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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 24, 2012

Escaped-animal antics are good for ratings

One of the interesting factoids accompanying the escaped-penguin story that delighted the media for the last three months is that Japan has more penguins in captivity than any other country. Tokyo Sea Life Park, the facility from which the male Humboldt penguin in question made his break, has 135. The...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 15, 2012

'Act of Valor'

Ten minutes into "Act of Valor", I could practically hear the voice of Homer Simpson in my head, delivering his own critique of the movie: "Ooh, propatainment!"
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2012

Noda to tweak Cabinet to win tax hike votes

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Sunday he will reshuffle his Cabinet in a bid to win opposition support for his administration's unpopular tax hike bill.
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.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2012

Viable nuclear reactors down to 50

Kyodo The number of viable commercial nuclear reactors dropped to 50 from 54 on Friday, after four crippled units at the Fukushima No. 1 plant were officially classified as defunct the day before.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / WEEK 3
Apr 15, 2012

Legendary Chigusa jazz cafe reborn

A lot of people were left feeling blue after Chigusa, Japan's oldest jazz cafe, closed in 2007 when the Noge district of Yokohama where it had been serving Satchmo with its coffees since 1933 fell victim to developers.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 27, 2012

Tohoku in rebuilding bubble

As Tohoku struggles to rebuild from last year's quake and tsunami, money continues to pour into the region in the form of central government subsidies for cleanup, repair and reconstruction.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 22, 2012

Cutting-edge art in a tight spot

If you're in the mood for an abstruse, slightly puzzling moment, head to Naka-Meguro, one of Tokyo's acknowledged artistic odd spots, and get yourself to The Container: literally a metal cargo container — but one set in the midst of a hair salon. As soon as you arrive, you may be assailed by feelings...
CULTURE / Art
Mar 22, 2012

Cutting-edge art in a tight spot

If you're in the mood for an abstruse, slightly puzzling moment, head to Naka-Meguro, one of Tokyo's acknowledged artistic odd spots, and get yourself to The Container: literally a metal cargo container — but one set in the midst of a hair salon. As soon as you arrive, you may be assailed by feelings...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 13, 2012

Import tax: a complex, seemingly arbitrary minefield

Paula writes: "What are the rules regarding taxes placed on imported purchases — for example, a pair of boots? I live in Kobe and had to pay taxes of ¥5,400 for a ¥9,000 purchase. I paid more than half the cost of what I bought in taxes."
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 27, 2012

The first rule of writing ate-ji: There are no rules

As a general rule, kanji (Sino-Japanese ideographs) are classified in dictionaries according to two readings: kun-yomi (native Japanese) and on-yomi (approximation of the original Chinese pronunciation). For example, 東, the tō in 東京 (Tokyo), meaning "east," is an on-yomi that came from the Chinese...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 24, 2012

Yearly statistics put recession into slightly better focus

If it's February, it's time for the government to release its yearly economic statistics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 9, 2012

Goth-Trad hatches postdisaster pop

Talking with Takeaki Maruyama in a Tokyo cafe, I'm caught off guard when the dubstep artist better known as Goth-Trad suggests that his fourth and latest album is pop. When I let it sink in, though, I realize that "New Epoch" could in fact be the perfect postdisaster-pop album.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2012

Emails bare NRC's Fukushima chaos

In the confusion following the earthquake and tsunami that damaged the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear complex last March, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it was standing by to help.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2012

NRC briefed NISA on contingencies; Tepco in dark

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency in 2006 and 2008 received briefings from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on its contingency guideline for handling nuclear plants in case of a terrorist attack, which may have included detailed procedures to lower reactor pressure to avoid explosions, an...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 24, 2012

Tepco pole position may scupper land buy

Mr. A writes: "We are seriously considering buying a property (house and land) in a residential neighborhood. On a corner of and inside the property, Tepco installed a light pole several years ago, apparently under an agreement with the current owner. It is believed that a nominal payment from Tepco...
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2011

Absurd arrest rectified

Mr. Isamu Kaneko, a then Tokyo University researcher, developed the peer-to-peer file-sharing software Winny, and was arrested in May 2004 on suspicion of assisting with copyright violations.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2011

Glimpse of hope from Durban

The 17th Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17) held in Durban, South Africa, since Nov. 28 agreed Sunday to start work in 2012 to write a comprehensive treaty that will require both developed and developing countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. According...
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2011

Entire Olympus board to resign over loss coverup

Olympus Corp. said Wednesday all of its current board members will step down and new independent committees will determine the specific involvement of former and current executives in the company's coverup of huge losses.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 30, 2011

Cyclists piste at Tokyo police crackdown

Last month, comedian Mitsunori Fukuda was stopped and cited for riding a fixed-gear racing bike on a public street in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward. These bicycles, also known as "piste bikes," have become popular in the past few years, not so much as a conveyance but more as a fashion statement. They usually...
Reader Mail
Oct 9, 2011

Past opportunities for Palestine

Kevin Gaffney's Oct. 2 letter, "Effects of disenfranchisement," claims that Palestinian Arabs could "become citizens of their own nation through the United Nations as Israelis did, but that peaceful path has been blocked by, of all people, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, (U.S. President) Barack Obama."...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2011

Sage of Omaha could help Obama

President Barack Obama sure has been talking about Warren Buffett's taxes a lot lately. At his speech before a joint session of Congress this month, the president said that the billionaire shouldn't pay a higher tax rate than his secretary, a point Buffett has often made. The secretary's tax rate, and...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 17, 2011

American out to save boat-building art

Douglas Brooks is a man on a mission. A boat builder and craftsman originally from Connecticut, Brooks is committed to helping keep afloat the dying craft of traditional boat building in Japan.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Sep 6, 2011

'Sexlessness' wrecks marriages, threatens nation's future

In its cover story last month, The Economist newsmagazine looked at the issue of "Asia's lonely hearts: Why Asian women are rejecting marriage and what that means." It offered many reasons — including economics, education level, changes in family structures and gender roles, divorce difficulties, and...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 2, 2011

From the need to know to the need to share

At a time when government seems unable to address our most pressing problems, we are about to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks with rare evidence that Washington can work.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Aug 29, 2011

'Gratuitous' bombing of a defeated enemy

The International Center of Photography recently had an exhibition, "Hiroshima: Ground Zero 1945," and I attended the panel discussion. This month 66 years ago the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.