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COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2011

Changing Japan's system to handle the 'unexpected'

Faced with an unprecedented crisis that was triggered by the combined disasters of the recent earthquake and tsunami, Japan is continuing to struggle with the radiation leak and sealing of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
May 26, 2011

'Golden age' of kayoukyoku holds lessons for modern J-pop

On April 21, 2011, the actress and singer Yoshiko Tanaka, aka Sue from 1970s idol group the Candies, died after a relapse of the cancer that she had been living with for 20 years. A tragedy, at the relatively young age of 55, and one that comes during a period of deep soul-searching for the Japanese...
COMMENTARY / World
May 24, 2011

Disorganized dreams of Egyptian democrats

The Internet is an extraordinarily powerful tool. It has changed how we do business, how we do politics, and even how we change our leaders — at least some of the time. But the ease with which we now communicate, the efficiencies we take for granted, can give us a false sense of how easy it is to follow...
JAPAN
May 24, 2011

Kan denies he pulled plug on seawater

Prime Minister Naoto Kan categorically denied allegations Monday that he ordered Tokyo Electric Co. to temporarily stop injecting seawater into an overheating reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant a day after the March 11 devastating earthquake.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 24, 2011

Travel firms feel pinch, pitch in after disasters

Every spring, as the wave of blossoms sweeps up the archipelago from south to north, washing up from the coasts into the higher altitudes, travelers flood into Japan. Rivaled only by the cool autumn months that redden maple leaves across the country, March and April are high season for tourism in Japan....
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 22, 2011

U.S. court victories show how to get rid of nuclear plants

Lawyer Tom Twomey knows far more than most of us about the importance of citizen participation in making energy policy. That's because Twomey has spent four decades keeping a watchful eye on electric power suppliers in New York — and he's learned that what we don't know can hurt us.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 17, 2011

Print is suffering, but English readers have never had it so good

Returning to Osaka after several years, James wonders what became of Kansai Time Out, the magazine that served the English-speaking community in that region and beyond:
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 15, 2011

Cheap BBQ meat boss pays a high price for being variety show favorite

Since the earthquake of March 11, there's been a lot of bowing and kneeling on TV. Everywhere the executives of Tokyo Electric Power Co. go in the Tohoku region, they are compelled to not only bend over for residents of the area, but in some cases get down on the ground and perform dogeza, the act of...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 7, 2011

American's food import firm has grown organically

Jack Bayles, owner of Alishan Organic Center and founder of Tengu Natural Foods, has lived within a 5-km radius his entire time in Japan in the shadow of the verdant, hazy mountains of Chichibu near the Koma River in Hidaka, Saitama Prefecture.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 1, 2011

Tabloids warn of major quake beneath Tokyo

Now that northeast Japan is gradually shifting into recovery mode and the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis is becoming more manageable, new themes have been emerging in the vernacular media. One is the life expectancy of the cabinet of PM Naoto Kan.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Apr 29, 2011

Hamamatsu's Parmer named season MVP

When a team goes 40-6 in the regular season, its players deserve recognition for their success.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2011

Communication challenge

The catastrophe of the earthquake, the tsunami and the crippled nuclear power plant on March 11 posed an unprecedented challenge of crisis communication with the world. Those in charge were faced with the difficult choice between calming the public by presenting an optimistic scenario that could lead...
COMMENTARY
Apr 27, 2011

And if Bashar Assad falls?

It's safe to say that we will never see an alliance between Israel and al-Qaida. Yet Syria's government-controlled media hint that this evil alliance exists as they grasp at any explanation, however implausible, that might discredit the anti-government protests that have shaken the Ba'ath Party's half-century...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Apr 26, 2011

Tokyo: What magazines do you read here in Japan?

Jenny Wright
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Apr 26, 2011

Memories of Agent Orange; Fukushima folly

I am a victim of Agent Orange Thanks for your story on AO in Okinawa ("Evidence for Agent Orange on Okinawa" by Jon Mitchell, Zeit Gist, April 12).
EDITORIALS
Apr 20, 2011

Nuclear crisis and Japan's image

Immediately after the March 11 quake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan, Japanese victims were praised by the foreign media for their calmness, orderliness and perseverance in the midst of unprecedented suffering. But the positive image of Japan is turning into a negative one because of the government...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 19, 2011

Students choose failure over uncertainty

"Could you please fail me?" As a university lecturer, it is by no means unusual to have seniors drop by to check if they have sufficient credits to graduate. However, I was flabbergasted by this recent visitor who wanted not reassurance - she was on track to graduate - but rather my cooperation in failing...
COMMENTARY
Apr 17, 2011

The confidence to look out again

The tragic events in Japan continue to attract general sympathy here, and contributions toward relief of the sufferers are still pouring in. But even the problems at the Fukushima nuclear reactors have ceased to be front-page news. Attention in Britain has focused on Libya, problems in Syria and other...
COMMENTARY
Apr 17, 2011

U.S. need more advice from a good friend

Know thy enemy? That's a good idea, especially for us Americans when we set out to police the world. Another good idea is to know who our real friends are. Confusion, in this age of a so-called "clash of civilizations" - where the enemy is said to be Islam - is definitely a bad idea.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 17, 2011

The unnatural state of Japan's self-restraint

Immediately after the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, Japanese television started covering the disaster full-time. As things returned to some sort of version of normal, the spaces where commercials were supposed to run were first filled with public service announcements provided by the Ad Council...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 17, 2011

Lest we forget: Tiananmen Square massacre revisited

TIANANMEN MOON: Inside the Chinese Student Uprising of 1989, by Philip J. Cunningham. Rowman Littlefield, 2010, 290 pp., $39.95 (hardcover) This is a gripping story told with page-turning brio by an American who had ringside seats for the gathering student protests in May 1989 that ended in the early...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 16, 2011

Quest to gain, impart knowledge drives expat

The importance of education informs Aileen Kawagoe's life view, although early on she turned down the chance to become an educator like her father.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 10, 2011

Japan's seismic nerve center

The Earthquake Phenomena Observation System, located inside the Japan Meteorological Agency in Tokyo's central Otemachi district, is usually operated by five teams of seven who work in rotating shifts that span every minute of the year. But at 2:46 p.m. on March 11 this year, all that changed. In an...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 10, 2011

Could Japan's tragedy help forge some overdue reconciliations?

The Tohoku-Kanto earthquake and tsunami of March 11 has altered the relationship between Japan and its neighbors, particularly the relationship with China. Given the sympathy for the plight of hundreds of thousands of residents of the Tohoku region of northeast Japan, the Chinese media's old "bash Japan...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 9, 2011

Evacuation turns into chance to help victims

OXFORD, England — When the offshore Tohoku mega-quake caused tsunami to slam ashore on March 11, crippling the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, Japan was figuratively as well as literally shaken.
Reader Mail
Apr 7, 2011

Uncertain future of Japan tourism

Regarding Amy Chavez's April 2 column, "This earthquake still felt all over Japan": As a Frenchman married to a Japanese and as a one-year resident of Japan, I usually read Chavez's articles with great pleasure and enjoy the wit in her writing. This article is no exception as it gives us the usual insight...

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear