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Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2008

LDP rivals offer more reform or regression

OSAKA — In the short term, the next prime minister will either continue internationally sought fiscal and economic reforms or return to the traditional pork-barrel projects and failed economic policies of the past, forge closer military ties with the United States or maintain the status quo.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2008

'Manga' viewed as vibrant info conduit

KYOTO — In Japan and other parts of Asia, "manga" comic books are not only escapist entertainment but also a powerful and effective medium to educate a broad range of people on important topics like environmental conservation and food safety.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 7, 2008

Takashi Hiraide's 'Walnut' is tough nut worth cracking

FOR THE FIGHTING SPIRIT OF THE WALNUT by Takashi Hiraide, translated by Sawako Nakayasu. New York: New Directions, 2008, unpaginated, $17.95 (paper) When a fan of the neglected American genius Guy Davenport wrote to tell him that she admired his ability to express himself, his response was: "Yick!" Davenport's...
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Sep 6, 2008

Change of study location proves fateful

It is not unusual for young Japanese to go abroad to study English. But where they choose to go for their studies can change their destiny.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / GRAND OLD HOTELS
Sep 5, 2008

The Parnassus of Surugadai

Ochanomizu, the Tokyo neighborhood stretching from Yushima, Bunkyo Ward, to Kanda, Chiyoda Ward, gives good vibes. Jazz, rock and reggae spill from music stores and guitar shops lining Meiji-dori as it drops south toward Yasukuni-dori. Mid-slope is Meiji University's Liberty Tower, where one drizzly...
EDITORIALS
Sep 3, 2008

Short-term economic fix

The government has announced an ¥11.7 trillion economic stimulus package to prevent a further slide of the Japanese economy. It represents a short-term approach to tide over current difficulties. Apparently the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito hoped the package would help...
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2008

Aso in charge could foil fiscal discipline

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's sudden resignation will not cause a political vacuum, economic ministers claimed Tuesday, but analysts warned that Japan's fiscal discipline may be sacrificed if Taro Aso becomes the next prime minister and tries to spend the government's way out of economic trouble.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 2, 2008

Against high odds, masses chase luck

What would you do if you won ¥400 million? Would you buy a convertible, a new house, start a business? All of the above?
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 31, 2008

Living a clean, green life

Sporting a smart, modern exterior, the home of Keiko and Yoshiyuki Shimizu and their children Ayano, 13, and Haruki, 11, in a residential area of Kawasaki, south of Tokyo in Kanagawa Prefecture, is full of fun features inside. The three- story house has a grassy garden on its flat roof, where you can...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 31, 2008

Can poetry in translation ever be as poetic in its new language?

A friend who was visiting recently from Germany posed me a difficult question: How can poetry be translated?
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2008

Toyota plugs into electric vehicles

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it will start mass-producing next-generation electric vehicles in the early 2010s, demonstrating a renewed commitment to develop fuel-efficient cars.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 29, 2008

'Detroit Metal City'

Soichi Negishi (Kenichi Matsuyama) hates what he does for a living. After every night on the job, he can't wait to strip off his work clothes and relax with his favorite light J-Pop tunes. With his pudding-bowl hairdo, goofy grin and foppy gestures, he looks like the younger Japanese brother of Jim Carrey's...
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2008

No problem with biometric checks

On March 28, 2006, I maintained here that the proposal to fingerprint and photograph all visitors to Japan at the immigration entry point would lead to an even lengthier entry time. I was wrong! After using the new system for about 18 months -- with at least four entries through Narita -- I have found...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 28, 2008

Indecisive moments

Henri Cartier-Bresson's legacy of the "decisive moment" had a profound impact on photography. As a cofounder of the photographic cooperative Magnum Photos in 1947, his philosophy influenced a whole generation of photojournalists, and, for decades, Magnum photographers were instrumental in constructing...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 27, 2008

Sharing summer memories becomes even easier

Hard copy: Camcorder owners have always had it a bit tougher than their still-camera counterparts. Sharing their memories after the (usually) fun part of imitating a Hollywood cameraman involves more steps and more time, especially with high-definition video.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 26, 2008

Coming out of the shadows

"We judge that it will be best for the child that the (parent) pray from the shadows for his healthy upbringing. If worried about the child, ask about him through others, secretly watch him from behind a wall, and be satisfied with what is heard about the way he is growing up. Acting in accordance with...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 26, 2008

Tattoos come out of hiding

'There are tattoos that you can show and ones that you should hide," says Shura, an Osaka tattoo artist. "Traditional tattoos are only OK to show at festivals, certain public baths and during fights.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 24, 2008

Some lessons from Japan's burst bubble

HOLY GRAIL OF MACROECONOMICS: Lessons from Japan's Great Recession, by Richard C. Koo. John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte. Ltd., 2008, 296 pp., $34.95 (cloth) Hit by a devastating housing slump, billions of dollars of subprime losses and rising oil prices, the U.S. economy appears headed for recession, taking...
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2008

Additional budget for stimulus in the works

The government will draft a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year to secure financial resources for an economic stimulus package to be drafted by month's end, economic and fiscal policy minister Kaoru Yosano said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2008

Foreigners fear for haven

Lake Nojiri, a renowned summer resort in the town of Shinano, northern Nagano Prefecture, has long been a spiritual home to foreigners in Japan.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 22, 2008

Lasenkan to stage 'Dejima'

Lasenkan Theater is a Japanese drama group based in Berlin. Since 2002, it has spent two-thirds of every year in the German capital, presenting works by author Yoko Tawada, a resident of Germany.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
Aug 22, 2008

The perfect gin and tonic

"A gin and tonic is an entry-level drink," said the ladyfriend recently. It's easy to understand, she said, easy to drink. Like Kahlua milks and Moscow mules. A drink for people who haven't graduated to whiskeys or rickeys.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 21, 2008

Betting on Beijing

In late April this year, two Tokyo galleries set up shop in Beijing just in time for the Olympic fervor, believing that Beijing, rather than Tokyo, was the place to bring contemporary Japanese art to an international audience. Sueo Mitsuma of Mizuma Gallery in Nakameguro opened Mizuma & One and Yumie...
EDITORIALS
Aug 21, 2008

ODA and bribery

The special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has arrested a former president of Pacific Consultants International, a Tokyo-based consultancy for overseas construction projects, and three others on suspicion of bribery in connection with a project in Vietnam financed...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 19, 2008

Regions, not prefectures

The 47 prefectures have been in place since the Meiji Era (1868-1912), but the system is seen as increasingly obsolete amid the vast demographic changes Japan has had since the war.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?