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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2011

Aussie pronatal policy is not a model for Japan

Since reaching a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.57 in 1989, Japan has been deeply concerned about demographic trends and future prospects. Below replacement fertility — measured as less than 2.1 children per woman — has been a feature of Japanese demography since 1974.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2011

Long-range plan for Afghanistan would help

The U.S. focus on Afghanistan largely centers on withdrawing most forces by 2014 and reducing the cost of the war. These are important issues: By the end of fiscal year 2013, the United States will have spent $560 billion on the war, and current annual costs are more than $110 billion.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 25, 2011

Now is the time for a 'brand Japan' that creates and inspires

On Sept. 19, just as this column hit deadline, news outlets reported that a massive demonstration was taking place in Tokyo, rallying tens of thousands of people against nuclear power.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 25, 2011

The helping hand of travel

Travel Guide To Aid Japan. WAttention, 2011, 159 pp. ¥1,000 (paper) Tourism is the world's foremost industry, one that Japan, until very recently, has been rather slow to take advantage of. Sophisticated travel writing has never been a significant component of Japanese literature, the country failing...
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 22, 2011

Japan has slim hopes dashed at World Cup

Japan fly-half James Arlidge might have won the hearts of Rugby World Cup spectators as man of the match against France, but facing Tonga, Arlidge's boot proved to be unreliable for the Brave Blossoms.
EDITORIALS
Sep 20, 2011

Egypt erupts

Anger boiled over in Egypt on Sept. 9 when a mob attacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo. The riots prompted Israeli diplomats to evacuate the embassy and leave the country. The attack reflects the deep-rooted ill will toward Israel that flows through much of the Egyptian public.
COMMENTARY
Sep 16, 2011

In Chile, dissent has a woman's face

In Chile, a 23-year-old woman has been leading student protests against the government of President Sebastian Pinera. Her actions pose a serious challenge to the government and may lead to a significant overhaul of the country's education system.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 16, 2011

Zhang, Carpenter return to screens — with mixed effect

You know that sinking feeling you get when you're in some trendy upscale shop and suddenly the in-house BGM features some absolutely crap Euro-house remix of one of your most cherished pop songs? Well, that's exactly the feeling you'll get watching director Zhang Yimou's latest, "A Woman, a Gun and a...
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Sep 15, 2011

Don't miss those fleeting moments

The closest English photographer, and former night porter, Chris Shaw ever came to Japan was listening to stories at home in Merseyside from his Irish ex-merchant navy father. Sailor Shaw told his wide-eyed son of an extraordinary stopover in Osaka before the war in 1939, when he was granted shore leave....
EDITORIALS
Sep 13, 2011

Quake jolts corporate practices

The psychological effects of the Tohoku disasters continue to spread far beyond the areas that were directly affected by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters. In the wake of these catastrophic events, individuals throughout Japan have been forced to reflect upon their lifestyles. Companies,...
Reader Mail
Sep 11, 2011

Tokyo doesn't get enough respect

According to the Global Livability Survey's ranking of 140 cities worldwide — the subject of the Sept. 1 AFP-JIJI article "Melbourne replaces Vancouver as the world's 'most-livable city'" — Tokyo came in 18th while Osaka was 12th! This annual survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit tends to rank...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 11, 2011

Theyyam: Trance dances in the Indian countryside

Watching the two whirling dancers' straw skirts aflame as they kept their balance under elaborate, 4-meter-high headdresses while circumambulating the central shrine of the village to the beat of drummers amid a buzzing throng, I did not expect a nudge from the local standing next to me as he said, "Watch...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 11, 2011

The annual Kerala festival in Tokyo

This is the traditional season for the Keralan festival called Onam, the one time a year when the mythical King Mahabali leaves the netherworld where he now rules and visits his people to help them celebrate the harvest and their traditions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 9, 2011

'Countdown to Zero'

The original "Planet of the Apes" movie in 1968 posited the demise of mankind and civilization as we know it from a nuclear exchange; the series' reboot, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (opening in October), drops this premise in favor of a genetically modified virus. That makes sense: Virus scares...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 8, 2011

"Jamaica Rocks"

A group of Jamaican musicians and dancers led by explosive "singjay" Abijah, as well as Tessanne Chin and rising star I Eye, have set off on a major tour of Japan. The tour is being coordinated by the Min-On Concert Association, in collaboration with the Embassy of Jamaica in Tokyo, and Jamaica's Ministry...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2011

Time to end the great American bank robbery

That $5 trillion dollars is not money invested in building roads, schools, and other long-term projects, but is directly transferred from the American economy to the personal accounts of bank executives and employees. Such transfers represent as cunning a tax on everyone else as one can imagine. It feels...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2011

Is China's economic miracle a mirage?

Doubts are beginning to be heard about how sustainable is China's economic miracle, particularly the relentless emphasis on exports and investment spending by hundreds of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and local governments. Beijing, of course, has its supporters, including banker turned academic Stephen...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 4, 2011

Actress's inheritance saga plays out like melodrama

Sometimes the components of a news story fit together so perfectly that you can't help but wonder how much of it was engineered by the press. Actress Hisako Manda, a former beauty queen who found success in recent years as a cover girl for magazines catering to women in their 50s, is currently at the...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 3, 2011

When people ask, 'Do you remember me?'

Believe it or not, many Japanese people go to the beach just once a year, go skiing for one day a year and have a BBQ . . . once a year! It's no wonder Western holidays such as Valentine's Day and Christmas have become so popular in Japan — they happen just one time a year! And it's no wonder that...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 2, 2011

Wine-tasting event will have your conscience feeling a buzz

For those who don't know their Merlot from their Chardonnay, the Three Country Premium Wine Tasting double event may provide the perfect opportunity to discover the difference. Pay a mere ¥2,000 on entry and you will have access to more than 100 wines. While your liver may not forgive you the morning...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 2, 2011

Brazilian party brings Blitz

Yoyogi Park in central Tokyo hosts a number of internationally themed events, and this week the area will hoist the yellow, green and blue of the Brazilian flag overhead.
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Aug 30, 2011

Ikumen: raising new father figures in Japan

Maybe papa was rolling stone once upon a time, but these days he's expected to share the burden of raising the kids.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years