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EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 2010

Jobs, wages still a concern

Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) in the October-December quarter increased 1.1 percent in real terms or an annualized 4.6 percent from the previous quarter, marking expansion for three consecutive quarters. GDP for all of 2009 fell 5 percent in real terms from 2008 — the worst contraction since...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 17, 2010

Keep your fūtō out of your mouth at the post office

A fun part of living thousands of miles from family and friends is sending packages home — that is, so long as you know the requisite jargon to communicate at the yūbin kyoku (郵便局, post office).
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Feb 16, 2010

Where were the Japanese voices when the overseas fans declared Asa innocent?

In the last issue of Sumo Scribblings following the Hatsu Basho, mention was made of Asashoryu's self-destructive mindset in relation to the then recent allegations that he had up and punched somebody following a night on the beer in a plush neighborhood of Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 16, 2010

What should sumo's disgraced yokozuna Asashoryu do next?

Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Feb 14, 2010

Morozov says Ando can rise to occasion in Vancouver

It's been said that life all comes down to a few moments.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 14, 2010

A winter's tale of time-warp Takayama

After a while you tire of the easy destinations — the usual spots with their inevitable touristic clutter. So you decide on somewhere different — somewhere that's far from the madding crowds and far, too, from the yet more madding megaphone-toting tour guides.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 13, 2010

Shopping — a bitty of the kitty in all of us

One of the most popular hobbies in Japan is shopping. Shopping as a hobby? Although shopping includes "window shopping" (you don't apparently have to buy anything to be "shopping"), there is a large contingent of those who purchase such "material" things for themselves.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Feb 12, 2010

Skating Hall of Fame set to welcome Sato

Veteran coach Nobuo Sato, a 10-time Japan champion who competed in two Olympics and six world championships, has been elected to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, the organization announced on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 11, 2010

Honda adds 437,000 cars to air bag recall

Honda Motor Co. is adding 437,000 vehicles to its 15-month-old global recall for faulty air bags in the latest quality problem to hit a Japanese automaker.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Feb 11, 2010

Rights activist Chiyoko Tanaka

Chiyoko Tanaka, 81, is a volunteer lobbyist for the rights of disabled people in Japan. For the past 49 years, together with her daughter, Mariko, she has been working tirelessly to ensure that all people — regardless of the nature of their disabilities — have equal rights in education, housing,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / STYLE WISE
Feb 11, 2010

Style that's top, sweet, masculine, temporary and trademarked

Topshop stays on top
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 10, 2010

The other New Year: Can Chinese prop up J-retail?

Inbound tourism has taken a hit recently, with the exception of Chinese tourists who collectively spend a lot of yen.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 10, 2010

Is your Valentine's Day going to be hot and spicy?

At this time of the year it seems inappropriate to talk about food that's not chocolate — but word is getting out that women have begun to regard the giving and getting of chocolate on you-know-what-day as, like, totally kakkowarui (カッコわるい, uncool). Which is why I feel justified in shifting...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 9, 2010

Watson to whalers: We will never surrender

Despite speaking on a bad line from somewhere off Antarctica, the message from Paul Watson was loud and clear:
MORE SPORTS
Feb 7, 2010

Goodell says NFL remains committed to Asian market

Fort Lauderdale Fla. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the absence of the NFL from Asia at a news conference on Friday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 7, 2010

The economics of eating in

The economic downturn continues to affect all parts of Japanese society with long-term repercussions for some. Restaurant operators in Japan saw a 1.5 percent drop in total sales in 2009. That figure may seem small, but it's the first decline in six years. This survey by the Japan Food Service Association...
EDITORIALS
Feb 7, 2010

Perils of hand-pulled bags

A recent report by the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan concluded what many commuters already know: Hand-pulled bags on casters are dangerous. Anyone taking the train or walking through a crowded place in a large city in Japan has surely stumbled over these menaces. The bags turn into hazardous,...

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