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EDITORIALS
Aug 16, 2012

Remarkable Olympic performance

Blessed with good weather and free of incidents such as terrorist attacks, the 2012 London Olympics ended Aug. 12 after 17 days of sporting drama, excitement and joy. More than 10,000 athletes from 204 countries and regions participated.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 15, 2012

Vitamin drinks demonstrate their stamina in the market

Stamina drinks are more popular than ever in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2012

Output trumps energy-saving mood

In this summer of idled nuclear plants and energy shortages, corporate Japan is under duress.
OLYMPICS
Aug 14, 2012

London bids farewell to Olympics

The closing ceremony on Sunday night was a lot of things — boring wasn't one of them.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2012

Psychological imperative of a euro commitment

When Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, publicly proclaimed that the ECB would do "whatever it takes" to ensure the future stability of the euro, the effect of his remarks was immediate and remarkable. Borrowing costs fell dramatically for the governments of Italy and Spain; stock...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2012

California dreamin' on such a debt-filled day

While central governments' fiscal problems plague many economies, a parallel crisis is enveloping many subnational governments around the world.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 12, 2012

Pyongyang: the Orwellian city through its architecture

PYONGYANG ARCHITECTURAL AND CULTURAL GUIDE, by Philipp Meuser. DOM publishers, 2012, 368 pp., $49.95 (paperback) Imagine an easy-to-navigate, pedestrian- and car-friendly city with enough space to avoid the kind of congestion that typically threatens to choke similar places worldwide — a city whose...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 12, 2012

For the sake of survival: concealing the cross

In Search of Japan's Hidden Christians: A Story of Suppression, Secrecy and Survival, by John Dougill. Tuttle Publishing, 2012, 272 pp., $22.95 (hardcover) When you travel with a mission, a theme in mind, encounters unfold, stories are forthcoming, history uncoils. John Dougill begins his own journey...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 12, 2012

South Korea reflects on successful Olympics

Not one of the largest nations competing in the Summer Olympics, South Korea had collected the fifth-most gold medals as of 9 p.m. on Friday.
LIFE
Aug 12, 2012

Japan's Paralympians overcome adversity by leaps, bounds and innovative design

When Oscar Pistorius made his dramatic debut in the men's 400-meter race in London last Saturday — becoming the first double amputee to compete alongside able-bodied athletes in Olympics history — some people might have wondered if the South African's artificial legs gave him a competitive edge over...
JAPAN / Media
Aug 12, 2012

Fading shades of pink

At its peak of popularity roughly four decades ago, the form of soft-core pornography known as pinku eiga (pink films) utilized more than 1,000 theaters to screen short, low-budget, erotic films churned out mainly by independent studios.
Japan Times
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 11, 2012

Bolt has put himself on another level with latest run to Olympic glory

Pick a superlative, any superlative, and add two dozen or more synonyms. And still, the total wow factor created by Usain Bolt's Olympic body of work goes beyond what your list of words.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2012

Upper House passes bill to hike sales levy

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda achieved a major goal Friday when the Upper House passed his administration's social security and tax reform bills that will double the sales tax to 10 percent by 2015.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 11, 2012

Supporters helped propel Icho, Obara to gold

Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, is not known for being Party Central. But that changed in a big way when freestyle wrestlers Kaori Icho and Hitomi Obara doubled Japan's gold medal total on Wednesday, making their hometown proud and bringing immense joy to Tohoku.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 11, 2012

Egypt's new old government

Egypt's first-ever freely elected president, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi, has appointed his first Cabinet, and guess what? It is crammed with officials from the old regime.
OLYMPICS / LONDON POSTCARD
Aug 10, 2012

A journalist's dilemma

There's so many events going on at the same time, that the only consistent thought swirling through my head on the topic is this: I wish I could be going to (fill in the blank), too.
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2012

Utilities' CO₂ emissions jump a year after Fukushima

Tokyo Electric Power Co. and nine other utilities emitted a record amount of carbon dioxide in the business year that ended March 31 as the Fukushima No. 1 disaster caused a surge in crude and fuel oil consumption.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 9, 2012

From Comme des Garcons to Somarta, Japanese fashion excels at weaving past, present and future

In 1981, while Western designers focused on shoulder-padded power suits, bright colors, sharp stiletto heels and statement jewelry, Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons' Rei Kawakubo sent their models down the runway in defiant black, voluminously draped garments, accessorized with nothing but flat shoes....
OLYMPICS
Aug 9, 2012

Yoshida ready to defend wrestling title

Two-time defending gold medalist Saori Yoshida will be seeking another Olympic title when the women's 55-kg freestyle wrestling competition is staged on Thursday at Excel Arena.
COMMENTARY
Aug 8, 2012

The reasons for America's Generation Squeezed

I worry about the future — not mine but that of my three children, all in their 20s. It is an axiom of American folklore that every generation should live better than its predecessors. But this is not a constitutional right or even an entitlement, and I am skeptical that today's young will do so. Nor...
COMMENTARY
Aug 8, 2012

Autopsies shine light on NFL's deadly problem

Are you ready for some American football? First, however, are you ready for some autopsies? The opening of the NFL training camps coincided with the closing of the investigation into the April suicide by gunshot of Ray Easterling, 62, an eight-season NFL safety in the 1970s.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 8, 2012

Love and marriage in North Korea

Imagine North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a tuxedo, waiting nervously at the altar (or shrine) of his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, and his father, Kim Jong Il. He beholds his future wife's face, anticipating his chance to kiss the bride. Of course, such an event can only be imagined in today's North Korea....

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.