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Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 20, 2012

Condors fly in the face of contemporary dance scene

The Japanese are often described as being inward-looking and stoic, with a sense of humor that often fails to connect with people from overseas. However, there are still rare birds among that bunch.
EDITORIALS
Jan 20, 2012

New Kimigayo ruling

In lawsuits brought by 171 current and former teachers and other staff members at public schools in Tokyo who were punished for not following orders that principals issued in connection with the Hinomaru national flag and the Kimigayo national anthem at school events, the No. 1 Petit Bench of the Supreme...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 19, 2012

Plasticzooms dress up new sound on 'Starbow'

Sho Asakawa is visibly excited. The vocalist from Tokyo rock band Plasticzooms has just come from Tower Records in the capital's trendy Shibuya district, where an exhibition of his artwork and clothing are accompanying the promotional display for his band's new album, "Starbow."
COMMENTARY
Jan 18, 2012

Loyalty alone is not enough

Japanese have been taught over the centuries that loyalty is the supreme virtue. Loyalty to Japan and to the emperor was inculcated into every child in prewar Japan. The emphasis now seems to be on loyalty to the company employing you, loyalty to your section in the company and loyalty to your immediate...
COMMENTARY
Jan 16, 2012

Finer details of atmospheric science in Beijing

In July 2009, China's Foreign Ministry made a demand of the American embassy: Stop taking measurements of air pollution in Beijing available to ordinary Chinese since they conflicted with official data and could lead to "confusion" among the public and undesirable "social consequences."
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 15, 2012

Rigged online food reviews should come as no surprise

NHK has a regular travel series called "Quiz de Go," which sends TV personalities to far-flung corners of Japan and then asks them questions about the area's local qualities. Several weeks ago, three celebrities were exploring Miyazu, Kyoto Prefecture, and were turned on to a local delicacy called Curry-yaki....
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 14, 2012

Triumphant return fitting for Henry

There are moments in football that remain in the memory. Your team or country has won a major honor, perhaps a goal by a home-produced striker or maybe a debutant's hat trick.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2012

U.S. overlooks the true tolls of its wars

As the United States officially ended the war in Iraq last month, President Barack Obama spoke eloquently at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, lauding troops for "your patriotism, your commitment to fulfill your mission, your abiding commitment to one another," and offering words of grief for the nearly 4,500...
COMMENTARY
Jan 11, 2012

Are protests loosening Putin's grip on power?

Russia cannot be understood with the mind alone,
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jan 9, 2012

China's Un-relenting watch

The entire world was shocked by the news of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who was as vicious a dictator as Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin or Mao Zedong.
LIFE
Jan 8, 2012

Fukushima lays bare Japanese media's ties to top

Is the ongoing crisis surrounding the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant being accurately reported in the Japanese media?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2012

When China rules, Chinese will not set the rules

For a European these days, thinking about the future is disturbing. America is militarily overstretched, politically polarized and financially indebted. The European Union seems on the brink of collapse, and many non-Europeans view the old continent as a retired power that can still impress the world...
Japan Times
JAPAN / NUCLEAR AWAKENING
Jan 4, 2012

Mothers first to shed food-safety complacency

The disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and the threat of radioactive fallout changed the lives of many people, including Mizuho Nakayama and other mothers of young children whose primary goal suddenly became that of keeping their kids out of harm's way.
JAPAN / NUCLEAR AWAKENING
Jan 3, 2012

Fukushima meltdowns set nuclear energy debate on its ear

The Fukushima nuclear crisis changed the national debate over energy policy almost overnight.
JAPAN
Jan 2, 2012

58% of poll respondents oppose consumption tax hike

Fifty-eight percent of respondents in a nationwide survey in Japan are opposed to the government's policy of doubling the consumption tax rate in stages by the mid-2010s, according to The Tokyo Shimbun daily Sunday.
JAPAN / NUCLEAR AWAKENING
Jan 1, 2012

DIY cesium scanning store may be 'new normal'

Kashiwa, about 30 km northeast of Tokyo, is known for its humble beginnings as a 1970s bedroom community for Tokyo workers.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 29, 2011

Convenience stores gear up for a brighter future

Convenience store chains plan to open thousands of new outlets next year.
Reader Mail
Dec 29, 2011

Gross nuclear misrepresentations

The Dec. 25 letter from Andreas Kolb, " Ridiculous antinuclear claims," is quite disturbing in its gross misrepresentations, xenophobia and blatant racism. Even if The Japan Times editorial staff don't agree with Kolb's statements, they have some responsibility not to give a public platform to baseless...
Reader Mail
Dec 29, 2011

Spare us the propaganda routine

As a German, I can say that Andreas Kolb's "opinion" is surely not written by an Austrian. We share the same culture and we don't use terms like "yellow peril" in the German-speaking part of Europe. Nobody here would claim that German Chancellor Angela Merkel "broke a law" with regard to the planned...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2011

Few options for left-behind parents even if Hague OK'd

In July 2003, Paul Toland arrived to an empty home at the U.S. Navy's family housing facility in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. Gone were his Japanese wife and baby daughter. What was left was a note: "Contact my lawyers."
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Dec 27, 2011

Readers' views: Do foreigners deserve a fairer shake in Japan?

Some responses to the Nov. 6 Just Be Cause column by Debito Arudou headlined "For the sake of Japan's future, foreigners deserve a fair shake":
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 24, 2011

Politeness beyond words

We all know the Japanese are "very polite." But being polite goes beyond just saying excuse me or thank you or holding the door open for someone. Let's start with the word "teinei," or "polite," in Japanese. Teinei goes beyond the English word "polite" because it applies to far more than just people...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Dec 20, 2011

Cultural relativism, Meiji, phonetics and eigo woes

Some readers' responses to Nicolas Gattig's Nov. 22 Zeit Gist column, headlined "MacArthur, identity theory and Japan's lingering eigo woes":
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 19, 2011

Lawmaker attitudes, Tohoku both in dire need of transformation

The extraordinary Diet session closed Dec. 9 after the Upper House endorsed the opposition-submitted censure motion against Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa and consumer affairs chief Kenji Yamaoka. Was anything else accomplished? The legislature passed the third extra budget of the year for disaster...

Longform

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