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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Apr 4, 2009

Nihonshu evangelist preaches heady mix of culture, taste

John Gauntner appreciates a great destination, but for him, it's really about the journey. With five books published on sake, and as the only non-Japanese to be recognized as a kikizake meijin (accomplished sake taster) for accuracy in sake tasting, Gauntner is widely considered the leading English-speaking...
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Apr 4, 2009

Childhood friends, partners for life

KYOTO — Dan Bertuzzi, 39, and his wife, Asuka, 31, have a relationship that's a fairy tale come true.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 3, 2009

Lost & Found

The discovery in a German archive of documents and photographs related to the Prussian mission to Japan in 1860-61 has shed new light on the early history of photography in Japan. In particular, newly uncovered letters and records help explain the mystery of why so few images from the well-equipped mission...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 3, 2009

Nonbank giant Orix seeking state loans

Orix Corp., Japan's biggest nonbank lender, is borrowing from the government as more loans to real estate companies turn bad and the cost of selling bonds rises.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 3, 2009

Pachinko bucks recession trend

In the smoky Maruhan gambling parlor near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, Shunichiro Nagasawa feeds a ¥1,000 bill into a pachinko machine, helping Japan's biggest gaming industry beat the recession and Las Vegas.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2009

Group of 20 too diverse to succeed

HONG KONG — Amid great fanfare, pestered by a rainbow alliance of protesters, and protected by almost blanket security costing $30 million for a mere seven hours of meetings and making London a virtual no-go area, the leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) countries meet this week, promising to restore hope...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2009

JR bans smoking at Tokyo-area stations

April marks the beginning of the business year, and for Tokyo-area train stations, a breath of fresher air.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Mar 31, 2009

Immigration pains; 'zombie debate' revisited

Japanese system worse Re: "I am not a Pakistani child bride (but the U.K. can't tell the difference)" (Hotline to Nagatacho, March 17):
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 31, 2009

Child porn hard to define, stop

Japan has a huge adult pornography market. But the country also has a reputation as a haven for child porn, with international human rights groups and governments including the United States all criticizing Tokyo for not doing enough to curb the spread of sexually graphic material that exploits children....
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Mar 31, 2009

Scots, fans pay tribute to national hero, poet at Burns birthday bash

The Scots language used in the poems and songs of Robert Burns may make them inaccessible to some, but their message of friendship and celebration remains universal nonetheless.
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2009

Crashing demand in U.S., Europe drives down auto output 56%

Toyota Motor Corp. led a 56 percent decline in February vehicle production by Japanese automakers because of slumping demand in the U.S. and Europe, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 29, 2009

'Moshi-moshi' recession

You know times are hard when Japanese start giving up their cell phones! The number of cell-phone shipments in Japan have dropped by nearly half since last year, according to a recent industry report. That is no small drop since Japanese cell-phone users are estimated to be over 110 million, or about...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Mar 29, 2009

Hold the SOS call on the Japanese language

Will the Japanese language die, crushed by the onslaught of English? This question has set off some heated talk in Japan recently because of a book suggesting that it may. First, a friend of mine in Tokyo, a member of a small reading club, told me about it. Then another friend wrote to say the book became...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 29, 2009

Between modernism and modanizumu

When reading William J. Tyler's anthology, "Modanizumu: Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913-1938," one realizes that "modanizumu" (modernism) is a very broad term. It seems to mean, for Tyler anyway, any work produced during the years he designates that is not absolutely reactionary in its style or concerns....
CULTURE / Books
Mar 29, 2009

Between modernism and modanizumu

MODANIZUMU: Modernist Fiction From Japan, 1913-1938, compiled and edited by William J. Tyler. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2008, 605 pp., $47 (cloth). When reading William J. Tyler's anthology, "Modanizumu: Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913-1938," one realizes that "modanizumu" (modernism)...
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2009

SDF gets intercept order

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered the Self-Defense Forces on Friday to shoot down any part of a North Korean rocket that might fall toward Japanese territory.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 28, 2009

From a shady past to helping others

Kabukicho is Tokyo's infamous entertainment district and suburb of sleaze. A heavily populated square of sleepless activity northeast of Shinjuku Station, it is home to a haphazard mix of movie theaters, hostess bars, strip clubs, and seedy nightclubs. An illicit atmosphere permeates the air.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2009

Tohoku on alert for North Korean rocket debris

Akita Prefecture resident Ritsuko Sasaki is resigned to the possibility that a part of the rocket North Korea is expected to launch early next month could come crashing down in her area.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2009

As slump bites deeper, shoppers warm to no-name foreign gadgets

The recession is causing a massive consumer shift: No longer do Japan's famously finicky and brand-conscious shoppers assume imported and no-name electronics are as cheap in quality as they are in price.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2009

Slump hits demand for haute couture

The first model to walk the runway during Japan Fashion Week strutted her stuff in the nude. She was also a robot — a high-tech gimmick in a fashion world struggling to retain attention as the global economy staggers through recession.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2009

Piracy and the Constitution

Once again the issue of Japanese contributions to international security efforts is the subject of tortured debate. And once again the proposed government policy, and aspects of the debate itself, reveals fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between Article 9 of the Constitution and the relevant...
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2009

A little lift from baseball

Team Japan, dubbed Samurai Japan, beat Team Korea (South Korea) 5-3 in the final game Monday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles to win its second consecutive title in the triennial World Baseball Classic.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2009

Japanese whiskey talk of town

Toru Itakura sipped whiskey from plastic cups as showgirls cavorted, bagpipes played and a little bit of Scotland came to Tokyo at a sampling for connoisseurs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2009

Toyota aims to keep hybrid pole position

OYAMACHO, Shizuoka Pref. — Pushing the pedal to the metal, the machine quickly raced to 70 kph on the short circuit at legendary Fuji Speedway as if it was personally attacking the standard image that hybrids are sluggish off the mark.
Reader Mail
Mar 26, 2009

End harassment of foreigners

Regarding the March 17 "Views from the Street" question "What changes would you like to see to Japan's immigration policies?": Families should not be separated. There should be alternative punishments to deportation. Immigration laws should encourage Japanese married to foreigners to stay together; immigration...
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2009

Exports plunged 49.4% in February

Japan's exports plunged a record 49.4 percent in February, the largest drop since at least 1980, as deepening recessions in the U.S. and Europe sapped demand for cars and electronics.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic