Search - japan

 
 
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 17, 2012

Nippon Ishin falls short, readies for next race

Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) picked up only 54 seats in the Lower House election, a far cry from the hundreds of seats party leaders had hoped for.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 17, 2012

For Tokyo, Osaka voters, election revolved around economy

The multitude of parties and issues on the table Sunday made it difficult for voters to make up their minds, according to those who spoke with The Japan Times on the streets of Tokyo and Osaka.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Dec 16, 2012

Beware: Devil birds at work in the woods

The final months of the year seem something of an afterthought following the delightful palette of autumn colors; they offer only fickle moods and fickle weather.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / WEEK 3
Dec 16, 2012

Pyongyang offers a rare 'real' photo opportunity

Most images of North Korea appearing in the media express just a few aspects of that country — namely, repression, militarism, poverty, backwardness, gloom.
Reader Mail
Dec 16, 2012

China doesn't respect diplomacy

Regarding the Dec. 11 editorial "Hawkish approach won't help": It is beyond my ability to imagine how diplomacy can deter China from expanding its empire. Since 1949 the Chinese (under Mao Zedong as well as Chiang Kai-shek) have occupied one piece of territory after another: Tibet, east Turkistan, east...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 16, 2012

Otani made right decision by choosing to play for Fighters

So, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters got a nice Christmas present with the decision by 18-year-old fire-balling right-handed pitcher Shohei Otani to play for the defending Pacific League championship club rather than head straight for a career in the major leagues. From this point of view, the boy did...
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Dec 16, 2012

Coal mine explosion, Nanking falls, economy grows 14 percent, whalers depart despite protests

A part of the Mount Yubari coal mine in Hokkaido exploded at 10 a.m. Monday, possibly trapping up to 238 workers.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 15, 2012

Idled reactors' fate holds center stage in nuclear hub Fukui

On a snowy afternoon just a few days before the general election, local politicians and many residents of Fukui Prefecture were in a state of shock and wondering what the future holds, after a team of nuclear experts declared it is highly likely that a fault under the Tsuruga nuclear plant's reactor...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 15, 2012

'Face of election' Kawamura of Nagoya now the odd man out

After deciding not to run in this weekend's Lower House poll, Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura's status as the "face of the election" has faded and his frustration is clearly growing.
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2012

An election that really matters

The results of the Lower House election to be held on Sunday will have a great impact on the future and general posture of Japan as well as Japan's standing in the international community. Voters cannot be too careful in deciding which party to support.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 14, 2012

Dismayed Tohoku faces first post-3/11 poll

A mere 15 minutes before Azuma Konno, a Democratic Party of Japan candidate running in Sunday's Lower House election, was set to make a stump speech in front of JR Sendai Station last Friday evening, a 7.4-magnitude quake struck deep off Miyagi's shore, flooding one coastal district with 1-meter-high...
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2012

Coast guard needs more ships, sailors amid protracted isle-row: commandant

The Senkaku dispute is likely to drag on for a long time, the commandant of the Japan Coast Guard said Thursday, stressing the need for more manpower and better equipment to deal with the increasing confrontations with China.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2012

Detecting active faults near reactors

A five-member team of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority decided Nov. 10 that there is a strong possibility that a "crush zone" of small rocks and sediment running beneath the No. 2 reactor of Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tsuruga nuclear power plant is an active fault. The team's conclusion is based on a two-day...
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2012

Defiant North Korea launches rocket

Despite earlier reported technological problems and severe winter weather, North Korea successfully launched a long-range rocket Wednesday over the Pacific, the second stage of which fell 300 km east of the Philippines.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Dec 13, 2012

Significant leap for Pyongyang missile tech

North Korea's successful launch of a long-range rocket, in the face of international opposition, indicates Pyongyang has taken a major step in its effort to develop a missile capable of reaching the U.S. West Coast, which would give the hermit nation a significant bargaining chip to use against Washington....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2012

Kan's plight encapsulates DPJ's plunge from grace since '09

Two days into the campaign for the Lower House election, former Prime Minister Naoto Kan made a stump speech last Thursday at Fuchu Station in his western Tokyo constituency.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 11, 2012

Former Colorado linebacker Beatty Jr. finds new life with Seagulls

Speaking on the field with a chilly breeze blowing in early December, Obic Seagulls defensive end Byron Beatty Jr. joked that it was actually like "a nice day in Colorado."
EDITORIALS
Dec 11, 2012

Hawkish approach won't help

One major issue in the campaign for the Dec. 16 Lower House election is the diplomatic dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Some politicians and others on the Japanese side are taking a hawkish stance, but such an approach will only harden attitudes on the Chinese side,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 9, 2012

Liberals left behind in turn to the right

The Latin morpheme liber (free) has a lot to answer for. Take the word "liberal," which represented a fairly clear political position until American "conservatives" demonized it. But liberals are not "libertarians." The former are seen to favor government schemes that guarantee the welfare of the populace...
JAPAN / ELECTION 2012
Dec 7, 2012

Many voices but no clear messages

With so many parties — and their seemingly mix-and-match policy positions — vying in the Dec. 16 Lower House election, voters are facing a difficult choice. Even so, all the sudden mergers and policy rejiggering suggest the new parties would be no better than their predecessors at breaking the tradition...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 7, 2012

Classical music concert raises cash for charity

Got a spare ¥4,000? With that small sum you could not only enjoy a live rendition of Johann Sebastian Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" or George Frideric Handel's "Messiah" but at the same time you could provide four Sudanese refugee families each with a set of tools for farming. If you've got a spare ¥10,000,...

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