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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 15, 2015

A nose by any other name (or nationality) is as sweet

When I first came to Japan many years ago the thing that struck me the most was seeing people wearing what I thought were surgical masks in public places. Before that I had only ever seen people wearing them on American TV programs set in hospitals, or during my one experience as an in-patient when my...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 14, 2015

Infamous shareholder activist Murakami returns to fray in league with daughter

Yoshiaki Murakami, Japan's most famous activist shareholder before he was convicted of insider trading in 2007, is once again pressing the nation's companies and this time it's a family act.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2015

Japanese freelance reporter Jumpei Yasuda feared missing in Syria

A freelance reporter and close friend of Kenji Goto, the journalist executed by the Islamic State terrorist group in January, may be missing in the same country where his compatriot was beheaded.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 13, 2015

Famed director Miyazaki calls Abe's move to revise Constitution 'despicable'

Famed director Hayao Miyazaki made a rare public appearance Monday in Tokyo, but the one-hour news conference may not have satisfied fans of his magical animation: The subject wasn't movies but politics.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jul 13, 2015

Let's discuss safety on trains

There were calls for security checks to be instituted on users of bullet trains nationwide after a self-immolation on Tuesday left the perpetrator and one other passenger dead, and two people seriously injured.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 11, 2015

Consumers slow to embrace generic drugs

In May, the health ministry announced that it would set a new target for the use of generic pharmaceuticals. In 2013, 46.9 percent of the prescription drugs dispensed in Japan were generics, and at first the ministry said it wanted to raise this portion to 60 percent by 2017, but the Council on Economic...
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 10, 2015

144 local, prefectural governments release statements condemning security bills

Local opposition is growing to security bills that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes to push through the Lower House next week, with 144 prefectural, municipal and town governments releasing statements condemning the legislation as of Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2015

Nepali expat champions aid effort for quake-struck homeland

On April 25, Nepalese Bilam Karki was driving in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, when he learned about the catastrophic earthquake that had struck the central part of his home country, with the news spreading fast via social media.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 10, 2015

Rainy season dampens Uniqlo's sales forecast

Fast Retailing Co. raised doubt about meeting its own sales targets for Uniqlo casual wear sales in the current quarter as unseasonably cool weather dampened demand for summer items.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 9, 2015

LDP, DPJ take to Internet to mount security bill-related campaigns of persuasion

As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prepares to ram through legislation that would drastically alter Japan's security stance, both the LDP and DPJ are taking their arguments to the people — via a variety of online media.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2015

As Tokyo shrinks, Olympics may be last blast

Half a century ago, the Tokyo Olympics ushered in a golden age for Japan's capital, as industrial prowess made it the largest urban complex in history. Now the games are returning to mark the end of that growth.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 7, 2015

Abe aide says BOJ could ease more if Greece sends yen surging

The Bank of Japan could boost its monetary stimulus to address any surge in the yen triggered by the Greek crisis, though any fallout from Europe will probably be limited, said an aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 6, 2015

Signs seen of road widening for futuristic mobility

Japan is about to take a step into the future of personal mobility by easing government regulations so that Segways and similar vehicles can be driven on public thoroughfares.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2015

Failure of new U.S. weapons systems may be more than science fiction

There is a belief that the U.S. and China will never go to war because they are economically interdependent. But a closer look at history should worry everyone.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jul 6, 2015

V-League stars hit beach for special exhibition

The V-League players got out of the gym and hit the sand this past weekend.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jul 4, 2015

Sausages fire up venison campaign

These days, deer in Japan cause tremendous damage to fields, paddies, pastures, orchards, woodland and even wasabi water gardens. They are also wiping out many rare wild plants. Since the last known Japanese wolf was killed in Nara Prefecture in 1905, deer on these islands have had no natural predators....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 4, 2015

On mountain peaks and tourist trash

Discussing Mount Hayachine, ethnologist Kunio Yanagita observed that it stood on, "a somewhat different plane from the normal world." This could be a description of mountains in general, a landscape where we may experience nature in the raw, and even at times, a numinous presence.
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Jul 4, 2015

Could Hamp's detention reinforce prejudice?

The Metropolitan Police Department arrested Julie Hamp, Toyota Motor Corp.'s first female managing officer, on June 18 on suspicion of importing oxycodone, an opioid used to relieve pain. The drug is tightly controlled in Japan but can be imported into the country with a prescription if certain procedures...
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2015

METI eyes label-reading smartphone app for tourists

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Friday that it is planning to introduce a system for smartphones that allows visitors to Japan to get information in several languages on products they want to buy simply by scanning them.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 2, 2015

Haneda airport to be used as testing ground for robot technology

Tokyo's Haneda airport is set to become a testing ground for new robot technologies under a joint project announced Thursday by its operator and leading robot developer Cyberdyne Inc.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 2, 2015

Hotel Granvia's rooms to get contemporary makeovers during Art Osaka

Hotels have long been synonymous with artwork, as opposed to works of art: Much of what you'll encounter are replicas at best or just plain kitsch (ahh, the Eiffel Tower ... again).
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 2, 2015

Mega-banks plan riskier bond sales up to ¥4 trillion

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. plan to bolster their balance sheets by introducing bonds that offer investors enhanced returns at greater risk.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2015

Olympics minister says first task is to address stadium funding feud

The newly appointed minister of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games says his immediate priority is to build trust between the central government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government over funding the international sporting extravaganza.

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’