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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 5, 2012

How not to climb Mount Fuji

If you're considering trekking Mount Fuji this year, look sharp — just four weeks remain of the official open season. But if you're making last-minute plans for an ascent of those conical 3,776 meters, think carefully about what you're taking on. Unless, that is, you've always pictured yourself summiting...
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2012

Two killers hanged, in Tokyo and Osaka

Two death-row inmates were hanged Friday, in Tokyo and Osaka, in the second round of executions this year after three men went to the gallows in March.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 4, 2012

Cataclysmic circumstances lead to neko strike

Fed up with long working hours, minimal job security and paltry remuneration in Japan's depressed economy, maneki neko cats all over Japan are going on strike.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Aug 4, 2012

Atomic bomb survivor credits desire to learn for living 'four lives'

Yuuki Yoshida, 80, divides his lifetime into four different "lives," but he has lived each of them by following one maxim: "Try to learn as if you were to live forever, and live as if you were to die tomorrow."
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2012

DPJ split on central bank buying foreign bonds

Divisions are appearing in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan over the proposal for the central bank to purchase foreign currency bonds a week before policymakers meet to assess whether to apply more stimulus.
COMMENTARY
Aug 3, 2012

Pushing Seoul-Tokyo forward

There is an old Russian proverb that applies to current Japan-South Korea (ROK) relations: "Forget the past and lose an eye; dwell on the past and lose both eyes!"
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2012

Goldman led all foreign banks in domestic job-cutting blitz

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. led major foreign banks in Japan in accelerating job cuts last fiscal year as employees relocated to other Asian financial centers and firms trimmed costs to cope with a worldwide industry slump.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2012

Avoid buying foreign currency bonds, BOJ told

The Bank of Japan should reject calls for it to buy foreign currency bonds to weaken the yen because such a move would hurt its independence, said Makoto Utsumi, a former top currency official.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jul 31, 2012

Gawking children are tolerable, but adults have no excuse

Belated readers' responses to "Parents, please keep your kids away from me at feeding time" by Christy Bridgeman (Hotline to Nagatacho, May 22) and J. Bradley Bulsterbaum's letter on the subject, "Cut gaijin-gawking children some slack — it's how they learn" (Have Your Say, June 26):
Reader Mail
Jul 29, 2012

Osprey safety issue a canard

Concerning the July 24 front-page article "Ospreys reach Iwakuni; protest held": I think those opposed to the Osprey's deployment are being foolish and disingenuous. I feel for Okinawans, who carry the heaviest burden among Japan's prefectures in hosting U.S. military facilities. But right now, that's...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 29, 2012

When being first class only gets you a seat in economy

Thanks to international media coverage, everybody in the world is now convinced that the Japan Olympic Committee is sexist. When two of Japan's national soccer teams recently flew to Europe prior to participating in the Olympics, the women's squad was placed in the premium economy section (¥470,000)...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 29, 2012

Vancouver fest offers a warm (but not humid!) welcome

Summers in Tokyo, indeed in most of Japan except for Hokkaido or Okinawa, are often unbearably hot and humid, with temperatures in the mid to high 30s and humidity reaching as high as 90 percent. This summer, in the wake of last year's Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown, use of air conditioning will...
CULTURE / Books
Jul 29, 2012

Effect of spiritual force on the post-3/11 crisis

This Precious Life: Buddhist Tsunami Relief and Anti-Nuclear Activism in Post 3/11 Japan, by Jonathan S. Watts. International Buddhist Exchange Center, 2012, 208 pp., $10.00 (paperback) T he response of the Japanese people to the triple catastrophe of March 2011 won global admiration. The deeply ingrained...
EDITORIALS
Jul 28, 2012

The joy of the Olympic Games

Queen Elizabeth II opens the 2012 Olympics on Saturday Japan time (Friday local time). This is the third time that London hosts the Olympics. This year's Olympic Games mark the 30th modern Olympics since the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896.
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2012

Nagai taking over as Nomura CEO signals global retreat

Nomura Holdings Inc.'s appointment of domestic brokerage head Koji Nagai as the new chief signals a retrenchment into its home market as Japan's biggest investment bank reels from the insider-trading scandal and losses abroad.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 27, 2012

'Madagascar' director Darnell returns to complete his trilogy

After a four-year wait, the third installment in DreamWorks Animation's "Madagascar" series will screen this summer in Japan. Opening Aug. 1, "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" is directed by Eric Darnell, who also made the first two films.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / MIXED MATCHES
Jul 24, 2012

Psychology, counseling interests unite couple

Japanese-American John Shiomi, 40, and his wife, Misako, 32, met in the city of Fukuoka in January last year. Misako had posted a message about wanting a friend in the online version of Fukuoka Now, a free publication for foreigners in the area.
EDITORIALS
Jul 24, 2012

Osprey's arrival foments distrust

Twelve MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft were unloaded from a transport ship at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture on Monday amid protest from Iwakuni's conservative Mayor Yoshihiko Fukuda and local residents. After confirming its safety, Tokyo and Washington plan to start...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 24, 2012

How I learned to stop worrying and embrace the atom

Like millions of other people in Japan, I watched the events of March 2011 unfurl with shock and trepidation. The massive earthquake, the terrible tsunami and then what seemed to be a dreadful nuclear disaster.
OLYMPICS
Jul 23, 2012

Costas' criticism sparks discussion over tributes

Should the International Olympic Committee permit individuals or groups to make political statements during the Olympics?
Reader Mail
Jul 22, 2012

Beware a September surprise

As the government of Japan continues to stumble over Nagata-cho politics, fumble away the Senkaku Islands and bumble the introduction of the MV-22 Osprey aircraft to Japan, it may soon find itself isolated from its people, the international community and its only alliance partner, the United States....
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Jul 22, 2012

Shisaku

Shisaku is a homophone meaning essay, a meditation upon a subject, a policy or measures a government takes. A fitting title for analyst Michael Cucek's blog which provides insight and opinion on Japanese politics, with a distinct hint of satire. In the eight years he's been writing the blog, Shisaku...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 22, 2012

A century of Tokyo taxis

The year 1912 is recorded in Japan both as the 45th year of Meiji Era and the first year of the Taisho Era. After a protracted illness, Emperor Mutsuhito expired, age 61, on the night of July 29 (although the official announcement came the next day). Through the remainder of the summer, the front pages...
BASEBALL
Jul 21, 2012

JPBPA unanimously votes to boycott WBC

The Japan Professional Baseball Players Association decided against participating in the next edition of the World Baseball Classic during a meeting on Friday in Osaka.
Reader Mail
Jul 19, 2012

High cost of a solar power plan

Does Michael Hoffman's July 15 Big in Japan article, "Aging village shows the way with switch to solar," really demonstrate the viability of solar power? Let's do the math:

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