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EDITORIALS
Jun 9, 2011

Groundless call for coalition

After Prime Minister Naoto Kan survived a no-confidence motion on June 2, Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Katsuya Okada started calling for the formation of a grand coalition between the DPJ and the Liberal Democratic Party.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 9, 2011

World's third-largest art fair ups profile of Asian works

For Japanese artists in need of international exposure, Hong Kong, it seems, is their closest window to the world. Last month, the city's international art fair, ART HK 2011, now in its fourth year, attracted art-lovers from all over the world, including many from mainland China, where the booming economy...
COMMENTARY
Jun 9, 2011

China-Pakistan strategic ties deepen

After the daring U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in his hideout next to Pakistan's premier military academy, Islamabad has openly played its China card to caution Washington against pushing it too hard. And China has been more than eager to show itself as Pakistan's staunchest ally.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 9, 2011

On tour: Okamoto's rock out at Vietnam fest

The sun had just set when Okamoto's took the stage at the CAMA Festival in Hanoi. We opened with "The 'M' Song" and about halfway through, I could see the crowd getting into it. By the end of the set, I had them speaking Japanese.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2011

Dial Mladic for mass murder

The old saying about the importance of justice appearing to be done as well as being done is perhaps even more relevant to international than national politics.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2011

Official probe begins into nuclear disaster

An independent panel of experts launched a probe Tuesday into the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant amid strong domestic and international criticism that the government and Tepco have bungled their response.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Jun 8, 2011

Express yourself with a wiggle of Necomimi or make music with the Ningen Gakki

One of the fun things about writing about Japanese technology is that every once in a while you come across a device that elicits both genuine admiration and a jaw-dropping reaction. And I'm delighted to report on two such gadgets today, both of which have generated some pretty significant Internet buzz....
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 7, 2011

Probe poised to take Tepco to task

Shortly after 7 a.m. on March 12, Prime Minister Naoto Kan confronted Masao Yoshida, director of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, at the compound in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2011

Feud over U.S. debt ceiling risks driving off investors

U.S. politicians are in the thick of a debate that is fascinating, urgent, passionate, stubborn and potentially highly dangerous both for the American economy and for the country's political reputation and standing in the world.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 6, 2011

What will Japan learn from the Fukushima meltdowns?

Can Japan afford nuclear power? Can Japan afford to dispense with nuclear power? If the answer to both questions is no — as, in the wake of the Fukushima reactor meltdowns, it appears it may be — we are at a fukurokōji (袋小路, impasse). What to do?
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2011

India finds its second wind with Afghanistan

With strategic realities in South Asia radically shifting in the aftermath of Osama bin Laden's death, India's prime minister lost no time in reaching out to Afghanistan during a recent two-day visit to Kabul, where he announced a fresh commitment of $500 million toward Afghanistan's development —...
Reader Mail
Jun 5, 2011

Disappointing neglect of victims

I am very disappointed, but not surprised, by the publication of the May 29 front-page AP article "Memo emblematic of disaster plan flaws." In the article, Tokyo Electric Power Co. is castigated for not knowing that there were apparent advances in science showing the potential for large earthquakes and...
Reader Mail
Jun 5, 2011

Sacrifices of Okinawans continue

As for J. Tagami's May 29 letter and other letters written in support of Operation Tomodachi (the relief effort carried out by American forces after the March 11 Tohoku-Pacific earthquake and tsunami): These people share a belief in the impeccable intentions of U.S. foreign policy toward Japan and Okinawa....
Reader Mail
Jun 5, 2011

This generation must pay more

Regarding Philip Brasor's May 29 Media Mix article, "Kan government struggles to raise reconstruction funds": No one wants a tax increase. I don't, my wife doesn't and my boss doesn't. However, Japan has no choice. This generation is going to have to pay for the mistakes that Japan's leaders have been...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jun 5, 2011

Abdul-Rauf reminisces about his playing days with Shaq

Shaquille O'Neal's larger-than-life persona followed him wherever he went during his colorful 19-year odyssey in the NBA.
Reader Mail
Jun 5, 2011

IMF chief who makes a difference

Regarding Kevin Rafferty's May 26 article, "Japan: the silent IMF partner": It really doesn't matter whether the new managing director of the International Monetary Fund is a French woman or a Bushman, so long as either shares the ideology of the IMF-World Bank — that only unbridled capitalism can...
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 2011

Japanese life index

Last month the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cataloged Japanese dissatisfaction in a survey of Japan and the 33 other members of the OECD. The compiled results in OECD's "Your Better Life Index" show that despite the relatively good aspects of life in Japan, many more parts of...
CULTURE / Books
Jun 5, 2011

Exquisite designs for better living

TRADITIONAL JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE: An Exploration of Elements and Forms, by Mira Locher. Photography by Ben Simmons. Tuttle Publishing, 2010, 223 pp., $39.95 (hardcover) In Zen Buddhism there is a ceremony called "The Transmission." The ritual, both mystic and arcane, is little known in lay circles....
CULTURE / Books
Jun 5, 2011

Can we all just get along?

THE POLITICS OF ECONOMIC REGIONALISM, by Kevin G. Cai. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, 196 pp., $80 (hardcover) CHINA, JAPAN AND REGIONAL LEADERSHIP IN EAST ASIA, by Christopher M. Dent. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010, 311 pp., $50 (paper)
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2011

Students credit survival to disaster-preparedness drills

March 11 started out as another ordinary Friday at Kamaishi East Junior High School, which stands by the mouth of the Unosumai River that runs through the city into Otsuchi Bay. Classes were over for the day and students were about to start their after-school club activities when the magnitude 9.0 earthquake...

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’