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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / LIGHT GIST
Dec 27, 2011

2011: a year of disaster in quotes

This year produced more than its share of memorable quotes, many of which were inspired by the March 11 disaster and its aftermath. But figures from other fields, from sports to entertainment, also said things worth repeating. Here is a sampling, in chronological order:
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 27, 2011

Many angles to acquiring Japanese citizenship

Nationality has long been a controversial issue in Japan. For most, it is something they are born with; for others, it is something they had to fight for. For some, nationality may be a source of pride, while for others, it may be the cause of discrimination.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2011

China sales set to dip at Hitachi Construction

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., the nation's second-largest heavy-equipment maker, said Chinese demand for excavators will decline in the first half of next year as monetary tightening slows construction projects.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2011

Noda under tax hike pressure

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda faces escalating pressure to secure support for higher taxes after the budget plan for fiscal 2012 revealed the government's record dependence on borrowing.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2011

The greater evil is to expect an Asia-Pacific war

Now that the war in Afghanistan appears to be reaching an end, President Barack Obama has indicated that the United States will shift focus toward the Asia-Pacific.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2011

'Pro-Israel' doesn't mean backing status quo

Advocates of strong U.S.-Israel relations have aimed for decades to keep Israel from being a divisive issue in American politics. Yet Israel is one of very few foreign policy issues already rating attention in the 2012 presidential election.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2011

What's next in power games from North Korea?

Since the death of Kim Il Sung in 1994, the U.S. and South Korean governments have gamed scenarios for the collapse of the North, with the triggering event usually posited as the death of Kim Jong Il.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 25, 2011

Fantasy alive in the real world

Fantasies are central to several of the best books published in the last year. These works are not, of course, tried and tired swords-and-lords style epics, but rather books that tackle the imaginings that have made and molded the world in which we live.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 25, 2011

'Takeshi Art Beat' on tap dancing; New Year's Eve TV roundup; CM of the week: Dorea

Ever wonder where director/star "Beat" Takeshi Kitano got the idea of the big tap-dancing finale for his 2003 remake of the samurai classic "Zatoichi"? It came to him after he saw the American dancer Savion Glover, who the program information says influenced Michael Jackson's Moonwalk.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 25, 2011

Time for Japan to realize it really is the canary in the mine

This Christmas Day column is a book review, but it is also a wish and a prayer.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 25, 2011

Bubble-wrap novel far from bubble gum

Winner of the Prix Goncourt, Michel Houellebecq, in his latest novel, "The Map and the Territory," takes us into the world of art and the life of Jed Martin, rival of Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons, and fan of a writer called ... Michel Houellebecq.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 25, 2011

It's time to turn over a new leaf in the sheaf of identities we carry with us

Far be it from me to put soot in Santa's chimney, but there is a pet peeve I've just got to get off my chest.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 25, 2011

Hope, and inspired work, from despair of March 11

Ayear of natural disasters in Japan — and elsewhere — has sparked some of the best writing on the nation seen in decades, as everyone from policy experts to ordinary citizens offered their views on the best route to recovery.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 25, 2011

Crime, war, and laughs unintended

Bill James, a well-known baseball authority, deviates from sport coverage to introduce some of America's most celebrated true crime cases in "Popular Crime: Reflections on the Celebration of Violence."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Dec 23, 2011

2011 trends: Korean boom spreads to a new generation

The love of all things Korean continued to grow in 2011, and along with it, a bit of a backlash.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Dec 23, 2011

Western Conference squads enjoying success on road

If this season's first 20 games have proven anything, there's no such thing as home sweet home for the Miyazaki Shining Suns. Nor is there a home-court advantage for coach Koto Toyama's team.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2011

Civic revamp to help lift sales 24%, Honda says

Honda Motor Co. is sprucing up its Civic sedan, which received poor reviews, after less than a year on the market as part of a plan to boost the automaker's U.S. sales by 24 percent in 2012.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 22, 2011

Five freshman acts to watch out for in 2012

Formed in April 2011, Hysteric Picnic could be set to make a splash in the Tokyo indie scene with a sound influenced by 1970s/'80s British new wave, echoing Joy Division and Young Marble Giants in their simple but memorable melodies and arrangements.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 22, 2011

Best of 2011: Soil & "Pimp" Sessions "Magnetic Soil"

My favorite Japanese album of 2011 sounds even better live. "Magnetic Soil," the eighth album from self-described death-jazz act Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, further proved that this Tokyo-based sextet belongs in a class all its own.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 22, 2011

Best of 2011: Miila and the Geeks "New Age"

Miila and the Geek's debut album, "New Age," would be my favorite Japanese album of 2011 even without the postquake context into which it was released.
Japan Times
JAPAN / READERS' FUND
Dec 22, 2011

NPOs give needy hope for future

Many women and children in developing countries still have very few opportunities to receive an education and training, but Japanese nonprofit groups are working in nations such as Afghanistan and Cambodia to give them hope for the future.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 21, 2011

Nadeshiko Japan takes top sports award

As perhaps much expected, Nadeshiko Japan was the face of the 2011 sports scene in Japan.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2011

Immigration changes to come as new law takes effect in July

The revised immigration law will take effect next July 9 and the government will start accepting applications for new residence registration cards on Jan. 13, the Cabinet decided Tuesday, paving the way for increased government scrutiny through a centralized immigration control of foreign nationals....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 18, 2011

The times may change, but the hits keep coming

The 46th year of Showa, 1971, is remembered as the year of the "Nixon Shock," when the U.S. president took unilateral action to raise the Japanese yen's value against the dollar — from ¥360 to $1, to around ¥308 to $1. Nixon sought to reduce the swelling trade deficit by action aimed at forcing up...
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2011

Declining business sentiment

The Japanese economic outlook is opaque. A Bank of Japan survey reports deteriorating business sentiment among major manufacturers in December. Clearly Europe's sovereign debt crisis, the historic rise of the yen's value and flood damage in Thailand are a cause of concern.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’