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JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jul 21, 2011

Plugging reactors no longer stated goal for Tepco

The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. are boasting success in achieving the first stage in the road map to stabilize the reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, but experts said big challenges remain as the utility moves to the second phase, the goal of which is to achieve a cold shutdown...
EDITORIALS
Jul 21, 2011

A Nadeshiko moment

Nadeshiko Japan won the Women's World Cup by defeating the heavily favored United States on Sunday in Frankfurt. It was a great feat. Japan's women's national team became the first Japanese as well as the first Asian team to become the World Cup winner, irrespective of men's or women's soccer.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2011

Ichihashi trial bares translation woes

The lay judge trial of accused rapist and murderer Tatsuya Ichihashi, whose verdict is expected Thursday, has captured a lot of media attention since it started July 4, but one element that has escaped notice is the quality of the language translation.
EDITORIALS
Jul 21, 2011

Step 2 of nuclear crisis control

The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Tuesday announced the start of Step 2 of the road map to bring the crisis in the stricken reactors of Tepco's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant under control.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 21, 2011

Root & Branch Presents UBIK

Hiroshi Watanabe has been a trailblazer in the Japanese electronic-music scene since graduating in 1994 from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, producing beats under the monikers Nite System, Quadra, Tread, Crank and 32 Project just to name a few.
COMMENTARY
Jul 21, 2011

Watershed moment in China's food security

China appears to have reached a watershed in its food security strategy, which has long set a target of 95 percent self-sufficiency in four key grains — rice, wheat, corn and soybeans.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 20, 2011

'Nadeshiko' Japan feted upon return

Japan's Women's World Cup-winning soccer team made a triumphant return on Tuesday, with captain and tournament MVP Homare Sawa shrugging off suggestions she may retire in order to target gold at next year's London Olympics.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2011

Kan meets soccer champs, perks up

It looks like the victory of the "Nadeshiko" Japan women's national soccer team not only gave hope to a nation still recovering from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami but also energized unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who vowed Tuesday to persevere.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2011

Tepco plans for cold shutdown by January

The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday they have successfully achieved consistent and stable cooling of the reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 plant and will by mid-January reduce the amount of radioactive materials being released.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jul 19, 2011

Campaigns urge foreigners to pleeease visit Japan

The travel industry is doing its best to bring tourists back to Japan but is an Arashi promo video going to be able to do the job?
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2011

Murdoch's malign empire

The resignation of two key lieutenants of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his own full-page signed apology in British newspapers — "We are sorry for the widespread wrongdoing that occurred" — is clearly a desperate attempt to save his News Corporation group from being incinerated in the firestorm...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2011

Constructing a Pax Asia-Pacifica

One of the main sources of tension in Asia nowadays are the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, where the Philippines, Vietnam, China and others have conflicting claims. In Chinese media reports, the heightened "unfriendliness" in the region has allegedly arisen from "bad rumors and speculations"...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2011

Challenges for Indonesia's diplomatic ambition

Indonesia has been busy recently in a number of international events. First, Jakarta hosted the East Asian World Economic Forum from June 12 to 13. Second, the incumbent President Yudhoyono attended the International Labour Organization Conference in Geneva on June 14 and delivered a keynote speech on...
COMMENTARY
Jul 18, 2011

False report hardly relieves Beijing's paranoia

For a change, the media itself is in the spotlight these days. The scandal over the illegal hacking of mobile phone messages by journalists in Britain has resulted in the closure of a venerable newspaper, the News of the World, and threatens to implicate not just reporters but politicians and the police....
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Jul 18, 2011

German energy study offers framework for Japanese policy chaos

Pure chaos is reigning over Japanese energy policy and the future of its nuclear power industry.
Reader Mail
Jul 17, 2011

Even the dream of a job eludes

These days it is becoming increasingly difficult to secure jobs because of the economy. I hear people fighting about getting jobs. I want to get a job for the future, but now I have no clear dream. I wanted to get a job using English, so I entered university and studied English. If I also like children,...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 17, 2011

Inter-sex manga adaptation; 'Human Documentary'; CM of the week: Asashi Beer

Manga are further ahead of the curve than other pop-culture forms when it comes to vanguard social issues. The new TV Tokyo drama "IS" (Mon., 10 p.m.) is based on a manga. IS stands for "inter-sex," which describes a person who is born with "ambiguous" genitalia. Formerly, obstetricians and families...
EDITORIALS
Jul 17, 2011

Autumn admissions

Cherry blossoms have long accompanied the start of the school year in Japan, but that may soon change to autumn leaves. The University of Tokyo is looking into the possibility of beginning its school year in the fall rather than spring. If adopted, the change, which would likely be followed by other...
Reader Mail
Jul 17, 2011

Shed all trappings to cool down

Regarding the July 10 Kyodo article "Heatstroke surge feared as people save power": I live in a house that feels like a sauna during the summer. But when the heat and humidity become unbearable — no air conditioner — I place myself in an empty bathtub and fill it slowly with cold water. A plastic...
EDITORIALS
Jul 17, 2011

English teachers sent abroad

Positive comments about Japan's system of English teaching are rare, but hope is on the horizon. This month, 96 Japanese high school and junior high teachers of English leave for a half-year training program in the United States. They will enroll this fall in courses on English-teaching methods, stay...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 17, 2011

Beat the heat in the green hills of Izu

Nobody likes Japan's cities in the summertime — at least not those south of Hokkaido. With heat rising off the tarmac and radiating from the concrete, and humidity that clings like a wet towel, thoughts of escape come readily to mind — and there's no better tonic than getting up into the hills and...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 16, 2011

Canadian martial artist finds the way to tea of tranquility

The intricate stained glass window in the heavy wooden door provides an artistic and unusual welcome. Stoop inside the restored Kyoto machiya (town house) and step into a future melded with the past. Drinking in the Art-Deco/Taisho roman decorations, your eye moves away from the geometric stained glass...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 16, 2011

What a waste! A human waste

Meet Ususama Myo-ou. He purifies the unclean. He hangs out in bathrooms. He's the guardian deity of the toilet. I'm thinking of inviting him to do a residency. Here's why.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell