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EDITORIALS
Jun 26, 2013

Mr. Obama rekindles nuclear dream

Japan, despite its reliance on the U.S. nuclear umbrella, must emphasize to the U.S. that it supports international agreements to reduce nuclear arsenals.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2013

Relaxed visa program for Southeast Asian visitors starts

The government will relax visa requirements for visitors from Southeast Asian countries starting Monday, hoping to lure more travelers from fast-growing economies to spur economic growth.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2013

Suntory ¥388 billion drinks IPO priced at low end

Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd. is set to raise as much as ¥388.1 billion in Japan's biggest initial public offering this year after pricing near the low end of its range as volatile markets curbed demand.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 26, 2013

Disaster-relief volunteer networks are essential

Takashi Yamamoto, 42, president of Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Center, is Japan's leading expert on volunteer disaster-relief activities. In 1995, when he was a staffer of the educational cruise ship Peace Boat, Yamamoto began working on disaster relief for Kobe after the Great Hanshin Earthquake...
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 25, 2013

Day traders creating, exploiting volatility

Sitting before a cluster of computer screens in an apartment with the drapes shut, it took Naoki Murakami seconds to make $3,500 betting $1 million that Tokyo Electric Power Co. shares would fall a fraction of a percent.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 25, 2013

A year on, what you should already know about residence cards and re-entry

Reader CW writes: "I've lived here 35 years and am a permanent resident. Recently I met an American who had just returned through Tokyo immigration and all the information about his work, residence and visa status was on his card but not on his passport. The passport had not been endorsed. Why is Japan...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 24, 2013

Lions' Kikuchi emerging as one of NPB's top pitchers

Yusei Kikuchi might be in the major leagues right now if he'd chosen differently.
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 23, 2013

Yokohama defender Dutra turning back time as he nears 40

Yokohama F. Marinos left-back Dutra will celebrate his 40th birthday before the current J. League season is over, but that does not mean he intends to shift down a gear anytime soon.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 23, 2013

'Hate speech' in the media, but not the legal code

This writer, on previous occasions, has expressed irritation over the recent tendency for the vernacular media to rely heavily on English borrowings for neologisms with socially negative connotations, such as sexual harassment, stalking and domestic violence — to name three examples.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 23, 2013

North Korea occupies Fukuoka in Murakami's alternate world

Not to be confused with another famous Japanese novelist who has the same surname, Ryu Murakami is known for being an overtly political, even subversive, writer. "From the Fatherland, With Love," his latest novel to be translated into English, cements that reputation. Taking place in an alternate world...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 23, 2013

Happiness: Abenomics falls short

What makes people happy? The global trend toward quantifying happiness certainly got a big boost from Bhutan, the tiny Himalayan kingdom that has championed and made a cottage industry out of the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH).
Reader Mail
Jun 23, 2013

Various languages merit study

I would like to comment on Gary Henscheid's June 16 letter, "Improving English education." I fully support his suggestions to make English an elective and to have the education ministry expand programs for studying abroad.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 22, 2013

To be or not to be? — they simply can't decide

Japan is often criticized for the time it takes to make decisions. The government drags on making decisions from natural disasters to nuclear power and whether to allow gambling casinos.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 21, 2013

Project prods jobless young to test strengths

Only two years after establishing a company in 2005, young entrepreneur Yujun Wakashin found himself in an unexpected predicament: his co-founder and employees ganged up on him, ousting him from his own firm.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 20, 2013

For a nonverbal theater group, The Original Tempo has a lot to say

"The Yellow Raincoat Squad' is charming and engaging. This is another one of those productions that defies description but is a must-see for all ages," wrote Catherine Lamm in The British Theatre Guide in August, 2009. Lamm was reviewing one of Japan's best-kept theatrical secrets: The Original Tempo...
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2013

San Francisco hits sex-slave remarks; Hashimoto defiant

Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Toru Hashimoto remained defiant Wednesday in the face of a fresh round of domestic and international criticism over his comments that Japan's wartime "comfort women" system of sex slavery was necessary at the time.
EDITORIALS
Jun 20, 2013

Global warming danger zone

The Japanese general public's interest in the global warming issue has been sagging of late, and few LDP government leaders appear ready to try to prop it up.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2013

Cyber-snooping only one side of the information war

Efforts by the NSA and others to find out what we are thinking have long been matched by black- or gray-information programs to tell us what we should think.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 18, 2013

Democracy, interrupted: How local voices were silenced in Tokyo's first referendum

On Sunday, May 26, something quite remarkable happened in Kodaira city, western Tokyo: Over 50,000 citizens voted in Tokyo's very first local referendum (jūmin tōhyō) on the issue of whether a 50-year-old plan to construct a road should be reviewed or not.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Jun 18, 2013

Mr. Mayor, tear down this smoking area and make Toshima a true 'safe community'

To Yukio Takano, Mayor of Toshima Ward, Tokyo:
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jun 18, 2013

Why workers can no longer wear their demands on their sleeves

Dear reader, where are you from? To what era do you belong? I was born in 1971 in Japan and grew up here, too, but I've never — in all my years visiting hotels, restaurants, shops or government offices — seen workers wearing vests, armbands, badges, ribbons or bandanas with political messages. I've...

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