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Japan Times
JAPAN / NUCLEAR AWAKENING
Jan 5, 2012

Disasters kick-started dormant volunteer spirit

The March disasters generated an outpouring of volunteerism unseen since — let alone matched by — what followed the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2012

Scrutinizing weapons exports

The Noda administration on Dec. 27 drastically relaxed Japan's long-standing weapons-export ban. For the second time, the Democratic Party of Japan government greatly changed Japan's defense policy without sufficient public discussions. In December 2010, it introduced the new concept of "dynamic defense...
EDITORIALS
Jan 4, 2012

Ties that continue in 2012

Choosing the word of the year for 2011 must not have been easy, but kizuna, meaning bonds or ties, was an excellent choice that will be important in this coming year as well. The Japan Kanji Association announced its choice at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, a place that for many feels like the spiritual heart...
JAPAN / NUCLEAR AWAKENING
Jan 3, 2012

Fukushima meltdowns set nuclear energy debate on its ear

The Fukushima nuclear crisis changed the national debate over energy policy almost overnight.
EDITORIALS
Jan 1, 2012

Quality of governance in 2012

Even though the new year has started, it is impossible for people in Japan to put 2011 behind them. The effects of the March 11 triple disasters — the magnitude-9 earthquake followed by the massive tsunami that devastated the Tohoku coastal area, plus the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jan 1, 2012

Mayumi Kagita: A fusion of cultures revealed in dance

On Nov. 19, the Pit hall of the New National Theatre, Tokyo, in Shibuya, was filled with hundreds of eager theater-goers. They had come to see a performance of "Onna Goroshi Abura no Jigoku" ("The Women-Killer and the Hell of Oil"), a play written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724) — Japan's greatest...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jan 1, 2012

A breath of fire for nature this new Year of the Dragon

May I wish all our readers, in Japan and abroad, a very happy New Year. After 2011, I think we need one.
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2011

Firm pools three giants' prowess in small panels

The rapidly growing smartphone and tablet computer market is changing the face of the Tokyo commute: Many now can be seen flicking their fingers across touch-screen panels while riding public transportation.
Reader Mail
Dec 29, 2011

Pressure for higher interest rate

Raymond Regalado's Dec. 18 letter, "Misleading criticism of debt," doesn't mention several factors that are important to this topic. The ratio of Japanese government debt to gross domestic product is around 200 percent. This is among the highest of any developed country. It is sustainable only due to...
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2011

Mr. Noda's Beijing summit

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda visited Beijing on Sunday and Monday for the first time as prime minister and met with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao. It was the first Japanese prime minister's official visit to China since the Democratic Party of Japan came to power.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Dec 28, 2011

Futenma plan once again thorn in side of DPJ

The submission of the environmental assessment on Henoko in Okinawa sparked polarized reactions from the governments in Tokyo and Washington and the people of Okinawa, underscoring the gap in awareness over the contentious relocation of the Futenma air base.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / LIGHT GIST
Dec 27, 2011

2011: a year of disaster in quotes

This year produced more than its share of memorable quotes, many of which were inspired by the March 11 disaster and its aftermath. But figures from other fields, from sports to entertainment, also said things worth repeating. Here is a sampling, in chronological order:
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2011

A trilateral foundation for Indo-Pacific security

The first ever India-Japan-U.S. trilateral dialogue on Dec. 18 on security issues in the Indo-Pacific region could be the start of a transformation in strategic relations among the major democracies of Asia that has a lasting impact on the peace and prosperity of the region. However, translating mere...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 27, 2011

Many angles to acquiring Japanese citizenship

Nationality has long been a controversial issue in Japan. For most, it is something they are born with; for others, it is something they had to fight for. For some, nationality may be a source of pride, while for others, it may be the cause of discrimination.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2011

Noda under tax hike pressure

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda faces escalating pressure to secure support for higher taxes after the budget plan for fiscal 2012 revealed the government's record dependence on borrowing.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Dec 26, 2011

Strange how isolationist stance can ruin a politician's reputation

Perhaps because it's a round number, the 70th anniversary of Japan's assault on Pearl Harbor has given me the impression that more articles on it saw print than in the past, except for, as I recall, the 50th anniversary of the same.
JAPAN / Media
Dec 25, 2011

The aftershocks of 2011 will be felt for many years to come

We made history this year. They'll be writing about 2011 a hundred, maybe a thousand years from now, seeing it more clearly than we can. We're too close for a proper perspective. We know what it feels like — not yet what it means.
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2011

The earthquake year

The year of the earthquake and tsunami is how 2011 will be remembered in Japan. No bounen-kai (forget-the-year party) has passed without thoughts of those who lost so much in the triple earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster on or after March 11. The powerful 9.0-magnitude earthquake devastated the northeast...
LIFE
Dec 25, 2011

The holy trinity of religions

Michael Hoffman's latest book is "Little Pieces: This Side of Japan" (VBW, 2010)."In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." — Genesis 1:1
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 25, 2011

Hope, and inspired work, from despair of March 11

Ayear of natural disasters in Japan — and elsewhere — has sparked some of the best writing on the nation seen in decades, as everyone from policy experts to ordinary citizens offered their views on the best route to recovery.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2011

Foreign residents and religion

This month, two common questions were heard among many foreign residents here: "What are you doing for Christmas?" and "Are you going home or staying here?"
CULTURE / Music
Dec 22, 2011

Natural disasters rock year in music

The year 2011 in Japan was undoubtedly defined by the triple disasters of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent nuclear crisis. The impact of those catastrophes was also felt across the entire entertainment world. The industry pretty much put itself on hold for the remainder of March...

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan