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Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Aug 10, 2013

In science terms, Japan has no need at all to kill whales

Final arguments from the defence and prosecution were heard in mid-July, and the world court is now considering its judgment. At issue is Japan's right to conduct its seasonal "scientific" whaling program in Antarctic waters. But the case has involved arguments about how to define science itself.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2013

Japanese university professor born in, critical of, South Korea says Seoul barred her entry

A Japanese university professor of South Korean descent claimed Wednesday in Tokyo that Seoul denied her entry to the country last Saturday at Incheon airport.
Reader Mail
Jul 27, 2013

When will 'experts' get serious?

Regarding the July 23 front-page AFP-JIJI article "Tepco now admits radioactive water entering the sea at Fukushima": What is it about Japan's nuclear village and its continued defiance, lies and arrogant denial in the face of mounting radioactive contamination and the threat of crippling illness or...
JAPAN / Politics / GAME OF NUMBERS
Jul 8, 2013

Hashimoto: from third force to political farce?

Third in a series One year ago, Toru Hashimoto was the toast of the nation's media, with many predicting the outspoken Osaka mayor, who was then laying plans for a new national party, would become prime minister after the next Lower House election. Politicians ranging from Shinzo Abe and Ichiro Ozawa...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 6, 2013

Sins of the father are Rola's burden

Two weeks ago one of the big stories in the tabloid press was on Jurip Al-Asa, the father of popular TV personality Rola. He was in the news because the Tokyo Metropolitan Police had issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of swindling. Allegedly, Jurip, a Bangladesh national, conspired with a compatriot...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 23, 2013

Jellyfish carry the sting of human overcrowding

It may not be immediately apparent what jellyfish, human population growth and our protein diet have in common. Take a closer look, though, and all three offer warning signs that dramatic changes are on the horizon for us and our planet.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2013

Cyber-snooping only one side of the information war

Efforts by the NSA and others to find out what we are thinking have long been matched by black- or gray-information programs to tell us what we should think.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 28, 2013

281_Anti Nuke's anger at authority is at a critical mass

More than two years after the triple reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, hundreds of thousands of residents of the Tohoku region of northeastern Honshu remain displaced, the power station teeters on the brink of further disaster and large swaths of northern Japan are so irradiated...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 26, 2013

The dark side of Japanese fashion made in Bangladesh

While it's not clear if any Japanese firm had interests in factories operating in the building that collapsed in Dhaka last month, it is natural to infer that there are Japanese companies in Bangladesh taking advantage of lower wages and less stringent safety regulations.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 12, 2013

Inose's lack of media savvy may have ruined Tokyo's Olympic bid

Two weeks ago, Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose gave an interview to the New York Times in which he violated International Olympic Committee rules by publicly bad-mouthing Istanbul and Madrid, the Japanese capital's two rivals to host the 2020 games.
JAPAN
May 11, 2013

Case closed over Inose's Islamic slight: Tokyo Olympics bid exec

The president of Tokyo's 2020 Olympics bid committee Friday downplayed Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose's recent criticism of Islamic countries, saying the matter had effectively been resolved by the incumbent's apology.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 13, 2013

The ration-ality of toilets — trying to change the 'plumbing code'

Nomura Holding America Inc., the U.S subsidiary of Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings, Inc. is in the news lately for being the first business to attempt to alter New York City's "plumbing code" that requires buildings to have an equal number of toilets for both men and women. Oh yay.
Reader Mail
Mar 14, 2013

The scoop on cherry blossoms

Just a short note of appreciation for The Japan Times columns of Kaori Shoji and Thomas Dillon (When East Marries West). The insight, humor and wit from both are an absolute balance on the daily news from North Korea, Iran, Middle East, Africa, etc.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 7, 2013

Uniqlo not as different as its workers thought it would be

Japan's most coveted work environment isn't what it's cracked up to be.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 28, 2013

Blame it on the hara: harassment vocabulary makes us all victims

Japan has a new hara. No, the nice couple down the hall didn't just have a baby; according to recent news, yet another form of harassment is supposedly becoming a social problem.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 3, 2013

China signals tighter Internet control

Chinese citizens were last year treated to an unaccustomed number of hard-hitting exposes and investigations detailing the private lives and corrupt financial dealings of the most senior Communist Party officials and their family members.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 1, 2013

The year for non-Japanese in '12: a top 10

Back by popular demand, here is JBC's roundup of the top 10 human rights events that most affected non-Japanese (NJ) residents of Japan in 2012, in ascending order.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 25, 2012

Sites for J-footy fans; variable service at Softbank

In response to our Oct. 23 column, " 'Prenups' uncommon but doable; aid for avid J. League fans," some of our readers wrote in with their favorite Japan soccer resources.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 23, 2012

Public works funds best spent fixing aging infrastructure

Last week's Lower House election was all about what people didn't want — the Democratic Party of Japan — but the issue foremost in voters' minds was the state of the economy, and new prime minister Shinzo Abe has made that his first priority by pledging to boost inflation through monetary easing...
EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2012

LDP back in the saddle again

The Liberal Democratic Party, which was badly defeated in the Lower House election in August 2009 and had to give up power to the Democratic Party of Japan after ruling the nation almost without interruption since 1955, made a comeback in Sunday's general election. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the...
Reader Mail
Nov 25, 2012

Not so fast with the setting sun

Regarding Kevin Rafferty's Nov. 15 article, "Japan's sun is setting quickly": For the past 18 years, Western journalists have been predicting doom and gloom for Japan, but they now sound very frustrated that it is not happening.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 2, 2012

Will the Takeshima dispute break the Korean wave?

"There's something sad, when a political problem goes so far as to spill over to the entertainment industry," rues journalist Kaoru Kikuchi in Sunday Mainichi (Sep. 9).
EDITORIALS
Jun 14, 2012

Bottom line of welfare

A weekly magazine in April reported that the mother of an entertainer earning an annual income of ¥50 million has been receiving public livelihood assistance known as seikatsu hogo (literally livelihood protection). Through a blog of a Diet member and other media, the entertainer was identified as TV...
Reader Mail
Apr 5, 2012

Expressions of religious belief

For a second, I had hoped that Paul Gaysford's April 1 letter, "Sentiment that does not console," was just an April Fool's joke. Gaysford rebukes Megumi Watanabe for saying, in her March 29 letter ("Hope for 3/11 survivors"), that the children who died in the March 11, 2011, disasters are watching us...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Apr 3, 2012

Revolving-door immigration policy hard-wired to fail: readers' responses

Some responses to Debito Arudou's March 6 Just Be Cause column, "Japan's revolving-door immigration policy hard-wired to fail":
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LABOR PAINS
Feb 28, 2012

Oversleeping radio anchor set tough precedent for firing staff

A radio news anchor oversleeps a live broadcast twice, forcing the radio station to cancel the broadcast. Should he be fired?
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 31, 2011

Controversy is no stranger to Nobel Peace Prize

Earlier this month, when the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced its decision to award its annual Peace Prize to three African women — two Liberians and one Yemeni — Time magazine published online, on the same day, a list of the top 10 among "the most controversial moments in the 110-year history...

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