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EDITORIALS
Sep 8, 2011

Acquittal of bank executives

The Tokyo High Court in a retrial on Aug. 30 acquitted three former executives of the defunct Nippon Credit Bank of undervaluing bad loans and submitting false financial statements for fiscal 1997. The ruling followed a similar ruling in July by the Supreme Court, which acquitted three former executive...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2011

Toshiba to purchase Shaw's stake in Westinghouse for $1.6 billion

Toshiba Corp. will buy Shaw Group Inc.'s 20 percent stake in nuclear-plant designer Westinghouse Electric for about $1.6 billion, increasing its share to 87 percent.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2011

Taking aim at foreigners' blinkered views on doing business in China

Fraser Howie is scathing about foreigners' blinkered views, particularly those of his financial colleagues who believe they are God's gift to a reforming China. "Some of the management of these top firms genuinely believe that China is reforming and say 'we will be in there and China needs us.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 7, 2011

Hachiro hints at reactor restarts

New Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoshio Hachiro hinted that some of the nuclear reactors currently undergoing stress tests will be brought back into operation before April if their safety can be confirmed.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2011

As Arab Spring unfolds, who is watching Iran?

While everyone is watching events unfold in Libya, Syria and the rest of the Arab world, Iran is watching, too. And the leaders in Tehran may decide that this is the time to rush for the bomb. Moammar Gadhafi gave it up. Bashar Assad fell short of getting it. Would they be next?
COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2011

Instrument of love in Libya

Somebody (perhaps a Jesuit) once said: "Force is an instrument of love in a world of complexity and chance."
COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2011

Pinning a tale on the candidate

Wednesday's Republican "debate" in California will not resemble the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates, in which one candidate spoke for 60 minutes, the other responded for 90 minutes, and his opponent had 30 minutes for rebuttal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 6, 2011

China, U.S. both high on strategic agenda: Genba

While Japan's alliance with the United States benefits the stability of the Asia-Pacific region, close ties with China will also be needed if Japan wants to reap the benefits of its neighbor's booming economy, new Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba said Monday.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 6, 2011

TSPS offers classes for boat license

The Tokyo Sail and Power Squadron will be offering preparatory classes in English for people seeking to obtain a boat license to skipper a vessel of up to 20 tons equipped with engine(s) within 9 km off shore (Class 2) or a Class 1 license, which allows operations beyond that limit.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 6, 2011

Azumi enters fray with tax-hike talk

New Finance Minister Jun Azumi repeated Monday that he may ask the public to pay higher taxes to shoulder the burden of reconstructing the disaster-hit Tohoku region, saying he is ready to do his utmost to secure the fiscal resources.
BUSINESS
Sep 6, 2011

Bearing maker NTN expects windfall amid crisis

NTN Corp., a Japanese maker of bearings for cars and industrial gear, expects sales of the devices used in wind-power generators to exceed its target because the Fukushima meltdown disaster has spurred demand for alternative energy sources.
EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 2011

World's biggest blog obsession

Internet users in Japan spend more time reading blogs than any other country in the world, according to a recent study from comScore, a research company measuring the digital world. The average Japanese user spent 62.6 minutes reading blogs during June of this year, when the survey was conducted.
Reader Mail
Sep 4, 2011

Putting Japan in America's place

Regarding Hiroaki Sato's Aug. 29 article, 'Gratuitous' bombing of a defeated enemy," I'd like to make a few comments as a Japanese who is very interested in history. There are said to be several reasons why the United States used the atomic bomb on Japan, including that the U.S. wanted to intimidate...
Reader Mail
Sep 4, 2011

Baby boomers serve a purpose

Regarding the Aug. 28 editorial "Global citizen Haruki Murakami": I was born in the generation after Japan's dankai (baby boomers), whose enormous population and aggressive self-assertion always overwhelmed us. They were always arguing that they would someday change not only Japan but also the world....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 4, 2011

Actress's inheritance saga plays out like melodrama

Sometimes the components of a news story fit together so perfectly that you can't help but wonder how much of it was engineered by the press. Actress Hisako Manda, a former beauty queen who found success in recent years as a cover girl for magazines catering to women in their 50s, is currently at the...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 4, 2011

Sakurai in "Kamisama no Karute"; Japan's smartest high school students; CM of the week: Takasu Clinic

Sho Sakurai of the idol group Arashi can currently be seen playing a physician in the theatrical film "Kamisama no Karute" ("God's Medical Chart") alongside Aoi Miyazaki. Both can also be seen in the ongoing TV commercial series for supplemental medical insurance provider Aflac, alongside a CGI duck...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 4, 2011

These may be interesting times, yet we yearn to return to normality

"May you live in interesting times," goes the familiar curse — or as the Chinese say in a similar vein, "It's better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos."
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 3, 2011

Lineup competent but lacking buzz

The new ministers hand-picked Friday by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda lack the star power or celebrity status needed to reverse the Democratic Party of Japan's dwindling popularity.
COMMENTARY
Sep 2, 2011

U.S.-China 'win-win' game

In spite of the polar positions of the United States and China in the global system, during the past dozen years their economies have become intertwined to such a degree that one is tempted to speak of an emerging new giant macroeconomic entity with a common metabolism — at least with regard to some...
EDITORIALS
Sep 2, 2011

Restructuring power distribution

Japan's 10 power companies have enjoyed regional monopolies under government protection, controlling not only electricity generation but also electricity transmission from power stations to transformer substations and distribution to individual users.

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