Search - japan

 
 
EDITORIALS
Jun 8, 2012

Lessons from the Battle of Midway

Seventy years have passed since the Imperial Japanese Navy was severely battered by the U.S. Navy in the Battle of Midway on June 4-7, 1942. With the loss of four fleet aircraft carriers, many aircraft and its most experienced air crews, Japan lost its dominance and strategic initiative in the Pacific,...
Reader Mail
Jun 7, 2012

What need for missionaries?

Regarding Catherine Wallace's May 31 letter, "Japan's access to Christianity": Does it matter whether Japan had access to Western Christianity in the 16th century or in 1945, when Japan is historically a Buddhist country?
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jun 5, 2012

At times, there's no getting away from the neighbors

The house we were inspecting in Shiroi, Chiba Prefecture, looked better and larger in the photos that the realtor had posted on its website. Those pictures had been taken with a wide angle lens at the eastern side of the house, which bordered a leafy promenade. To the north and south of the house, however,...
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2012

Domestic output at high risk: Toyoda

Unless competitive barriers such as the strong yen and high corporate tax are eased as soon as possible, the nation's automakers may not be able to keep building cars in Japan, newly appointed Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Chairman Akio Toyoda said Monday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 5, 2012

Zaccheroni reveals players' nerves before victory over Oman

National team manager Alberto Zaccheroni admits the importance of making a strong start to the final round of qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup was weighing on his players' mind ahead of Sunday's 3-0 win over Oman.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 4, 2012

A hot genpatsu-free summer threatens

Two things make a battered Japan cringe: genpatsu (原発, nuclear power) and fukeiki (不景気, economic stagnation). The nation has suffered deeply from both. As spring fades into a potentially sweltering, potentially stagnant summer, there arises an agonizing dilemma: Can the latter be avoided, or...
EDITORIALS
Jun 4, 2012

Married women want to work

Married women want to work, according to a government survey that will form the basis for a 2012 white paper on children, child rearing and mothers. The survey results, released early, show an astounding 86 percent of women want to continue working after having children, though most find it almost impossible...
OLYMPICS
Jun 3, 2012

Kitajima knows third Olympic sweep won't come easy

Sustained excellence makes a small number of Olympic athletes a special group.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 3, 2012

Making a life after surviving the war

My Postwar Life: New Writings From Japan and Okinawa, edited by Elizabeth McKenzie. Chicago Quarterly Review Books, 324 pp., $19.95 (hardcover) The first entry in this new anthology begins with the blackened image of a watch, its hands stalled at 11:02 a.m., the precise moment of atomic implosion in...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 3, 2012

Hashimoto: A man with a plan, or dictator with an agenda?

Thirty years ago, while a program director at NHK, Nobuo Ikeda oversaw a panel discussion on the merits of adopting a federated political system. Among the panelists were several influential politicians, including Morihiro Hosokawa, then-governor of Kumamoto Prefecture and later prime minister, and Takahiro...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jun 3, 2012

Wood you believe how good school could be . . .

Since 1980, I have made my home in Shinano, a town in northern Nagano Prefecture. However, in articles, letters and speeches, I refer to this area as Kurohime, the name of our local train station and of the great, dormant, densely forested volcano that looks down on us. I prefer to say my home is in...
Reader Mail
Jun 3, 2012

Talk about a drag on the economy

Regarding the May 31 Kyodo article "Aging population a drag on economy: Shirakawa": Isn't Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa forgetting something? The very same aging demographic whom he bemoans for being a "drag" on the economy built a world-class economy during the 1960s and 1970s!
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 1, 2012

Beer lovers to start summer with new brew

For beer lovers, this weekend could be considered the official kick-off to summer — or, patio season.
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2012

Citigroup selling fund for regional banks to hedge their JGB exposure

Citigroup Inc. has started selling a fund for regional banks to hedge against the risk of a decline in the value of their government bond holdings as the national debt swells.
Reader Mail
May 31, 2012

One way to hide power lines

Regarding the May 26 article "Renewable energy quest to tap ocean-based sources": I am delighted that the government is planning to tap ocean-based energy sources. I fear that the article does a disservice in calling out wind power as an example. Tides and temperature differences are much more predictable....
EDITORIALS
May 31, 2012

AEC's dubious behavior

It has surfaced that the Cabinet Offices's Atomic Energy Commission, in the course of its review of Japan's nuclear fuel cycle policy, has held a series of closed-door study meetings attended by insiders in the nation's nuclear power establishment. These meetings were separate from the official meetings...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 29, 2012

New feed-in tariff system a rush to get renewables in play

On July 1, a new law takes effect requiring utilities to purchase electricity generated from five renewable energy sources at a fixed price for a set length of time, under what is known as a feed-in tariff system.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 29, 2012

Safe blood requires strict, and detailed, standards

In last week's column, several people living in Japan explained that whether they were able to donate blood was primarily determined by health or safety concerns rather than Japanese language ability, which we originally discussed in our April 3 column, "Less-than-fluent foreigners may have trouble giving...
Reader Mail
May 27, 2012

The road to a volunteer culture

Regarding the May 18 editorial "Helping people help NPOs": With more companies concerned about corporate social responsibility, this is a great time to start encouraging companies to cooperate with the operations of nongovernmental organizations. I just came back from Japan after living there through...
BUSINESS
May 26, 2012

Toyota plots major push in emerging markets

Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday it plans to boost compact car sales tenfold in emerging markets by 2015 by adding seven new models and boosting local production and procurement in countries where rising wages are boosting demand.

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’