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COMMUNITY
Jan 21, 2012

Aussie takes slippery slope to Hokkaido

Matt Dening, 44, grew up on sunshine in a small beach town south of Sydney. Like most Australian youths, Dening played "all the regular sports — swimming, cricket, rugby — but not really well."
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2012

Shifting gears in reconstruction

Although reconstruction of the areas hit by the March 11 triple disaster has been making slow progress, the reconstruction efforts should soon shift into full gear. Most of the ¥19 trillion funds believed to be needed for the reconstruction has been secured. The Reconstruction Agency will be up and...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 18, 2012

Griffey pitches in to aid Japan

If there was one thing former MLB superstar Ken Griffey Jr. was known for during his playing days — well aside from that oh-so sweet swing and his wall-climbing antics in center field at the Kingdome in Seattle — it was his smile.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2012

Director uses organic process to tell rural communities' tales

Every person, town or village has a story to tell, whether they are tales of love and friendship or the tragedy of losing a loved one, and they all are interwoven into our lives in complex layers.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 17, 2012

Corporate Japan: woeful lack of outside directors

Japan Inc. is often criticized for its poor corporate governance, especially when it comes to monitoring how top management makes decisions.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 17, 2012

And then there was one?: Japan's right royal crisis

According to the Japanese Constitution, the Emperor is the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people. You could thus say it is symbolic that the Imperial household is now facing an unprecedented demographic crisis, one that may ultimately lead to a succession dilemma and possibly...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 15, 2012

Rigged online food reviews should come as no surprise

NHK has a regular travel series called "Quiz de Go," which sends TV personalities to far-flung corners of Japan and then asks them questions about the area's local qualities. Several weeks ago, three celebrities were exploring Miyazu, Kyoto Prefecture, and were turned on to a local delicacy called Curry-yaki....
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jan 15, 2012

Kabuki workout helps students to stand out in a crowd

Looking for an enjoyable way to get back into shape after gaining a few pounds over the festive season? Well, look no further than kabuki — or learning a few moves basic to this traditional Japanese theatrical form, to be precise.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jan 15, 2012

Danger! Nuclear waste! Keep out — forever!

The earliest known cave paintings date from about 30,000 years ago, and the earliest bone tools found so far predate those paintings by another 40,000 years. Go back 100,000 years, and Homo sapiens — us lot — are only just emerging, though the fossil record suggests our ancestors back then had larger...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 14, 2012

Reflections on being an expat

The hairstylist exclaims, "Wow, you live in Japa'an!" — pronouncing the word as if it was a diphthong. I am home for a friend's wedding, and getting my hair cut.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2012

Futenma move may hinge on Okinawa 10-year growth plan

With U.S. officials pressing Japan to make major progress on the long-stalled relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within Okinawa, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his new defense minister will have their work cut out getting locals to accept the move.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2012

Iranian oil imports to be cut to aid U.S. pressure: Azumi

Japan is ready to reduce crude oil imports from Iran to help Washington put pressure on Tehran to give up its nuclear program, Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Thursday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 13, 2012

'The Devil's Double' / 'Un Prophete'

It's sometimes funny how filmmakers' careers play out, and how the hand of fortune can give them a boost or a brush-off. Take Lee Tamahori: This Kiwi director had a powerhouse of a breakthrough film with "Once Were Warriors," an unflinching tale of alcoholism and revenge set in Auckland's Maori community,...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2012

Key antinuclear confab will offer lessons for global thought

This weekend's international antinuclear conference in Yokohama could play a crucial role in sharing the lessons of the Fukushima crisis with the global community and in drafting constructive proposals to abolish atomic power, the event's chairman said Wednesday in Tokyo.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 10, 2012

International education a triple-A investment in your child's — and Japan's — future

Bicultural families are on the rise in Japan. In 1970, less than 6,000 "international marriages" — where one partner is non-Japanese — were registered, or 0.5 percent of the total. In 2000, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare reported that one in 22, or 4.5 percent, of all marriages that year...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2012

Salafi challenge to an Egypt ruled without God

"We want democracy, but one constrained by God's laws. Ruling without God's laws is infidelity," Yasser Burhami, the second leading figure in the Salafi Call Society (SCS) and its most charismatic leader, recently said.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jan 9, 2012

China's Un-relenting watch

The entire world was shocked by the news of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who was as vicious a dictator as Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin or Mao Zedong.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2012

U.S. simulated nuke test doesn't draw flak

Japan will not lodge a complaint against the U.S. government for conducting a third experiment using plutonium to test the capabilities of its nuclear arsenal last summer, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Friday.
BASKETBALL
Jan 5, 2012

Levanga cruises past Jets

If anything, Wednesday afternoon's Chiba Jets-Levanga Hokkaido contest was a small step forward for Japanese basketball.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb