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COMMENTARY
Jul 14, 2011

The blame goes beyond a tabloid

After 168 years of titillating Britons over breakfast, the News of the World has closed. Last Sunday's edition was the tabloid's last. Allegations of police bribery and phone tapping by Britain's best-selling newspaper were met with public outrage. But are these revelations really so surprising?
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2011

GE plan followed with inflexibility

Second of two parts
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2011

A daughter of dictatorship and democracy

It is something of a cliché question in South Korea nowadays: Who would be the country's next president if the election were held tomorrow, rather than in December 2012?
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2011

Kan plan set to end nuke goals

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday the administration plans to propose a new energy policy "in the near future" and that the current goal of increasing dependency of nuclear power to 53 percent by 2030 needs to be abandoned.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2011

Life term urged for Ichihashi

Prosecutors demanded Tuesday life in prison for Tatsuya Ichihashi over the March 2007 rape and murder of English teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 12, 2011

Son's quest for sun, wind has nuclear interests wary

In late March, while engaging in volunteer work and making efforts to restore telecommunications networks in the quake-stricken Tohoku region, Softbank Corp. founder and Chairman Masayoshi Son met with evacuees from the area surrounding the troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 11, 2011

Realists and idealists on the cost of adopting renewable energy

If the Renewable Energy Act passes, what will it mean to your electricity bill?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 10, 2011

Japan's attention to detail is all in the delivery

While in California recently, I saw a reality program called "Undercover Boss," in which the president of a company disguises himself as a new hire and works beside his frontline employees. The boss thus comes to appreciate how important those people are to the success of his business. At the end of...
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2011

Kaieda takes flak, vows to stay on

Industry minister Banri Kaieda denied Friday he intends to resign anytime soon after he said he would "take responsibility" for the administration's flip-flop on whether to fire up idled nuclear reactors.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2011

Genkai mayor withdraws OK for two reactors' restart

Genkai Mayor Hideo Kishimoto on Thursday officially retracted his controversial decision to approve the rebooting of two reactors at the Genkai nuclear plant and slammed the central government for ordering "stress tests" out of the blue following weeks of assurances about reactor safety.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BY THE GLASS
Jul 8, 2011

Kusuda makes NZ wine his own way

Pinot Noir is one of the world's most challenging grapes: Sensitive to frost and rot, this thin-skinned varietal really tests the limits of a winemaker's skill. But tenacious winemaker Hiroyuki Kusuda wouldn't have it any other way. This Japanese national has fought against the odds to set up his own...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 7, 2011

Ming Wong re-casts classics to reveal our roles in modern society

Brightly colored billboards, draped curtains and theater seats have transformed the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, into a cinematic space. But there are no feature films being screened here — this is Singaporean artist Ming Wong's first solo show in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / INSIDE ART
Jul 7, 2011

Public to benefit from art indemnity system

If you've ever thought that the ¥1,500 admission ticket at the average touring exhibition in Tokyo is too expensive, consider this: The cost of insuring artworks for trips to Japan is around 0.2 percent of their appraised value.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 7, 2011

TCY Radio aims to revive club scene

Aside from being one half of successful J-pop duo m-flo, Taku Takahashi is also one of the most established DJs in Japan's club scene. So when Takahashi talks dance music — people listen. Just as well, as that's exactly what he's doing with his latest project, the online station TCY Radio.
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2011

Ichihashi denies intent to kill Hawker

Tatsuya Ichihashi pleaded not guilty Monday to premeditated murder in the 2007 slaying of Briton Lindsay Ann Hawker, 22, although he admitted raping her and hiding her corpse on his apartment balcony.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jul 5, 2011

Disunited 'English-speaking diaspora' bites back

The Community Page received a large number of emails in response to Debito Arudou's June 7 Just Be Cause column, headlined " 'English-speaking diaspora' should unite, not backbite."
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 4, 2011

Today's youth have it hard, but is it worse than before?

Young people the world over are stuck with the world as it is, a world they had no hand in making. From the sidelines they blame their elders for this stupidity and that, and vow to do better when their turn comes, only to find, for the most part, that youthful risōshugi (理想主義, idealism) dies...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 3, 2011

Antinuke stance within establishment slowly gathers steam

In May, Wakamono Manifest Sakutei Iinkai, a policy research group dedicated to issues relevant to people under 40, posted results of a survey in which members were asked who they wanted to lead Japan. There was no consensus, but the individual who received the most votes was Liberal Democratic Party...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 3, 2011

Japan needs to do more than simply 'cope' with stress

What's ailing us? The list is long. In a nutshell: stress. Sixty percent of Japan's work force suffers from it, according to the business magazine Weekly Toyo Keizai.
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2011

Defiant Tepco rallies utilities around future of nuke power

Tokyo Electric Power Co. led utilities in rallying around a nuclear future, defying growing public opposition to atomic energy amid the Fukushima No. 1 plant accident.
Reader Mail
Jun 30, 2011

Differences in experiencing grief

In his June 12 Counterpoint article, "Barber's cutting comment denies others' humanity — and hers, too," Roger Pulvers lamented his young Korean barber's stereotypical and dehumanizing view of the Japanese and her inability to see other cultures from any viewpoint other than her own.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2011

Atomic power to stay, Kepco tells investors

Kansai Electric Power Co. told shareholders Wednesday it will stick with and boost nuclear power, its main source of juice, and alternatives such as solar, wind and thermal energy would be a smaller part of the overall future mix.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jun 30, 2011

Every day we're schaffeling: What Girls Generation are doing right

A big part of what has made the current wave of South Korean idol pop so successful in Japan is obviously the image. K-pop's often crass objectification of young women makes for a welcome break from J-pop's often crass objectification of barely pubescent girls. However, laughable though we may find...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 30, 2011

An artist caught in the moment

Why isn't Yukihiro Taguchi in jail?

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes