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Reader Mail
Jan 5, 2012

New paradigm for nuclear energy

Regarding the Jan. 3 front-page article "Fukushima meltdowns set nuclear energy debate on its ear": Nuclear power isn't the problem. The problem is with the reactors we've been using to produce it. If the reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant had been liquid fluoride thorium reactors (LFTRs),...
COMMENTARY
Jan 5, 2012

Why Obama will (won't) win re-election in 2012

Could 2012 turn conventional wisdom on its head? Here's the conventional wisdom: U.S. President Barack Obama's re-election is vulnerable to the weak economy and high joblessness. Here's what might happen: The economy gradually improves, and although unemployment stays high (exceeding 8 percent), what...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2012

Going to war, U.S. missed its opportunity to combat WMD

Now that U.S. troops have left Iraq, Americans are taking stock of the staggering price of this nine-year war of choice, in blood (nearly 4,500 Americans dead, 33,000 wounded), in fractured relations worldwide and in monetary terms (nearly $1 trillion in direct spending; several times that when counting...
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2012

Solid alliances key as diplomatic challenges loom

2012 is shaping up to be full of diplomatic challenges for Japan and the world.
JAPAN / NUCLEAR AWAKENING
Jan 1, 2012

DIY cesium scanning store may be 'new normal'

Kashiwa, about 30 km northeast of Tokyo, is known for its humble beginnings as a 1970s bedroom community for Tokyo workers.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2012

What 2011 means for Japan in 2012 and beyond

We asked three long-term foreign residents to give their thoughts about Japan's past year and the coming year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 30, 2011

Top 5 DVDs to alleviate holiday cabin fever

The three Japan Times film critics (Mark Schilling, Giovanni Fazio and me, Kaori Shoji) are taking a much-needed and entirely fictional break in a log cabin in a remote location, with no entertainment except for five DVDs. (Personally, I would rather have camped out at a 24-hour cocktail lounge in my...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2011

2011 was a dangerous year for world's bad guys

This was a bad year for bad guys. Departing the political scene — or departing the scene altogether — were Osama bin Laden, North Korea's "Dear Leader," Kim Jong Il, and a trio of Arab leaders: Tunisia's Zine el-Abidine ben Ali, Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi.
COMMENTARY
Dec 28, 2011

Build Japan-India naval ties

At a time when the specter of power disequilibrium looms large in Asia, the visit of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to India offers an opportunity to the two natural allies to help promote Asian stability by adding concrete strategic content to their fast-growing relationship. Japan and India need to...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 27, 2011

Quake workers bolstered by training

Following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku, staff members of the Tokyo-based nonprofit organization Tokyo English Life Line felt they needed to help not only the survivors, but also the volunteers, NGO and welfare workers who supported the hard-hit people in the affected areas.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2011

Grubs wreck India's dreams

My old friend Manmohan Singh has just suffered a devastating and very public defeat. Is it time for him to step down as India's prime minister and take a well-earned retirement after more than 40 years of top-level public service?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 26, 2011

A look back at the buzzwords and street slang of 2011

On Dec. 1, publisher Jiyukokumin-sha announced that the winner of its annual 流行語大賞 (ryūkōgo taishō, buzzword grand prix) for 2011 was 撫子ジャパン (Nadeshiko Japan). This of course is the name of the winners of the Women's Soccer World Cup held last June-July, and you can hardly blame...
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2011

The earthquake year

The year of the earthquake and tsunami is how 2011 will be remembered in Japan. No bounen-kai (forget-the-year party) has passed without thoughts of those who lost so much in the triple earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster on or after March 11. The powerful 9.0-magnitude earthquake devastated the northeast...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 24, 2011

Volunteers' hugs warm tsunami-hit Ofunato

When the March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan, numerous volunteer organizations rushed to help the survivors with basic necessities like food and clothing.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 23, 2011

Quiz rally puts young heads in high gear

The two-week winter vacation surrounding New Year's Eve is great news for kids and a little extra work for parents. The idea of giving your brain a break from school might not be the healthiest way to spend this time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 22, 2011

Seeking solace in artistic responses to March 11

What can art do? What role can it play when the whole world seems suddenly unstable, unsure?
EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 2011

North Korea at a crossroads

The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Saturday, reported by Pyongyang's special broadcast from noon Monday, could destabilize the isolated communist country as well as all of the Korean Peninsula. Events unfolding in the North Korean leadership must be watched carefully to prepare for possible...
COMMENTARY
Dec 20, 2011

India flaunts poverty of its moral leadership, brandishing an ad hoc, reactive nuclear policy

The Australian Labor Party has just endorsed, albeit narrowly, Prime Minister Julia Gillard's call to lift the contentious policy of the ban on uranium sales to India, although the latter is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 20, 2011

Replacing your alien card; blasts from the past

Anita recently lost her alien registration card and is planning to leave on New Year's Day for an overseas trip, so she needs a replacement right away:
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 20, 2011

Festive lights prevail, with restraint

Every winter places set themselves aglow with illuminations as part of the festive mood for Christmas and New Year's.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 18, 2011

Their spirit seems willing but young Japanese are hesitant to get hitched

Back in the days of "there's gold in them thar hills," one of the prospectors' doleful refrains boasted the title "My Girlfriend's a Mule and a Mine." Across the Pacific and some 150 years on, I wouldn't be surprised if an echo of that plaintive air were not about to catch on among young Japanese males...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 15, 2011

Make it a countdown to remember

In Japan, New Year's Eve is traditionally celebrated at home with the family. For many it is a somber — if not sober — experience. Yet over the years Japan has firmly placed itself on the world map as a major stop-off point for some of the biggest names in the electronic music scene, and looking...
Reader Mail
Dec 15, 2011

Not all Christians are co-opted

It was disappointing to read "How does 'Come all ye Bodhisattvas' grab you?" (Dec. 10). Even though Christmas is virtually drowned out by commercialism, some Christians do try to observe Advent and Christmas as serious spiritual events in our lives. I just wanted you to know this, for whatever it may...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2011

Time for IMF to save Europe

European leaders met last week for yet another "historic" summit at which the fate of Europe is said to hang in the balance. Yet it is clear that this will not be the last one convened to deal with the financial crisis.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan