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EDITORIALS
Jan 28, 2012

Balancing security and science

Scientists working on ways to detect and prevent the spread of the avian flu virus have suspended their work out of concern that it could either be used for bioterrorism or that it might escape the lab; either development could create a global pandemic and cost thousands, perhaps millions, of lives....
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Jan 26, 2012

Hirano backs Todai plan for fall enrollment

New education minister Hirofumi Hirano said he supports the University of Tokyo's recent proposal to shift the start of its academic year from April to autumn, a move that would put the school in line with international norms.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2012

Elpida may gain life support as chips slump

Elpida Memory Inc., facing a deadline to repay ¥93.5 billion in debt by April, may gain financial support for the second time in three years as the government seeks to keep the company alive amid a slump in the chip market.
Japan Times
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 25, 2012

Darvish could be in for rude awakening with Rangers

The worst way to start a new relationship of any kind is with a lie.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2012

Noda team faces rocky Diet session

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says his partially reshuffled Cabinet is the best lineup ever, but it will need to be to face the turbulence expected in the Diet session that started Tuesday.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jan 24, 2012

Japanese must tap their 'inner Israeli': readers' responses

Some readers' thoughts on the Jan. 3 Zeit Gist column by Glenn Newman, headlined "Japanese must tap their 'inner Israeli' ":
COMMENTARY
Jan 23, 2012

More crucial than English

On Nov. 21, 2011, the Government Revitalization Unit (GRU) took up the issue of reform of Japan's university system. Five themes were presented by GRU members:
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2012

Spring erosion of Seoul's ruling party forecast

The ascension to power of the pudgy 29-year-old Kim Jong Un in North Korea has grabbed headlines around the world, but the most important story involving Korean young people and politics is taking place in the South.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 22, 2012

Japan needs a little Cuban-style happiness

A Japanese journalist in Cuba sees decaying buildings and undernourished citizens and wonders, "Why aren't these people depressed? Why, on the contrary, do they seem positively happy?"
Reader Mail
Jan 22, 2012

Weak justification for the hunt

Joseph Jaworski, in his Jan. 12 letter, "The moral case against whaling?," asks whether anyone opposed to whaling can explain precisely what principle makes killing whales morally wrong. A simple answer is not easy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 22, 2012

Turning to Okinawa and its rituals in search of a happier new year

Without a shred of a doubt, 2011 stands out to me — in a way that hopefully will never be surpassed — as the most catastrophic I have ever known.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 21, 2012

Three prefectures' trash flowing down to isle

Discarded trash and other debris is being carried by rivers running through Aichi, Gifu and Mie prefectures and washing ashore on Toshi Island in Ise Bay, an Environment Ministry study found.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 20, 2012

'Always San-Chome no Yuhi '64 (Always: Sunset on Third Street 3)'

The "Always" films, unabashedly sentimental, meticulously realized reminiscences on the Tokyo of the Showa 30s (1955-1965), are intended for the domestic audience only. But the first two received high audience poll numbers when they screened at the Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy, which I help...
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2012

Entrance exam system faces review

The education ministry on Monday ordered a review of how the nation's unified college entrance exams are managed after delays and slipups affected more than 4,500 test-takers over the weekend.
COMMENTARY
Jan 16, 2012

British influence and the EU

At the European crisis summit in December, David Cameron was snubbed by his European colleagues. His "veto" on accepting treaty changes believed by other members to be necessary to save European economies left Britain isolated.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2012

Firms look to hire foreign students

Hundreds of foreign students from Japan's top universities turned up at a career forum Saturday in Tokyo, hoping to secure a job before their graduation in 2013.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 15, 2012

Sealing a connection with nature

The cliff-ringed cape known as Notoro Misaki stands as a massive natural breakwater west of the city of Abashiri in northeastern Hokkaido, sheltering it from some of the might of the ocean.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 15, 2012

'Made in Japan' label under assault

Take a stroll through home sweet home. You'll almost certainly see an entertainment system, refrigerator, microwave oven, rice cooker, toaster, mixer/blender, vacuum cleaner, heater/air conditioner, hair dryer, electric blanket and so on. From personal hygiene to food preparation to recreation and entertainment,...
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2012

Picks mirror more pragmatic tack, bid to exert leadership

With a minor but crucial reshuffle Friday, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda prepared to tackle his most important and difficult task — raising taxes.
EDITORIALS
Jan 13, 2012

21st-century U.S. defense strategy

Two basic principles guide the United States National Defense Strategy unveiled Jan. 5. The first is the rising significance of the Asia-Pacific region to U.S. national interests. The second is a new fiscal environment: Washington just does not have the resources to fund a defense wish list as it did...
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2012

Bureaucratic cling

In December 2010, the government adopted an action plan to transfer regional bureaus of central government ministries to local governments to help the latter carry out "comprehensive" administrative work for local residents. But it is unclear whether the proposal made in late December by the government's...
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2012

Intervention fails as yen is poised to strengthen

There was no better currency than the yen last year and strategists forecast more gains this year, even as Japan promises to intervene again in foreign exchange markets and expands the world's biggest debt burden.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 10, 2012

International education a triple-A investment in your child's — and Japan's — future

Bicultural families are on the rise in Japan. In 1970, less than 6,000 "international marriages" — where one partner is non-Japanese — were registered, or 0.5 percent of the total. In 2000, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare reported that one in 22, or 4.5 percent, of all marriages that year...

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?