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COMMENTARY
Aug 2, 2011

Arab revolutions unable to waken media to revolutionary discourse

When President Ali Abdullah Saleh tried desperately to quell Yemen's popular uprising, he appealed to tribalism, customs and traditions. All his efforts evidently failed, and the revolution continued unabated.
LIFE
Jul 31, 2011

Most unlikely bedfellows

"How wonderful! How marvelous! From here to the southeast is what the Westerners call the Pacific Ocean and the American states! They must be very close!" — Watanabe Kazan, artist and samurai, in a diary recording a sojourn in Enoshima, an island off Kamakura in present-day Kanagawa Prefecture,...
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2011

DPJ keeps Tohoku revival plan vague

The Democratic Party of Japan-led government bowed to strong opposition within its ranks Friday and endorsed a watered-down version of its basic reconstruction policy for the Tohoku region that ultimately failed to specify the size and duration of a tax hike to fund the work.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2011

Symposium fiasco forces reclusive NISA chief to surface

After being harshly criticized for failing to appear before the media to explain an attempt to manipulate a 2007 "pluthermal" symposium, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Director General Nobuaki Terasaka held a hastily arranged news conference Friday night.
EDITORIALS
Jul 29, 2011

Help for those who lost a parent

The central and local governments have found that more than 200 children in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures became orphans in the March 11 quake and tsunami and, consequently, have provided them livelihood and education support.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 29, 2011

Food fest organizers aim to 'cheer up' Japan

Shady groves of fragrant trees, crisp alpine breezes and charming European-style villas — heat-addled Tokyoites hardly need more reasons to visit Karuizawa in the summer; this quiet town in Nagano Prefecture has long been a popular holiday destination for those looking for an escape from the intensity...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 29, 2011

'Transformers: Dark of the Moon'

Given enough money, almost any filmmaker could deliver a big, loud, silly popcorn movie about giant alien robots beating the living crap out of each other, but it takes the special talent of director Michael Bay to make such a movie totally repellent.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 29, 2011

Local galleries move to fore at Art Fair Tokyo

On the Japanese cultural calendar, visual-art events tend to take place in the more pleasant seasons of spring and autumn. Classical music and ballet have winter sewn up, with dozens of performances of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 or "The Nutcracker" being held over the Christmas-New Year period,...
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jul 28, 2011

Tis the season for some girl-pop classics

In Japan, observation of the seasons is an ingrained cultural trait that not only forms the basis of haiku poetry and many classic works of art, but also marks the calendar for cultural ephemera from special-edition Kit Kats to alcoholic drinks to pop music. Since summer is now at full burn, here are...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 28, 2011

No sign of a summer break for The Hiatus

As the guitarist and vocalist of Japanese pop-punk band Ellegarden, Takeshi Hosomi toured throughout the country, played in the United States and South Korea, and even opened for Foo Fighters.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 27, 2011

After the death of analog, whither Tokyo Tower?

How will Tokyo Tower remain solvent in the shadow of Tokyo Sky Tree?
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2011

Toadies to the debt-to-GDP ratio

Economists like to talk about thresholds that, if crossed, spell trouble. Usually there is an element of truth in what they say, but the public often overreacts to such talk.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 24, 2011

Taking in Tomonoura's many delights

"The most beautiful scenic view in Japan," was how the woman in the temple in Tomonoura translated it when I asked her the meaning of some calligraphy carved into a wooden sign mounted on the wall.
EDITORIALS
Jul 22, 2011

A killing in Kandahar

The murder of Ahmed Wali Karzai, the so-called "King of Kandahar," creates a power vacuum in a key political stronghold in Afghanistan. Karzai was the half-brother of President Hamid Karzai, and a pillar of the president's authority. His death creates uncertainty for the Kabul government as it contemplates...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 22, 2011

"Photographs of Children: The Art of Photographing Children"

While giving directions to subjects may be possible when taking portraits of adults, it can be near-impossible to do the same when it comes to taking pictures of children. To get that perfect image, the photographer has to be one step ahead, using his or her ingenuity to get the child to hold a desired...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 22, 2011

Forecast for Yamagata summer festival calls for games and snow

July is a time of sweltering heat, with the sun beating down on you wherever you go. But in Yamagata Prefecture, they're calling for snow.
EDITORIALS
Jul 20, 2011

3/11 victims face welfare cuts

Cases have surfaced in which municipalities in Tohoku have stopped welfare payments to victims of the March 11 earthquake-tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Jul 19, 2011

Former Carp, Marines pitcher Minchey happy to be involved in game

Nate Minchey hovered near the home dugout at Tokyo Dome as the Yomiuri Giants practiced, but there was no missing him. Being conspicuous isn't exactly a trait of many 203 cm and above.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 18, 2011

Don't fall ill in a nuke crisis

The residents of Minami Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, are still being denied full medical services even though more than four months have passed since radiation leaks started from the nearby Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 17, 2011

It seems Japan has literally gone to the dogs

Japan has found an answer to loneliness, despair, fear, disgust and uncertainty. Hint: It's alive, stands on four legs and barks. Well, so much the better if the gloom weighing us down can be so easily dispelled. Or is it?
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jul 17, 2011

The world according to AuthaGraph

In today's wired world, it's easy to learn about issues anywhere that might affect us or be of interest. So news of a disaster, for example, can be instantly transmitted, shared and discussed by people wherever they might be.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 17, 2011

Four former ballplayers remembered after their deaths

More than 900 foreigners have played in Japanese pro baseball since Wally Yonamine joined the Yomiuri Giants in 1951, and it is always sad to hear when any of them have died. Baseball America and various Internet outlets have reported the recent deaths of four ex-major leaguers who also played in Japan...
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Jul 17, 2011

Imperial work ethic; Electric Society's defiance; the 'Flat Tire Bandit'; the state of AIDS

100 YEARS AGOThursday, July 20, 1911

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan