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COMMENTARY
Aug 8, 2012

The reasons for America's Generation Squeezed

I worry about the future — not mine but that of my three children, all in their 20s. It is an axiom of American folklore that every generation should live better than its predecessors. But this is not a constitutional right or even an entitlement, and I am skeptical that today's young will do so. Nor...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2012

Why Japan should amend its war-renouncing Article 9

The pressure is mounting to either amend Article 9, the war-renouncing provision of Japan's Constitution, or to increasingly disregard it and so make it irrelevant. In April the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) published its proposal for amending the Constitution, and the dangers it posed for Article 9...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 22, 2012

A century of Tokyo taxis

The year 1912 is recorded in Japan both as the 45th year of Meiji Era and the first year of the Taisho Era. After a protracted illness, Emperor Mutsuhito expired, age 61, on the night of July 29 (although the official announcement came the next day). Through the remainder of the summer, the front pages...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 16, 2012

Nuclear engineers ditching Japan for a bigger paycheck

Although Japan is reputed to be one of the most technologically advanced nations in nuclear power generation, it now faces a serious "brain drain" as some of its highly experienced nuclear engineers are lured to work in other countries for much better remuneration than they could hope to receive at home....
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 17, 2012

Resident of last Dojunkai laments passing of '20s icons

"One of the members of the residents association once told me that we shouldn't talk to journalists, but I have nothing to lose now."
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jun 5, 2012

At times, there's no getting away from the neighbors

The house we were inspecting in Shiroi, Chiba Prefecture, looked better and larger in the photos that the realtor had posted on its website. Those pictures had been taken with a wide angle lens at the eastern side of the house, which bordered a leafy promenade. To the north and south of the house, however,...
COMMENTARY
Jun 4, 2012

The political storm in China

As senior leaders are purged and as retired provincial officials publicly call for Politburo members to be removed, it has become clear that China is at a crossroads. China's future no longer looks to be determined by its hugely successful economy, which has turned the country into a world power in a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 1, 2012

'I Don't Know How She Does it'

Here's what I hope is a dusty, totally passe concept: the supermom. You know, those women who juggle a million tasks before 8 a.m., then go for a 10 km jog, then strap their kids into hybrid SUV car seats, check them into day care and depart for an important, high-paying career in the finance sector....
COMMENTARY
May 30, 2012

How the Afghan war ends

The recent NATO summit in Chicago was mostly about how to get NATO troops out of Afghanistan without causing too much embarrassment to the Western governments that sent them, and a little bit about how to ensure that the Taliban don't take over again once Western troops leave.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
May 22, 2012

The elephant in the foreigner's room now has a name: microaggression

Some positive and negative readers' reactions to Debito Arudou's provocative and widely read May 1 Just Be Cause column, "Yes, I can use chopsticks: the everyday 'microaggressions' that grind us down":
JAPAN / 40 YEARS AFTER REVERSION
May 16, 2012

U.S. defense shift keeps Okinawa in strategic mix

The 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japan came with a price — the continued use by the United States of sprawling military bases and other facilities in the prefecture to protect Japan and maintain peace in the Asia-Pacific region.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2012

Internet age renders obsolete U.S. view of China

When the human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng escaped extra-legal house arrest and beatings and found his way to the U.S. Embassy last month, he became an instant hero on the Chinese Internet.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 14, 2012

Atomic exit deserves warm welcome in land of nuclear apprentices

As of May 6, Japan became a nuclear power-free zone. All of the nuclear plants throughout the country are offline, either as a result of last year's Fukushima disaster or routine maintenance. The government and electric power companies are hoping to see them back in action soon, but public sentiment...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 12, 2012

Can Japan's countryside be saved from the edge of extinction?

Once upon a time in Okayama, Japan, lived an old man and an old woman who had no children of their own. One day, the old man went into the forest to cut down bamboo while the old woman went to the river to wash clothes. While at the river, she noticed a giant peach bobbing up and down in the water. She...
Reader Mail
May 6, 2012

Unknown costs of U.S. military

Regarding the April 28 front-page article, "U.S., Japan tweak marine exit plan": In 1945, the southern half of the island of Okinawa was like those parts of the Tohoku region struck by the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, with towns and villages devastated.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 4, 2012

Conservatives call for revising Constitution

The time has come for political parties to overcome their differences and join hands to revise the Constitution to suit the times, including by establishing of an "army" to protect Japan, its people and its territory, conservative lawmakers said Thursday.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 1, 2012

Constitution again faces calls for revision to meet reality

Thursday marks the 65th year since the Constitution took effect in 1947.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami