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CULTURE / Art
Dec 9, 2011

"The World of ISHIKO Junzo : From Art via Manga to Kitsch"

Fuchu Art Museum is taking the unusual stance of focusing on an art critic rather than on artists for its latest exhibition, which presents aspects of Japanese culture of the 1960s and '70s — a time of rapid economic growth and dramatic societal change.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2011

Gold exports at highest level since '85

Gold shipments from Japan are at the highest level since at least 1985, as individuals who purchased jewelry more than 20 years ago sell it amid record prices.
Reader Mail
Dec 8, 2011

MacArthur pre-empted disaster

Regarding Masamichi Yabuki's Dec. 4 letter, "A MacArthur view revisited": There have been other unjust omissions and, worse, derogatory statements made about American Gen. Douglas MacArthur, especially regarding his role in bringing about Japan's revised constitution during the early months of the Occupation....
Reader Mail
Dec 8, 2011

Japanese disclosure too, please

Regarding the Dec. 4 Kyodo brief "U.S. parks plan irks A-bombed cities": Perhaps the professional complainers from Hiroshima and Nagasaki (who want the three sites that the U.S. National Park Service is considering establishing as historic parks — because of their involvement with the Manhattan Project...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 8, 2011

Quake-stricken orchestra plays on in style

The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra faced a setback this year after Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall was severely damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, effectively leaving the musicians homeless.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 8, 2011

Perfume "JPN"

Whatever else you might say about idol trio Perfume's new album, "JPN" is a title fraught with possible meanings. Is it a postquake rallying cry? A doomed attempt to reach out to overseas audiences following the use of "Polyrhythm" in Pixar's pointless "Cars 2" flick? A kick aimed at the waves of Korean...
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2011

No guarantee Japan yields will stay low, Ishida says

Europe's sovereign-debt crisis is a reminder that Japan can't expect to continue funding its public debt with "low" borrowing costs, Bank of Japan Policy Board member Koji Ishida said Wednesday.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Dec 7, 2011

Toyota plug-in hybrids seen going to head of the class

Toyota Motor Corp.'s new plug-in Prius threatens to cast a shadow over competitors' hybrids.
COMMENTARY
Dec 7, 2011

Blame the welfare state for U.S. and Europe's ills

We Americans fool ourselves if we ignore the parallels between Europe's problems and our own. It's reassuring to think them separate, and the fixation on the euro — Europe's common currency — buttresses that mind-set. But Europe's turmoil is more than a currency crisis and was inevitable, in some...
EDITORIALS
Dec 7, 2011

A milestone for Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has just concluded a historic trip to Myanmar. Her visit heralds a breakthrough in relations between the two countries, and a shift in political dynamics in Southeast Asia could be anticipated. While optimism is warranted, it should be tempered by caution; Myanmar...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2011

Political earthquake in Osaka

Toru Hashimoto's huge victory in the Osaka mayoral election was undoubtedly a political earthquake. The question now is how sweeping and powerful will be the tsunami that follows. My worry is that Tokyo, and particularly the political and bureaucratic establishment, does not comprehend the tectonic forces...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 6, 2011

Tax, pension breaks called favoritism for homemakers

The tax and social security systems have long been seen as favoring full-time homemakers over working women because they are based on single-income households.
Reader Mail
Dec 4, 2011

A MacArthur view revisited

This month marks the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese Imperial Navy. Last year I learned from a speech by Dr. Shoichi Watanabe, professor emeritus at Sophia University, what American Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who oversaw the allied occupation of Japan after World War II, told...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 4, 2011

Italian spikers prevail over Japan

Italy's men's volleyball team downed Japan in straight sets (25-22, 26-24, 25-22) on the second day of fourth-round action in the 2011 FIVB Men's World Cup at Yoyogi National Gym on Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 4, 2011

Five million people

How do you feed, transport and care for 5 million people? The Tokyo Metropolitan Government needs to answer that question after a recent Cabinet Office survey found that more than 5 million people were stranded in the Tokyo metropolitan area after the March 11 earthquake.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 4, 2011

Exploring Yanagawa's watery world

The boatman sings a low-pitched, wistful air as he poles our craft down the watery freeway. Some of my fellow passengers obviously know the melancholic song, and join in on what passes for a chorus as we're propelled otherwise noiselessly down the wide canal.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 3, 2011

Playing a little chicken

Here it comes, the eternal question . . .
EDITORIALS
Dec 3, 2011

IAEA's report on Iran

For years, there have been questions about Iran's nuclear intentions. While Tehran insists that it is merely pursuing its right to the peaceful uses of the atom as a signatory of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), doubts about its ultimate ambitions have ebbed and flowed. On Nov. 8, the International...
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2011

Lower House committee approves nuke export deals with four nations

While the battle goes on to bring the Fukushima No. 1 plant under control, the government moved a step closer Friday to resuming exports of Japan's nuclear technology as a Lower House committee approved ratification of accords with four countries.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 3, 2011

A graceful hand to help elderly Japanese in Holland

In 1941, in the then Dutch East Indies, thousands of people were forced into internment camps by the invading Japanese army. It is a slice of history almost forgotten today, along with so many other wartime atrocities. It is something Chieko van Santen remembers every day, as the Japanese widow of a...

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