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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 23, 2012

akai ko-en try to avoid getting caught in the Web

With a layered sound that blends postrock dynamics and sprawling song structures with pure J-pop sensibility, akai ko-en is quickly becoming one of Tokyo's most talked-about new bands. But just try searching for the group on YouTube and see how far you get.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2012

A 'stewpid' time to raise VAT

The International Monetary Fund has joined Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and leading politicians and bureaucrats in laying down a remorseless softening up barrage of facts, figures, argument and just plain determination that the country's consumption tax should rise as quickly as possible.
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Feb 19, 2012

Chinese emperor abdicates, Italians to preserve hara-kiri site, Tokyo's population hits 10 million, Japan supports space station

100 YEARS AGOWednesday, Feb. 14, 1912
BASKETBALL
Feb 18, 2012

Search on for new coach after JBA drops Wisman

After less than two years in charge, Thomas Wisman's ouster on Wednesday by the Japan Basketball Association was expected by those who pay attention.
Reader Mail
Feb 12, 2012

Nursing-care tests raise dilemma

The Jan. 31 article "Foreigners' poor test grades force rethink on nurse tests" does raise a dilemma: Should Japan, or should it not, make the nurse certification test easier for foreigners? It may come down to answering the following questions:
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2012

Antinuke petitioners to lobby assembly

A citizens' group pushing for a referendum in Tokyo on scrapping Tepco's nuclear reactors has to persuade metropolitan assembly members to back its plan — a daunting, and potentially insurmountable, step.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 10, 2012

'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'

On one level, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is simply an Agatha Christie story for Nine Inch Nails fans. You may think I'm joking, but think about it: an isolated island full of disgruntled relatives in a wealthy family, an unsolved murder with loads of potential suspects, and a sleuth who uncovers...
COMMENTARY
Feb 10, 2012

Russia should back up a bit to find road to the future

I am not going to speak about a time machine and America but about Russia and its urgent need to return to the past in search of a tool to secure a better future.
Reader Mail
Feb 9, 2012

JMA doesn't speak for hospitals

Regarding the Jan. 23 Kyodo article "U.S. won't breach 'mixed treatment' medical insurance rules in TPP talks": It would seem to me that the Japan Medical Association (JMA), which consists of mainly nonhospital physicians, should seek the opinion of citizens and hospitals before making pronouncements...
COMMENTARY
Feb 7, 2012

Capital pain: pay, bonuses

The recent international jamboree at Davos provided ample opportunity for the "great and the good," as well as the not so great and not so good, to enjoy gourmet meals and doubtless lashings of champagne ultimately at the expense of tax-payers. The participants also had time to exchange views on current...
Reader Mail
Feb 5, 2012

Problem with some universities

In my opinion the reason why the not-so-prestigious private universities in Japan are said to be having a hard time attracting Japanese students is that many of the lecturers have poor academic knowledge and inferior research ability. As they lack the passion for teaching the importance of exploring...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Feb 1, 2012

Justice minister feels signing off on hangings just part of job description

Toshio Ogawa is the first justice minister to tacitly support capital punishment since the Democratic Party of Japan came to power in September 2009 and has no intention of engaging in the debate over whether to end the death penalty.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jan 31, 2012

International vs. Japanese school: Which is top of class for mixed kids?

Some readers' thoughts on the dueling Jan. 10 Zeit Gist columns by Charles Lewis ("Local Japanese school is the obvious choice if you want your child to fit in") and Lisa Jardine ("International education a triple-A investment in your child's — and Japan's — future"):
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 31, 2012

Plebicites first step in pulling nuclear plug

Last June more than 90 percent of Italian voters said no to nuclear power in a referendum, while Germany and Switzerland voted to phase out atomic energy in the coming years.
Reader Mail
Jan 29, 2012

Greater things than test scores

Regarding Japan's education system as discussed in Jason Pierre's Jan. 15 letter, "Lack of motivation for studying": I believe that the destiny of many younger students depends too much on the results of academic tests that they take at grade schools, cram schools and college preparatory schools.
Reader Mail
Jan 29, 2012

A less ascetic word for 'monk'

There must be a better word to apply to some male adherents of Buddhism than "monk," as used, for example, in the Jan. 19 Kyodo article "Matchmaking service gives Buddhist monks a boost in dating market." If there isn't, then perhaps we ought to make one because, in English, "monk" denotes a man living...
COMMENTARY
Jan 28, 2012

Can Romney the turnaround artist do it again?

An Illinois lawyer who had a way with words once characterized a particular argument as weaker than soup made from the shadow of a pigeon that died of starvation. The argument for Mitt Romney benefiting from South Carolina's voting is almost as weak as Lincoln's soup, but here it is:
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 28, 2012

Aichi's denizens warm to foreigners

Most Aichi residents like the idea of having many foreign residents living among them, according to a prefectural survey.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2012

Veteran of two wars — in two different armies

Minoru Ohye, 86, is a rare veteran: He served in both the Imperial Japanese Army, fighting the Soviet Red Army during World War II, and in the U.S. military during the Korean War.
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Jan 28, 2012

Okada: Officialdom must sacrifice to sell tax hike

Winning the public's support to hike the consumption tax is the government's priority as their backing would force opposition parties to drop their stance against tax reforms, new Deputy Prime Minister Katsuya Okada said.
EDITORIALS
Jan 26, 2012

Tax plan ill-timed and ill-thought

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda made a policy speech before the Diet on Tuesday as it started a regular session for 2012. His main theme was a raise of the consumption tax and he called on opposition parties to take part in consultations on the matter with his ruling Democratic Party of Japan.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 25, 2012

Desperate Knicks could use Tinsley

Kobe Bryant recently "pinpointed" Jamaal Tinsley as an ideal conductor of offensive arrangements, exactly what the Lakers (and Knicks) distinctly lack.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2012

Debunking five myths about Barack Obama

The president is a socialist.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jan 24, 2012

Japanese must tap their 'inner Israeli': readers' responses

Some readers' thoughts on the Jan. 3 Zeit Gist column by Glenn Newman, headlined "Japanese must tap their 'inner Israeli' ":
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2012

Spring erosion of Seoul's ruling party forecast

The ascension to power of the pudgy 29-year-old Kim Jong Un in North Korea has grabbed headlines around the world, but the most important story involving Korean young people and politics is taking place in the South.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan