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COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2011

Religious fundamentalism after the uprisings

Most analysts would agree that al-Qaida has not played a significant role in the revolutions sweeping the Arab world today, while remaining largely silent about the remarkable political transformation that is taking place.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 17, 2011

When it comes to mighty Tepco, pride goes before the fall

Until quite recently, landing a job at Tokyo Electric Power Co., Japan's largest and most powerful electric utility, meant a lifetime of steady employment and generous paychecks, a status envied and often likened to that of a civil servant.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 17, 2011

Dutch architect making a difference

Right after the earthquake hit northeast Japan on March 11, the small Pacific coastal town of Yamada, Iwate Prefecture, was almost wiped out by the massive tsunami. Hundreds of its residents were killed, while many of the survivors lost family members, their houses and jobs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 17, 2011

Tepco CDSs leap on loan writeoff remark

Credit-default swaps on Tokyo Electric Power Co. are trading at a three-week high after the government's chief spokesman said public pressure may force lenders to write off loans to the troubled utility.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2011

Ten reasons to be glad Rajaratnam trial is over

What a shock. Raj is guilty.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 16, 2011

BOJ chief sees only bubbles on horizon

With his nation's economy contracting under disaster damage of as much as ¥25 trillion ($310 billion), Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa is signaling that his biggest worry is inflation.
Reader Mail
May 15, 2011

MAD: If not broken, don't fix it

Regarding Project Syndicate writer Sergei Karaganov's April 30 article, "The end of mutually assured destruction": The doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD) was the best American policy initiative to come out of the 1960s. It represents realpolitik at its finest with an emphasis on maintaining...
Reader Mail
May 15, 2011

Pointer for tourism campaign

I admire the positive attitude of Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Hiroshi Mizohata, expressed in Judit Kawaguchi's May 10 Words to Live by column.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 15, 2011

'Broken Heart Insurance'; cute archetypes; CM of the week: Shiseido Ag+

In the drama series "Shitsuren Hoken" ("Broken Heart Insurance"; Nihon TV, Thurs., 11:58 p.m.), the fictional Yotsuba Shrine offers the titular insurance to anyone in love who isn't sure if the object of their desire is constant. If the significant other breaks off the relationship, the policy holder...
JAPAN / WEEK 3
May 15, 2011

Utility and opponents lock horns over planned N-plant

With the May 10 announcement by Prime Minister Naoto Kan of a fundamental review of nuclear power generation in Japan, the fate of 14 planned new reactors was necessarily thrown into doubt. However, neither ongoing events in Fukushima, nor news of the review, have changed the stance of the nation's electricity...
CULTURE / Books
May 15, 2011

Natsume Soseki: mining a literary treasure

THEORY OF LITERATURE AND OTHER CRITICAL WRITINGS, by Natsume Soseki. Columbia University Press, 2009, 287 pp., $50 (hardcover) Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) is said to rank among the world's great 20th-century writers. Many consider him Japan's greatest modern novelist. His books, from the comic "I Am a...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 14, 2011

F.A. Cup final losing more luster

The downgrading of the F.A. Cup, football's oldest knockout competition, continues. Saturday's final between Manchester City and Stoke City will be one of the lowest profile of all-time.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 13, 2011

Oita festival plays classics

The first Argentinian nisei, Seicho Arakaki, was born in 1911. Since then the number of those of Japanese descent in Argentina has grown to an estimated 32,000 people, according to Association of Nikkei and Japanese Abroad. A music festival in Kyushu this month will celebrate the past century with a...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 13, 2011

Walking group hopes the good weather will put a spring in your step

This weekend could be one of a few to really enjoy the sights of the city on foot before the rainy season arrives and is followed by one of Tokyo's notoriously sticky summers.
EDITORIALS
May 13, 2011

Sumo climbing back

The match-fixing scandal that came to light this year has cost the Japan Sumo Association a lot in several ways. Seven wrestlers in the makuuchi division and 10 in the juryo division have been driven out of the sumo world. The JSA was forced to give up on holding the Spring and Summer Grand Sumo Tournaments...
Reader Mail
May 12, 2011

Case of misdirected sympathy

Jayna Tokie Tanaka's May 8 letter, "Bin Laden's execution disappoints," reminds me why it's so hard to take leftists and their misdirected piety seriously. Twisting logic into rhetorical pretzels to defend murderers, and not the victims, is the hallmark of leftist thinking. Osama bin Laden instigated...
EDITORIALS
May 12, 2011

Exigencies of medical care

Two months since the March 11 earthquake-tsunami hit Tohoku, the nearly 120,000 evacuees still living in temporary shelters are more likely to suffer a deterioration in health. Therefore, help from the medical professionals on the scene has become more important than ever, as the tsunami swept away numerous...
JAPAN
May 12, 2011

Crisis a chance to forge new energy policy

On March 15, 1970, the long-anticipated Osaka Expo opened, allowing more than 64 million people to indulge their curiosity and learn about future technologies over a six-month period. It would remain the most attended world's fair until the 2010 Shanghai Expo and continues to be regarded, along with...
Reader Mail
May 12, 2011

Foolish proposal for the marines

Regarding Yoshio Shimoji's May 8 letter, "Better use of the U.S. Marines": The short answer to Shimoji's concern that U.S. Marines should be deployed to their own country to cope with the aftermath of natural disasters is that there are enough marines and other military service members, as well as the...
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2011

The long road to Arab democracy

During the turmoil of the French Revolution, a popular saying arose: "How beautiful was the republic — under the monarchy." The revolution aimed at achieving liberty, equality and fraternity. Instead, it wrought for France Jacobin terror, rightwing counterterror, decades of war and then Napoleonic...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 12, 2011

'Yu Kiwanami Solo Exhibition'

imura art gallery, kyotoCloses May 28

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’