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Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Aug 4, 2014

Africa summit in U.S. expected to yield billions of dollars in deals, funding

The United States will announce nearly $1 billion in business deals, increase funding for peacekeeping and commit billions of dollars to expanding food and power programs in Africa during a summit this week, U.S. and development officials say.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 23, 2014

Baffled foreign tourists get little help on trains

Although Asian tourists are flocking to Japan in greater numbers, many are at a loss in railway stations, where few signs are written in languages other than Japanese and English.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 30, 2014

The sounds of everyday Japanese life

Living in Japan can be quite a noisy experience. Even in my quiet little neighborhood, rarely a day passes without a great variety of sounds being heard. Four days a week the garbage truck fills the air with its most peculiar orugōru (オルゴール, music box) sound. At least once a week, a second-hand...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2013

Kerry works to keep Israeli-Palestinian peace talks on track

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry tried Wednesday to steady wavering peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, amid visible cracks in the 3-month-old negotiations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 19, 2013

Samsung, Sony set pre-emptive strikes

Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Corp. reportedly plan to unveil new devices next month as two of Asia's biggest technology companies try to showcase their products before Apple Inc. releases new iPhones and iPads.
PRESS / Corporate Trends
Aug 7, 2013

New pricing plans for The Japan Times / International New York Times; details of renewed product lineup

In March this year, The Japan Times announced a publishing agreement with the New York Times Company that will see its daily newspaper, "The Japan Times" packaged with the "International New York Times" in the Japan market commencing with the Oct. 16 issue. The new combined newspaper will be called "The...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2013

Food costs on rise, says British supermarket giant's chief

The chief executive of Tesco, the British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer, could be forgiven for being less than delighted to see me. For the last few months I have been Philip Clarke's baiter-in-chief. It's not just that I have been shamelessly promoting a book about food security,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 10, 2013

Filmmaker captures the 3/11 stress of Tohoku's deaf

Nobuko Kikuchi, a 72-year-old resident of Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture, couldn't hear the emergency sirens that followed the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that struck on March 11, 2011.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 26, 2012

Tokyo Game Show was at least two games short of a win

Each year, the crowds at the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) get bigger and bigger. This year, there were 223,753 attendees over the four days (two press days and two public days), which is the largest turnout ever. Traditional video games for handheld and home consoles are taking up a smaller and smaller portion...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 23, 2012

This summer, signs of setsuden will again be all around us

Now that all but one of Japan's usable nuclear reactors have been halted as a result of the Fukushima No. 1 power plant disaster — which followed the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami — the nation's households, small businesses and factories will once again plow forward through the hot summer...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 7, 2012

The price you pay for electronic bells and whistles of businesses

The setsuden (power-saving) campaign is now in full force, as residents all over Japan are being encouraged to conserve electricity so there is enough to get through the high-use summer months. Even on my small island of 609 people, each household received a list of suggestions on how we can help Japan...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 12, 2012

Swindlers continue to scam the elderly out of their savings

Recently, my partner renewed her drivers license and was waiting in line to pay her fee. The clerk asked the elderly man waiting in front of her if he wanted to join the Japan Traffic Safety Association for an additional fee. She rattled off a memorized spiel, and after the intimidated old man assented...
EDITORIALS
Jul 8, 2011

Nuclear accident disclosure

The Atomic Energy Society of Japan, an academic society made up of experts on nuclear power engineering, nuclear reactor physics and radiology, on Monday issued a statement criticizing the government, Tokyo Electric Power Co. and other related institutions for delays and insufficiency in their disclosure...
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
May 16, 2010

Halley's Comet, first international radio broadcast, tsunamis lash coastline, Japan tops creditor list

100 YEARS AGO
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 18, 2009

The safety nets for would-be suicides

Every time the National Police Agency comes out with new suicide statistics, media reports tend to focus on the fact that the annual suicide count has reached a new high or has topped the psychologically significant 30,000 threshold for yet another year. (The latest figure available was 32,249 in 2008.)...
JAPAN / YOKOHAMA AT 150
May 27, 2009

Newspapers opened eyes in Yokohama

Second in a series
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 13, 2008

Hopes of silence in Tokyo undergo brutal assault

The concept of chinmoku wa kin (silence is golden) isn't a Tokyo thing. Like a lot of other nifty modernities, such as buttered pancakes and the subway system, it was imported into Japan and adopted into city living when the country opened up to the West in the late 19th century.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2007

Clipping the wings of the soaring euro

PRAGUE — French President Nicolas Sarkozy's call for the European Central Bank to intervene to curtail the soaring euro is commonly seen as a sign that he neither understands nor trusts markets. Indeed, some now view Sarkozy as a traditional Gaullist who wants to help French producers by artificially...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 2007

Pro-Taiwan, not anti-China

TAIPEI — In 2003, while still serving as U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia, I was asked by Taiwanese reporters what the U.S. view would be on the proposal for Taiwan to hold a national referendum with the 2004 election. My convoluted answer could have been summarized more concisely...
EDITORIALS
Sep 14, 2006

Beware the dangers of drunk driving

The recent deaths of three young children in Fukuoka in a car accident caused by a drunk driver has highlighted Japanese society's misplaced tolerance toward driving under the influence of alcohol and the lack of awareness among drivers that it is illegal to drive after ingesting alcohol. Even worse,...
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2006

President apologizes for Livedoor in court

Livedoor Co. President Kozo Hiramatsu, testifying in court Friday, apologized for his company's having misled the stock market by releasing false announcements and window-dressing for the business year to Sept. 30, 2004, before he assumed his position.
EDITORIALS
Mar 21, 2006

Court misses the big picture

Protecting a news source is the most important ethic of a reporter. But the Tokyo District Court has mounted a frontal attack on this principle, endangering freedom of press and the people's right to know. The court decided March 14 that when the possibility exists that a news source is a public servant,...
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2005

Hundreds of deaths spur ministry plan to ban all asbestos use by 2008

The health ministry said Friday it plans to ban all use of asbestos by 2008 after recent announcements that hundreds of workers at various companies have died from diseases related to the toxic unburnable mineral.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 15, 2005

The great corporate escape: Blame it on the factotums and avoid responsibility

The news media's breathless coverage of the train derailment in Amagasaki that claimed 107 lives last month operated on several levels. On one level was an investigation into the details of the accident itself. On another was the coverage of victims and their families. And on a third was the gradual...
Japan Times
Features
Dec 26, 2004

The voice

The first time he met her she told him everything, but he wasn't listening to the words.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Government plans to buy up beef distribution stockpiles

The government plans to buy some 13,000 tons of distributors' beef stocks on a temporary basis in line with a rigorous inspection due to begin today on all cows to be processed for human consumption.
JAPAN
May 31, 2001

Court nixes compensation suit by radish farmers

The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday dismissed a 2.2 billion yen suit against the government filed by farmers of "kaiware" daikon sprouts.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2000

Clinton set to arrive in time for G8 start

Despite delays, U.S. President Bill Clinton is expected to arrive today in time for the beginning of the Group of Eight summit in Okinawa, and will bring to the table such issues as debt relief and bridging the digital divide, U.S. government sources said.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji