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JAPAN / Politics
Oct 24, 2013

Opposition disparity: No end in sight

The opposition camp is rife with disunity and unable to exert any political say against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party-led government, now that the LDP controls about 60 percent of the Diet.
EDITORIALS
Oct 23, 2013

Keep the weapons export ban

A forum on security and defense power for the Abe administration appears likely to call for easing the ban on Japan's long-standing weapons export ban.
Reader Mail
Oct 23, 2013

Creating a future with foreigners

Regarding the Oct. 21 editorial "Firms hiring more foreign students": It really is auspicious that Japanese companies are hiring more foreign students, particularly from Asian countries including our neighboring countries South Korea and China.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 21, 2013

The new look of Japanese artisans

Machi-ku014dba is the name given to small, city factories in Japan, usually operated by a family, or a handful of craftspeople. While traditional Japanese crafts slowly gather dust in museums, the baton of the 'unknown craftsman' has been passed on to these factories.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 21, 2013

Mercury still threat, Abe assurances or not

Earlier this month, delegates from over 130 nations gathered in Kumamoto to launch the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The U.N.-brokered treaty aims to limit mercury use and emissions. It comes at a time when the U.N. Environmental Program warns half of all global anthropogenic mercury emissions come...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 21, 2013

Thatcher-esque disparities a reality under Abe

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe evokes the late Margaret Thatcher as he repeats 'there is no alternative' to his platform of economic change. One of the byproducts: prospects for a Thatcher-type division of wealth.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Oct 19, 2013

Countryside campaigner for us all

In the mid-1970s, Souichi Yamashita, a farmer in northern Kyushu who also writes books about rural Japan, got to know a young man named Yutaka Une.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 19, 2013

On the beat with a cultural detective

The recent success of Barry Lancet, first time author and resident of Japan for over 25 years, reads like a bar-stool fantasy for any wanna-be writer, and Lancet's definitely enjoying the dream-like reality. With the TV rights optioned by Hollywood, positive reviews surging in across the globe, six countries...
EDITORIALS
Oct 17, 2013

Pre-emption of mercurial hazards

Some might call it the epitaph for Japan's worst environmental tragedy. Delegates from about 140 countries meet in Kumamoto to adopt the Minamata Convention on regulating the use of mercury.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 16, 2013

Missing the light at 'Roppongi Crossing'

I've always thought that the "Roppongi Crossing" exhibitions try too hard. They take themselves too seriously and usually end up missing the point. Held every three years at the Mori Art Museum, the shows bring together heavily curated selections of contemporary art in an attempt to take the artistic...
COMMUNITY / Issues
Oct 16, 2013

The wonderful world of Japanese law: Yōkoso to endless discovery

Having kindly published my intermittent ramblings on Japanese law and the occasional other subject over the years, The Japan Times has seen fit to give me a monthly column.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Oct 16, 2013

Adoption and fostering, animal homes and a tribute: readers' mail

In response to a recent story about adoption and foster parenting in Japan, one woman recounts her life of doing both.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 15, 2013

Abe defense posture welcome: U.S. intel expert

In contrast to neighboring countries, former U.S. National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair welcomes the efforts by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to reinterpret the pacifist Constitution and bolster the nation's defense capabilities, saying Japan needs to adapt itself to the changing security landscape...
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 15, 2013

Aso keeps an eye on U.S. debt ceiling from a respectful distance

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso says it is up to the U.S. to resolve its debt impasse, not for Japan to fret over its investment in U.S. Treasuries.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 13, 2013

San Francisco Treaty and the South China Sea

All parties to the South China Sea island disputes can cite geographic and historical connections to back their claims, but none has solid legal title under the San Francisco Treaty.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 13, 2013

Abe set to overturn legacies of Koizumi and Nakasone

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is reviving the old Liberal Democratic Party, having undone moves by former Prime Ministers Yasuhiro Nakasone and Junichiro Koizumi toward smaller government.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 12, 2013

Busan is still Asia's film-fest gem, but its sparkle is fading

During the Q&A session after the screening of his new film "Stray Dogs" at the 18th Busan International Film Festival, which ran Oct. 3-12, Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang mentioned that not only was his previous film not distributed in South Korea, it wasn't even shown at BIFF. Tsai was one of the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 12, 2013

Tabloids brimming with anti-Korea diatribes

For 11 consecutive days from the start of this month, every front page of the Yukan Fuji, a nationally circulated evening tabloid published by the Sankei Shimbun, was embellished with at least one negative reference to South Korea. Some headline excerpts:
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 12, 2013

Government wondering how to tap burgeoning ebook market

The consumption tax increase gives overseas vendors an advantage.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 11, 2013

Strays become woman's calling

It's a typical evening in the Mercer-Tojo household. Susan Mercer, 37, has just settled down their 2-year-old for the night, tucking him in as he cuddles with five or six cats. Several dogs prowl restlessly, eager for a pat or a kind word. Scooping a kitten off the floor, Mercer settles down to wait...
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 10, 2013

Abe under pressure from his party to protect 'sacred five'

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is facing severe resistance from his ruling Liberal Democratic Party on plans to potentially scrap import tariffs on some of Japan's "sacred five" agricultural products.
Reader Mail
Oct 9, 2013

Abe waiting for right moment

Regarding the Oct. 7 Kyodo article "Documents detail how Imperial military forced Dutch females to be 'comfort women’": To be made to wait seven decades for this fragment of truth to emerge about the sexual slavery of European women is a new war crime in itself, but the government's ongoing attempts...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2013

Honda Fit designed as 'Prius-killer' in challenge to Toyota

Honda Motor Co. wants to remind the world that hybrid means more than the Prius.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 8, 2013

U.S. agrees to keep Japanese victims of military crimes informed

Washington agrees to disclose U.S. court proceedings to victims of crimes allegedly committed in Japan by U.S. military personnel.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2013

Airbus boss swooped in at right time for JAL

Three decades after he began his business career selling aluminum in Japan, Airbus Chief Executive Officer Fabrice Bregier tapped his experience of the country to land a $9.5 billion deal for a plane made of plastic.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2013

Toyoda tries to revive love for cars

While Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda is on the cusp of a record year for profit, kids nowadays make him nervous. They're so clueless that boys without cars have the nerve to ask girls out.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / OUR MAN IN TOKYO
Oct 7, 2013

Spanish envoy celebrates 400-year relationship

Spanish Ambassador Miguel Navarro is eager to turn the eyes of Japanese to the lesser known historical footnotes that connect Japan and his country as the 400th anniversary of bilateral exchanges is celebrated.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’