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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 8, 2011

Seifuku Kojo Iinkai ditch the idol prattle for an antinuke message

It's the kind of protest song you'd expect from hardened punks or political rappers — not seven high school girls in synchronized dance.
COMMENTARY
Sep 8, 2011

China turns up the heat

As Chinese President Hu Jintao greeted his Philippine counterpart Benigno Aquino in Beijing recently at the start of a state visit, the official Xinhua news agency laid out terms for a sustained improvement in relations between the world's second biggest economy and its much smaller and weaker Southeast...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 6, 2011

China, U.S. both high on strategic agenda: Genba

While Japan's alliance with the United States benefits the stability of the Asia-Pacific region, close ties with China will also be needed if Japan wants to reap the benefits of its neighbor's booming economy, new Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 2011

World's biggest blog obsession

Internet users in Japan spend more time reading blogs than any other country in the world, according to a recent study from comScore, a research company measuring the digital world. The average Japanese user spent 62.6 minutes reading blogs during June of this year, when the survey was conducted.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 5, 2011

National child allowance threatened by rebuilding cost

Kodomo teate (子供手当て, child allowance) is a benign, beneficent social policy rooted in horror, having first seen the light of day in certain European countries that had been dangerously depopulated by World War I.
EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 2011

Working holiday anniversary

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the working holiday system in Japan. The program has enabled 20,000 young Japanese a year to live and work abroad, gaining valuable experience and broadening their point of view, but that number should be more. The re-energized attitudes and global outlooks that...
EDITORIALS
Sep 4, 2011

Test awaits Mr. Noda's Cabinet

New Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda inaugurated his Cabinet Friday. Its lineup and the composition of the Democratic Party of Japan leadership point to his utmost efforts to ensure unity in the ruling party, which has suffered from conflict between forces supporting former DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa and forces...
Reader Mail
Sep 4, 2011

Baby boomers serve a purpose

Regarding the Aug. 28 editorial "Global citizen Haruki Murakami": I was born in the generation after Japan's dankai (baby boomers), whose enormous population and aggressive self-assertion always overwhelmed us. They were always arguing that they would someday change not only Japan but also the world....
SOCCER / World cup
Sep 4, 2011

Zaccheroni maintains confidence, trust in players

National team manager Alberto Zaccheroni insists he never lost faith in his team's ability to score after a last-gasp Maya Yoshida goal gave Japan a winning start to its 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign against North Korea on Friday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 4, 2011

Year-round playground Yamanashi

In all of my visits to Yamanashi Prefecture, never before has catching sight of Mount Fuji left my heart beating so fast. Certainly, any view of that lofty symbol of Japan is sure to impart a sense of awe at its scale and natural beauty. But this time, it was the 121-degree freefall right after my fleeting...
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2011

Yasukuni stance takes practical shift

In a major U-turn, new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Friday that neither he nor any of his Cabinet ministers will make official visits to controversial Yasukuni Shrine, reversing his previous position that visits by national leaders should be not be considered problematic.
EDITORIALS
Sep 2, 2011

Protection of cyberspace

Countering attacks on computer networks has become an important security issue for governments. On July 15, the U.S. Defense Department announced a strategy to harden American computer systems against cyberattacks.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2011

Noda oversaw biggest yen intervention since 2004

Incoming Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda oversaw Japan's biggest currency intervention in seven years last month as finance minister, but he may have to take even bolder steps to rein in the yen.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 1, 2011

Kusama: Quite dotty, but very avant-garde

Yayoi Kusama's art fully emerged in a big way when she moved from Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, to New York in 1959. Despite the obstacles — she suffered from mental problems and was an unknown Japanese female artist in a milieu dominated by white male artists and critics — by the second half of...
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2011

Toshiba, Hitachi, Sony to create top global LCD firm

Sony Corp., Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan announced Wednesday a plan to merge their operations and create the biggest company in the global market for small and medium-size liquid crystal displays, which are used in products such as smartphones and tablet computers....
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Sep 1, 2011

Zaccheroni must build upon strong start, be wary of rivals

Alberto Zaccheroni's first year as national team manager could hardly have been more successful, but that does not mean the Italian can expect to stroll through Japan's opening World Cup qualifying fixtures starting this week.
COMMENTARY
Sep 1, 2011

Beijing wastes no time with Noda

China lost no time warning Yoshihiko Noda what it expected of him, after he was chosen by the ruling Democratic Party of Japan as its leader this week and subsequently was elected prime minister.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Sep 1, 2011

Artisans who lived by their swords

The samurai sword has long been a symbol of great allure in Japan. It conjures images of virility, tradition, austerity and the mystery of legends. Not only is it said that the Shinto gods possessed swords but, as part of the Imperial regalia, such blades were believed to signify the divinity and divine...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2011

Nuclear reform will be uphill slog

In a bid to restore public confidence, the government has unveiled plans to reform the nuclear regulatory agency, separating it from the ministry in charge of promoting atomic power.
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2011

Mr. Biden goes to Asia

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden concluded a brief three-country tour of Asia that took him to China, Mongolia and Japan. While there is always some trepidation when Mr. Biden travels — while he is a genuine foreign policy expert, he has a tendency to make off-the-cuff remarks that get him in trouble...
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2011

Noda victorious in race for prime minister

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda won the Democratic Party of Japan presidency Monday and will replace Naoto Kan as prime minister, becoming the ruling party's third leader since it swept to power in the historic 2009 general election.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 29, 2011

The feudal lords of power

The inherently arrogant nature of the electric power industry in Japan came to light recently when Kyushu Electric Power Co. tried to influence a public hearing on whether to allow the company to resume operation of its Genkai nuclear power stations in Saga Prefecture. Kyushu Electric urged its employees...
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.
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2011

One-land, two-country solution

Territorial problems between countries are sources of permanent tension and conflict. In the past, wars and military victories were considered the main tools for solving such problems. Although the probability of applying such tools these days has essentially decreased, we still hear about military drills...

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes