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JAPAN / IMF-WORLD BANK IN TOKYO
Oct 12, 2012

Sovereign debt, strong yen among tough topics at meetings

When Japan last hosted the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in September 1964, Tokyo was in the midst of preparing for the Summer Olympic Games which were to kick off a month later.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 7, 2012

For the young to get on board, Japan's irksome business ways must change

"How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" is a satirical book by American writer Shepherd Mead that was a huge best-seller in 1952 before being made into a musical that premiered on Broadway nine years later. It tells the story of J. Pierrepont Finch, an ambitious young fellow who works his...
EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2012

Future of senile dementia

The health and welfare ministry says that the number of elderly people suffering from senile dementia and in need of nursing care has topped 3 million this year. As Japan's population continues to gray, the number of such elderly people will inevitably increase.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Oct 2, 2012

Companies liable for drug trial damages

MJ is considering using an experimental drug that his doctor has offered to treat colitis, but isn't sure who is responsible if anything goes wrong.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2012

Postelection fiscal cliff raises stakes for the world

As America's elections approach, with President Barack Obama slightly in front of his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, pollsters still rate the races for control of the presidency and the U.S. Senate too close to call, with the House of Representatives likely to remain in...
COMMENTARY
Sep 17, 2012

Greatest lib-con showdown in America since the 1960s

The presidential election in the United States is less than two months away. The Republican Party has nominated Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, to run against the Democratic incumbent, Barack Obama.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Sep 16, 2012

'The government could still save lives'

In the immediate aftermath of last year's Fukushima triple meltdown, Japan's government and pronuclear experts scrambled to dampen public concern. Experts waved away fears about radiation, cabinet ministers scoffed at comparisons to Chernobyl, and the word "meltdown" itself was effectively scoured from...
EDITORIALS
Sep 13, 2012

Withholding pension premiums

The health and welfare ministry has announced that nearly 163,000 companies failed to pay premiums into the Kosei nenkin system, a pension plan for corporate workers, in fiscal 2011. Since Kosei nenkin is an important fund for retired workers, company executives should realize their social responsibility...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 9, 2012

It will take more than a pop group to save Fukushima's reputation

Last March, Tatsuya Yamaguchi of the idol group Tokio told the media that he was determined to someday reopen Dash Village, the farm that he and his bandmates built from scratch as an ongoing project on their long-running Nippon TV series "The Tetsuwan Dash." The farm is in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture,...
EDITORIALS
Sep 6, 2012

Up from the 'baby post'

In May 2006, Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto City set up a "baby post" in which women who have unexpected or unwanted pregnancies and have difficulty in raising children can leave their newborn babies.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 2, 2012

Unwanted pregnancies need to be discussed

Two weeks ago a 17-year-old girl collapsed in a shopping mall in Hiroshima and was rushed to the hospital. At the same time a dead fetus was found on the floor in the corner of the mall's food court. The girl eventually admitted that she had just given birth to the child. On Aug. 9, a cleaning person...
Reader Mail
Aug 26, 2012

Don't be shy about drinking up

Regarding Greg Blossom's Aug. 16 letter, "Wasteful ways to quench thirst": Putting pressure on people to hydrate "less wastefully" is more of the same sadomasochistic pressure Japanese people are already under to bear up under the heat. Thirty-nine people are reported to have died of heatstroke in July....
EDITORIALS
Aug 20, 2012

No longer the oldest women

A recent survey of life expectancy around the world found that Japanese women no longer have the longest life span. That honor has been taken over by Hong Kong, where women live on average 86.7 years, according to 2011 data from Japan's health and welfare ministry.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 15, 2012

Specs fight eye damage from gadget screens

Whether at home, at work or outdoors, people spend a lot of time looking at electronic devices with screens, including computers, TVs and smartphones.
EDITORIALS
Aug 15, 2012

The minimum wage dilemma

The number of people receiving livelihood assistance known as seikatsu hogo (literally, livelihood protection), Japan's final social safety net, increased for nine consecutive months and reached a record 2,108,096 as of March 2012.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 5, 2012

Strong work ethic is no path to better standard of living

Last week I spoke to a non-Japanese economics researcher employed by a Japanese university. He said he was working on a study that compared Spain's current fiscal crisis to Japan's economic situation as a means of determining if the former would suffer the same long-term problems as the latter. I mentioned...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 22, 2012

A century of Tokyo taxis

The year 1912 is recorded in Japan both as the 45th year of Meiji Era and the first year of the Taisho Era. After a protracted illness, Emperor Mutsuhito expired, age 61, on the night of July 29 (although the official announcement came the next day). Through the remainder of the summer, the front pages...
BUSINESS
Jul 19, 2012

Easing of U.S. beef import curbs mulled

The Food Safety Commission will meet next Tuesday to discuss whether to approve the government's proposal of easing restrictions on U.S. beef imports, said Makato Osone, a commission official.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 10, 2012

Complex rules in place for safety's sake, but Red Cross still wants your blood

Some readers may have misunderstood the intent of our May 22 column, "Foreigners disqualified as blood donors for wide range of reasons," which was meant to illustrate, through readers' responses, that if a foreigner is turned away from giving blood in Japan, it happens more often because of standard...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Jul 8, 2012

Keeping an eye on TV news coverage of the nuke crisis

In the week immediately after March 11, 2011 — when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami hit Tohoku and crippled the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant — most Japanese were closely watching TV news programs — amazed that a nuclear crisis was now threatening their lives.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jul 3, 2012

In formulating immigration policy, no seat at the table for non-Japanese

Last month the Japanese government took baby steps toward an official immigration policy. Ten ministries and several specialist "people of awareness" (yūshikisha) held meetings aimed at creating a "coexistence society" (kyōsei shakai) within which non-Japanese (NJ) would be "accepted" (uke ire).
Reader Mail
Jul 1, 2012

Past nuclear lessons not heeded

Regarding The Washington Post article appearing on the front page of The Japan Times on June 27 titled "Nuclear redress will never approximate losses": Media such as The Washington Post and even The New York Times are finally acknowledging that nuclear energy itself was not the cause of the angst and...
EDITORIALS
Jul 1, 2012

Workers' comp for mental illness

More workers than ever before were approved for compensation for work-related mental illnesses in fiscal 2011, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. While those statistics offer hope of treatment for those suffering and are a clear recognition that workplaces are one of the causes of...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 26, 2012

Cremation finds favor even with royal clan

Cremation has been the norm for dealing with the deceased in modern-day Japan — where communities are crowded and land is scarce.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past