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JAPAN
May 21, 2010

Former negotiator lays base woes on Okinawa

Every story has more than one side.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
May 18, 2010

Why doesn't national health insurance pay for maternity care?

With high life expectancy and a declining birth rate, you'd think there would be more government money invested in maternity care.
COMMENTARY
May 18, 2010

Overhaul industrial policy to bolster the economy

Japan's industrial power is so stagnant that it seems a crisis is in store for our economy. Even as it lags far behind the United States in creating intelligent information systems, Japan is finding that South Korea, Taiwan and China are catching up with it in manufacturing.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 16, 2010

Nara still boasts its ancient lure

In a geographical battle for the hearts and minds of Japanese people, Kyoto would win hands down as the wellspring of so much of their culture for which they feel such reverence.
JAPAN
May 15, 2010

Hirano to Kagoshima again

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Friday he will again visit Kagoshima Prefecture to try to overcome strong local opposition to the government's plans to partially relocate the operations of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Tokunoshima Island.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 15, 2010

Railways' pitches to U.S. differ

The nation's main railways are taking different approaches as they pursue billions in high-speed train contracts in the U.S., reflected in their sales pitches to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood during his recent visit.
JAPAN
May 12, 2010

Don't fault China for sea confrontation: envoy

The Chinese marine survey ship that confronted a Japan Coast Guard vessel last week in what Japan says was its side of the border was not acting illegally, Cheng Yonghua, Beijing's new ambassador to Tokyo, reiterated Tuesday, urging both nations to resolve the dispute over the East China Sea demarcation....
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 11, 2010

Language sets high hurdle for caregiver candidates

Since the first batch of Indonesian nurses and caregivers arrived in 2008 under a new bilateral economic partnership agreement, 570 have come to Japan, as have 310 Filipinos under another EPA that took effect two years ago.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 9, 2010

On the road to paradise: a cycling pilgrimage to 88 Shikoku temples

The girl at the cash register of the convenience store gives me a free bottle of iced tea and wishes me "Good luck!" As I remount my bike, I pop a sushi roll she also gave me into my mouth and set off, blissfully relaxed under blue skies, heading for the next temple.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 7, 2010

Hatoyama's reach exceeds grasp

What a mess.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2010

War epics on screen skip mass slaughter of civilians

SAN FRANCISCO — Does the history diet fed to Americans by Hollywood promote an unhealthy national memory? The latest screen epic about American heroism in World War II — the HBO miniseries "The Pacific" — is clouded by an unintended irony.
COMMENTARY
May 3, 2010

Untold ties of friendship exist between Okinawa and the U.S.

The baseball team from Konan High School, Okinawa, emerged from the dramatic final game as the winner of the annual National High School Baseball Championship for spring 2010. There is an untold story behind this victory.
CULTURE / Books
May 2, 2010

Sex, drugs and rock and roll, plus lots and lots more sex

With "Big in Japan," an erotic coming-of-age novel set in Japan, M. Thomas Gammarino has joined the likes of Jay McInerny ("Ransom"), Brad Leithauser ("Equal Distance"), and countless other non-Japanese writers who spend a little time in Japan when young, and then — surprise, surprise! — write novels...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 30, 2010

Only got 4Minutes to take the world

T he five young members of 4Minute sit dressed in tight, black leather outfits at a luxury hotel in Ebisu, Tokyo. It's one day before their Japanese debut, but they show no signs of nerves.
COMMENTARY
Apr 29, 2010

Media vultures circle P.M.

In Brazil they tell the story of the small-town TV crime reporter who gained fame and scoops by arranging crimes himself. He could then rush out and interview the victims well before rivals. But eventually his scoops caught up with him and he ended up in jail.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 27, 2010

Sakamoto, the man and the myth

Even though he was assassinated more than 140 years ago, the name of Sakamoto Ryoma continues to pop up today, most recently as an inspiration behind the NHK drama "Ryoma-den" and as the historical figure favored by lawmakers of all ideological stripes.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 25, 2010

Whaling whoppers debunked

Ever wonder why landlocked nations such as Mali, Mongolia and Laos with no tradition of whaling are members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC)? According to Jun Morikawa, the Japanese government sponsors the membership of third-world countries in the IWC to boost support for Japan's pro-whaling...
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2010

Plenty of sites already considered, rejected

OSAKA — With possible new locations for the Futenma air base being suggested or reported on a seemingly daily basis, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama now has very few political options to propose to the U.S.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Apr 20, 2010

DVD should be seen by all in divorce process

Dear Prime Minister Hatoyama,
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 20, 2010

Not showing at a family court near you

I have seen the secret Japanese video. No, not the one where you die within a week of watching it, the other one — the one about how traumatic divorce and parental separation are for children.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 18, 2010

Troubled times call for such a hero

Japanese history is replete with heroes admired for successfully challenging the status quo. Nostalgia for such figures increases during tough times, as seen in the "Ryoma boom" borne from the TV series on Sakamoto Ryoma, the Meiji Restoration hero. However, the nation might benefit more from studying...
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Apr 18, 2010

Missionaries in Korea, JNR modernizes, cigarettes as Imperial gifts

100 YEARS AGO
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Apr 18, 2010

U.K. chef hails sake as 'sexy'

London-based chef and TV presenter Silvena Rowe is best-known in Britain as an expert on eastern Mediterranean cuisine. But in Japan last month, she had her compass set entirely elsewhere — promoting the "sex appeal" of sake to Japan's younger generations.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2010

Ex-Prada exec claims harassment

Former Prada Japan senior retail manager Rina Bovrisse, who is suing the company over emotional distress from alleged harassment, said Friday she took the action to support mistreated working women in Japan who don't feel they have the power to fight their employers.

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