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BUSINESS
Aug 26, 2010

July export growth slows for fifth straight month

Export growth slowed for the fifth straight month in July as slowing global demand and a strong yen erode a key driver of the economy, government data showed Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 26, 2010

All for the love of Tajima cows

When you hear the term, "Kobe beef," a few things are likely to come to mind: the velvety, fatty richness of the meat, the extraordinarily high price of a steak and the lavish lifestyle of the cattle. The pampering these cows receive is renowned and the image of beer-chugging bovines has been seared...
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2010

When scores of centenarians fall off radar

Japan prides itself on the world's longest life expectancy but is struggling with a disturbing footnote to that statistic — revelations that hundreds of people listed as its oldest citizens are either long dead or haven't been heard from for decades.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2010

Prius gets humming device to give pedestrians ears-up

Toyota's Prius hybrid is becoming a little less quiet with a new electronic humming device the automaker hopes answers complaints from pedestrians who can't hear the top-selling car approaching.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 24, 2010

Girl idol group about mass exposure, fans

AKB48 has taken the pop singing idol phenom and multiplied it into a mass-production, mass-marketing, mass presence affair.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2010

Intervention nontopic in Kan-Shirakawa chat

Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa on Monday exchanged views on the country's economy and the impact of the strong yen, but they didn't touch on intervening in the currency market, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 22, 2010

'Family History' of Kimimaro Ayanokoji; profile of the Glover House; CM of the week: Gin no Sara

Bewigged comedian Kimimaro Ayanokoji made it the hard way; not on TV or even in theaters, but at sightseeing destinations where he would board tour buses and pass out cassettes of his act to middle-aged women, who tended to be the target of his humor. They loved it, and word-of-mouth eventually made...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 21, 2010

Pen mightier than samurai sword

You've probably heard that Japanese people are shy to speak English because they are afraid of making mistakes. Every night before I go to bed, I pray that this English language phobia will spill over into English writing. As one visitor to Japan said to me, "You could spend your life correcting all...
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2010

Intervention chance high: Morgan

The probability that the Bank of Japan will intervene in foreign-exchange markets for the first time since March 2004 is at a six-year high of 51 percent, according to a Morgan Stanley model.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 20, 2010

McDonald's sticks its Big Mac where it's not wanted

Taking a tip from the gyudon wars earlier this year, McDonald's drops its Big Mac price to a low u00a5200.
JAPAN / JAPANESE LANGUAGE EDUCATION
Aug 20, 2010

Meager pay keeps ranks of instructors in doldrums

English is a hot topic these days, thanks to the announcement by Rakuten Inc., Japan's biggest Internet shopping mall operator, that it was making English its official company language.
JAPAN / JAPANESE LANGUAGE EDUCATION
Aug 20, 2010

Rewards, roadblocks for volunteer teachers

Ikuko Sahara, representative of a volunteer group teaching Japanese to foreigners in Tokyo, knows it's no picnic living in a foreign country without being familiar with the language.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 20, 2010

Boss The MC gives local take on Rising Sun

Formed in 1997, Sapporo-based trio Tha Blue Herb are one of Japan's premier hip-hop acts, with a hard sound and political edge that provide a refreshing alternative to the commercial sheen of many of their peers. Speaking the night after their storming two-man set at Rising Sun on Saturday, frontman...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 20, 2010

Kanagawa taverns with brews of note

When we find ourselves thirsty in Yokohama, we know exactly where to head. Our latest favorite watering hole in the city is Pivoya, a small pub that specializes exclusively in beer from the Czech Republic. It's in a quiet, out-of-the-way locale but definitely worth tracking down.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 20, 2010

Going back to school for alternative art

A first-time visitor to 3331 Arts Chiyoda might be equally intrigued and confused. To the left of the entrance, there's a wide open space with only tables and chairs; in the center, a small booth with shelves stuffed with toys; to the right, a stylish cafe; and, around the corner, huge photos of expressionless...
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2010

Flickers of hope for nuke abolitionists

HIROSHIMA — In Hiroshima, this place where a fearful age was born one fiery instant 65 years ago, the Flame of Peace still flickers on, awaiting the day when the world is rid of nuclear weapons.
Reader Mail
Aug 19, 2010

Don't blame Chinese for invasions

Regarding Richard DiPeppe's Aug. 15 letter, "No limit to apologies": The need for apologies varies according to the case. Britain is quite rightly still waiting for an apology from France for the War of the Spanish Succession, and the United States should apologize for its abortive invasion of Canada...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 18, 2010

Redefining the minimum wage in an age of no expectations

The DPJ wants to raise minimum wage to u00a5800 but is that high enough to decrease the number of 'working poor'?
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2010

Fear of another recession

Japan's economy appears to be at turning point. Real gross domestic product for the April-June quarter grew an annualized 0.4 percent from the previous quarter — much lower than the 4.4 percent for January-March and the 4.1 percent for the October-December quarter. The value of the yen to the U.S....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 17, 2010

Racist undercurrents taint whaling rhetoric

Sea Shepherd's Web site describes him as "the first New Zealander to be taken as a prisoner of war from the Southern Ocean to Japan," and there is no doubting Peter Bethune's popularity in this country. His trial in Tokyo earlier this year for interfering with Japan's annual whale hunt dominated New...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past