Beijing talks were the first held by the two countries in four years and the first since...
BUSINESS
Sep 5, 2012

Diet impasse a threat to growth stimulus

The gridlock in the Diet threatens to curtail the government's ability to apply fiscal stimulus as the economic rebound falters.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Sep 4, 2012

Today's J-blip: Google celebrate's Doraemon's -100th

Google Japan wishes Doraemon a very happy minus 100th birthday.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years