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JAPAN
Apr 12, 2012

Japan remains on alert as Thursday rocket launch window closes

Japan was on high alert on Thursday as North Korea is set to launch a rocket despite opposition by the international community, which sees the launch as a cover for a ballistic missile test.
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2012

New horizons for cooperatives

The United Nations General Assembly has designated 2012 as the U.N. International Year of Cooperatives. The world body recognizes the contribution of cooperatives to socioeconomic development, particularly their roles in poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Apr 11, 2012

Evessa claim star Washington has decided to 'retire'

Osaka Evessa power forward Lynn Washington has been the most recognizable player in bj-league history.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2012

Lifting Myanmar sanctions would be a mistake

On April 1, international election monitors and media outlets reported a remarkable event in Myanmar. Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi — who spent years under house arrest, and sometimes in prison, fighting for democracy and justice — was elected to Parliament. All week, calls have grown for...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Apr 10, 2012

Book is behind bullying of mixed-race children

Dear Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hirofumi Hirano,
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 10, 2012

Rape victim marks 10 years on lonely crusade for justice

It surely isn't very often that elite Japanese bureaucrats hear the words to the national anthem quoted at them — by a foreigner. Earlier this year, Australian national Catherine Fisher says she pulled the words of "Kimigayo" from her head during a frustrating meeting with officials from the ministries...
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2012

Mizuho joins rush to tap Myanmar's emerging market

Mizuho Corporate Bank opened a representative office in Yangon on Friday, joining the legion of domestic companies seeking to tap into Myanmar as it moves toward democracy.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Apr 3, 2012

Revolving-door immigration policy hard-wired to fail: readers' responses

Some responses to Debito Arudou's March 6 Just Be Cause column, "Japan's revolving-door immigration policy hard-wired to fail":
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 3, 2012

These are a few of my favorite things — about the Japanese

Debito Arudou's Feb. 7 Just Be Cause column describing the 10 things he likes about Japan both inspired and depressed me. As a frequent critic of the country's legal system (among other things), his piece made me stop and think of some of the things I like about Japan that are all too easy to take for...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 3, 2012

Startups test global waters in contest

In a test of Japanese startups' global competitiveness, a dozen firms took part Friday in a contest to pitch their ideas — in English — to Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.
COMMENTARY
Apr 2, 2012

India and the Iran sanctions

Writing in The Diplomat on Feb. 20, R. Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state in the Bush administration, lamented the fact that India was going to continue to purchase oil from Iran.
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Apr 1, 2012

Woodland therapy yields Tohoku school 'dream'

When our Afan Woodland Trust came into being in 2002 (after 16 years of hard work to purchase the land and begin restoring abandoned forest to healthy biodiversity), we started a program to invite disadvantaged, neglected or abused children into these living woods.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2012

3/11 cast a spotlight on the importance of international cooperation: Sadako Ogata

The March 2011 disasters have increased Japanese awareness of international cooperation, says Sadako Ogata, and the departing president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency hopes this will lead the government to play a larger role in assisting developing nations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Mar 29, 2012

A tale of two paths to indie success

Tokyo postpunk quartet Otori is an archetypal product of the city's underground live-music scene. The band's sets feature a machine-gun rattle of drums, slashes of guitar that explode in fierce climaxes, and bursts of scattershot vocals that teeter on the brink of hysteria — the kind of music that...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 29, 2012

Mariners defeat A's in 11th

Ichiro Suzuki was the center of attention from the time the Seattle Mariners arrived in Japan.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2012

Tanaka ratchets up SDF missile shield standby

Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka on Tuesday ordered the Self-Defense Forces to prepare missile shield elements to intercept a rocket North Korea plans to launch next month.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2012

Japanese-Americans continue to grapple with mixed legacy

For a long, quiet moment, a white-haired gentleman stood and gazed at the words engraved in a low granite wall. Few passersby noticed the memorial, tucked on a tiny patch of federal parkland near Union Station in Washington. But every time Grant Ichikawa returns to the spot and stands before the statue...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 27, 2012

Detainees' families fighting for dignity — and hugs

The East Japan Immigration Center, more commonly known as the Ushiku detention center, stands in the middle of sleepy countryside in Ibaraki Prefecture, 50 km north of Tokyo. With one of the world's tallest standing Buddha statues less than 3 km away, the center could have made a nice country getaway...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Mar 27, 2012

JET teacher outfoxes board, Dr. Savoie's Hague prescription: readers' responses

Some responses to Patrick Budmar's Feb. 28 Light Gist column, "Teacher outfoxes board, exposes bid to fleece JETs":
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 27, 2012

Shonan: What do you think about the government's plan to create citizen ID numbers for tax and other purposes?

Yoshihara, 45

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji