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Reader Mail
Aug 12, 2012

Leadership or authoritarianism?

Regarding Ralph Cossa's Aug. 3 article, "Pushing Seoul-Tokyo Forward": Cossa finally reveals his fundamental political inclinations. In the context of the South Korea-Japan military relationship, Cossa quotes the reply of an unnamed former U.S. president who was asked if he knew what the American people...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 12, 2012

Pyongyang: the Orwellian city through its architecture

PYONGYANG ARCHITECTURAL AND CULTURAL GUIDE, by Philipp Meuser. DOM publishers, 2012, 368 pp., $49.95 (paperback) Imagine an easy-to-navigate, pedestrian- and car-friendly city with enough space to avoid the kind of congestion that typically threatens to choke similar places worldwide — a city whose...
Reader Mail
Aug 12, 2012

Tyranny of the global unelected

Shinji Fukukawa posits a very dangerous definition of a politician in his Aug. 9 article, "Populism is destroying globalism." According to Fukukawa, "Politicians are primarily required to present a vision of their country's future course and call for tough policy choices for the sake of security and...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 12, 2012

South Korea reflects on successful Olympics

Not one of the largest nations competing in the Summer Olympics, South Korea had collected the fifth-most gold medals as of 9 p.m. on Friday.
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 12, 2012

Professor aspires toward the perfect prosthetic design

"Functionality and aesthetics can co-exist."
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 11, 2012

Since 3/11, fears of Fuji eruption have grown

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima nuclear crisis were unparalled disasters, but people in and around Shizuoka Prefecture fear the ultimate catastrophe — the eruption of Mount Fuji — may be looming.
Japan Times
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 11, 2012

Bolt has put himself on another level with latest run to Olympic glory

Pick a superlative, any superlative, and add two dozen or more synonyms. And still, the total wow factor created by Usain Bolt's Olympic body of work goes beyond what your list of words.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2012

Upper House passes bill to hike sales levy

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda achieved a major goal Friday when the Upper House passed his administration's social security and tax reform bills that will double the sales tax to 10 percent by 2015.
OLYMPICS
Aug 11, 2012

Bolt completes historic sweep with 200 victory

Jamaica had a run for the ages on Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 11, 2012

Defense white paper eyes China

The 2012 white paper on defense, endorsed by the Cabinet on July 31, expressed concern over China's rapid defense buildup and muscle-flexing in the Pacific Ocean, noting that it has become common for Chinese naval vessels to enter the Pacific Ocean, and that China appears intent on improving its ability...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Aug 11, 2012

The race to be at rest

"Japanese are supposed to be polite. It's a defining part of the national character."
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 10, 2012

Ibaraki art museum hopes to revive area with exhibition on Walt Disney's life

Since opening in 1997, the Tenshin Memorial Museum of Art, located in the city of Kitaibaraki, Ibaraki Prefecture, has focused its exhibitions on nihonga (Japanese style) paintings, because that was the style made internationally famous by Tenshin Okakura, the early 20th-century critic and educator for...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 10, 2012

1936 water polo medalist enjoying action at 98

It's been said that age is nothing but a number.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 10, 2012

'Win Win'

The last time I saw Paul Giamatti in a lead role was in "Sideways" (2004), when he played a middle-aged guy who stole money from his aging mother to winery-hop in Napa Valley. Now Giamatti resembles a trusty musical instrument, fine-tuned to the exact specifications of what can only be described as Giamatti-ness....
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2012

Utilities' CO₂ emissions jump a year after Fukushima

Tokyo Electric Power Co. and nine other utilities emitted a record amount of carbon dioxide in the business year that ended March 31 as the Fukushima No. 1 disaster caused a surge in crude and fuel oil consumption.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 10, 2012

'Total Recall'

This is going to sound crazy, but I have this memory ... It's faded, like so many from the acid-house era, but I can clearly see Arnold Schwarzenegger playing this blue-collar kinda guy who comes home one day and finds his loving and beautiful wife, played by Sharon Stone, suddenly trying to kill him....
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 9, 2012

Coe a great spokesman for sport

What if the Soviet Union didn't invade Afghanistan in 1979?
Reader Mail
Aug 9, 2012

A sign of giving up on pacifism

In his Aug. 4 article, "Why Japan should amend its war-renouncing Article 9," Craig Martin tries to make a case for giving in to the demands of Japan's rightwing by ending 65 years of pacifism. Not only do I think that this is a foolhardy idea but also that it couldn't have come at a worse time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 9, 2012

"Junkichi Mukai: The Time for Conversation"

When Junkichi Mukai (1901-1995) was young, he visited France and saw classic masterpieces at the Louvre Museum in Paris. That Western inspiration greatly contributed to the development of his realistic painting style, which he used to depict traditional Japanese houses.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 9, 2012

Kabuki's 10th Mitsugoro shows off his family's dance moves

Bando Mitsugoro X (born Hisashi Morita, 56) succeeded to his current stage name 11 years ago, after the death of his father Mitsugoro IX. He was rigorously trained in Kabuki acting and dancing by his father, who had learned the trade under the renowned Onoe Kikugoro VI and Kikugoro's head disciple, Onoe...
OLYMPICS / LONDON POSTCARD
Aug 8, 2012

Bolt's growing legend makes for good reading

My maternal great-grandmother used to wash the linens every Monday. She considered it a good tone-setter for the week.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 8, 2012

Nadeshiko advances to Olympic final

For more than a year now, Nadeshiko Japan has brought incredible joy and excitement to its homeland and to a large number of admirers around the world.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2012

LDP pulls threat, will vote on bill for tax hike

In an apparent about-face Tuesday, the Liberal Democratic Party agreed to vote in favor of the contentious tax hike and social security legislation in the Upper House on Wednesday.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / LONDON POSTCARD
Aug 7, 2012

U.K. track success gives games 'signature day'

Looking back at the second evening of athletics at Olympic Stadium, so many images and sounds are flashing through my mind.
COMMENTARY
Aug 7, 2012

Wedding gift for the first couple of North Korea

I guess I am a sucker for old-fashioned romance. When I heard about the stunning marriage of Kim Jong Un, the young new leader of North Korea, to the lovely Ri Sol Ju, apparently a professional singer, I hurriedly buried the ideological hatchet and grabbed the latest BRIDES magazine to figure out what...
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 7, 2012

Olympic spirit pushes Murray to tennis glory

No one is insisting that the Olympic tennis tournament becomes an unofficial fifth Grand Slam once every four years. It is, however, the closest thing to a major tournament in 2012 away from the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and upcoming U.S. Open.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji