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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 5, 2014

Fallout from the tax rise may hit in surprising ways

Prior to the consumption tax increase last Tuesday, from 5 percent to 8 percent, Japanese consumers were spending to beat the band. The local business magazine Economist (not to be confused with the English language newsweekly) reports that ¥4 trillion was spent on goods and services in recent months...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 5, 2014

Some local governments think health checkups save money, and some don't

Conventional wisdom says when it comes to health care you have to spend money to save it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 5, 2014

Reinventing the wheel: the future of cycling in Tokyo

On Jan. 24, a full-page advert appeared in the Tokyo edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun for a petition on behalf of the capital's cyclists. "Join the new governor in making Tokyo a bicycle city," read the headline for the ad, which reeled off a series of suggested improvements: more extensive cycling lanes,...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 5, 2014

Lessons of Fukushima: Reactor restarts are unwise

Kyle Cleveland, my colleague at Temple University Japan, recently published a report in the online Asia-Pacific Journal, "Mobilizing Nuclear Bias: The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis and the Politics of Uncertainty" that has drawn widespread media attention. Based on numerous interviews with government officials,...
EDITORIALS
Apr 5, 2014

Japan trails in new drug trials

Japan ranks far behind other countries in conducting clinical trials for new drugs. The problem is not the size of Japan's population.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2014

Japan's image hurt by Abe's militarist facade: Nye

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's nationalistic views on history are hurting Japan's chances in an increasingly public PR battle with China and South Korea, a Harvard professor says.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Apr 4, 2014

Stepanek, Rosol carry Czechs to 2-0 advantage in Davis Cup tie against Japan

Radek Stepanek and Lukas Rosol staked the Czech Republic to a 2-0 lead over Japan in their Davis Cup World Group quarterfinal match on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 4, 2014

South Korea extending ballistic missile range to counter North's threat

South Korea has test-fired a new ballistic missile with a range of 500 kilometers (310 miles) and will try to extend the range to 800 kilometers so it can strike any site in North Korea, Seoul said Friday, days after Pyongyang fired a midrange missile.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 4, 2014

Review: The Soldier's Tale at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Recital Hall

Igor Stravinsky's "The Soldier's Tale" remains as thought-provoking a piece today as it was in 1918, when it was created just after World War I.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Apr 4, 2014

Caracas poor find haven in 'skyscraper slum'

It boasts a helicopter landing pad, glorious views of the Avila mountain range, and large balconies for weekend barbecues.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 4, 2014

Mourinho's criticism hurting Chelsea's fragile strikers

Jose Mourinho did not mention Fernando Torres by name, but had what he said been in flashing neon lights the Chelsea manager's message could not have been clearer.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 4, 2014

Japan's Russian dilemma

For the Japanese, President Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea was an unsurprising return to Russia's historic paradigm. Thus it is understandable that many now consider the recent hopes for serious talks between Putin and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the Northern Territories as stillborn.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 4, 2014

U.S. denies it created Twitter-like service in Cuba to foment unrest

The U.S. government created a service similar to Twitter in Cuba in a "discreet" operation intended to promote democracy on the communist-ruled island, officials said Thursday, but denied that the $1.2 million effort was aimed at fomenting unrest.
WORLD
Apr 3, 2014

Marijuana snack kills Congo student

An African exchange student plummeted to his death from a hotel balcony after eating a cookie containing marijuana cookie, in the first reported pot-related death in the city since Colorado legalized recreational marijuana in 2012.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 3, 2014

Review: Bob Dylan at Zepp DiverCity, Tokyo

Just 123 days after tumultuous applause engulfed the waning strains of "Blowin' In The Wind" to bring Bob Dylan's last concert to an end at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Nov. 28, a similar cacophony awaited him at Tokyo's Zepp DiverCity on Monday at the start of his 17-show "cherry blossom" tour...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 3, 2014

'Sanbun no Ichi (One Third)'

Caper movies have their conventions, one being that the crook anti-heroes may get to run their fingers through their loot, but they hardly ever get to keep it. The prototype is Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing" (1956), in which elaborate planning and clockwork execution pay off in a blackly comic reversal...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2014

Will Ukraine's new boss be like the old boss?

The question facing Ukrainians is whether Petro Poroshenko, the man who seems poised to win the presidency on May 25, will prove that all their recent efforts to put an end to decades of corrupt, oligarchic rule have been in vain.
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Apr 2, 2014

Big Bull Peppers proud to be underdog

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. Josh Peppers of the Iwate Big Bulls is the subject of this week's profile.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2014

Kyushu Electric in talks for public aid

Kyushu Electric Power Co. has become the second utility to seek government support this week as reactors across the country remain idled and industry losses mount three years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2014

'Gleam of hope' in strife-torn Somalia

While some African countries have made huge strides in terms of peace and security, others are still struggling to find their footing, a U.N. official who monitors development in the region said.
EDITORIALS
Apr 2, 2014

Fishermen give Tepco green light

Fishermen have given Tepco a green light to attempt to reduce the flow of groundwater into the reactor buildings at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant by diverting it directly into the sea.

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’