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EDITORIALS
Sep 17, 2012

Mr. Draghi's decision

Mr. Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has made the boldest move yet to halt the economic crisis that threatens the solvency of European governments, the future of the euro and the very dream of a European Union.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 16, 2012

'Cheating' robot poses tech and ethical issues

Like a child eagerly trying to win some trading cards during a playground huddle, I scrunch up my fingers behind my back before unleashing my hand in time-honored fashion with the Japanese phrase: "Saisho wa gu, janken ... pon!"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 14, 2012

'Tenchi Meisatsu (Tenchi: The Samurai Astronomer)'

After winning the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2009 for his funeral-business drama "Okuribito (Departures)," Yojiro Takita faced the usual dilemma of the successful: what to do for a followup? This onetime maker of risqué comedies about train gropers had since become a director-for-hire working...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Sep 14, 2012

Tsukuda having fun in German League

Up until a year ago, Germany wasn't even an option to for running back Soichiro Tsukuda.
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2012

Yamanashi school song rankles

Regarding the Korea Times editorial titled "Japan slips into retrograde," which was reprinted in The Japan Times on Aug. 31: As a Japanese who is a member of the Society for the Annulment of Imperial Rescripts, I want the Japanese people to be courageous enough to confront the past and not be influenced...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 13, 2012

MLB scouts keeping their eyes on quartet of potential Japanese free agents

This season there are a few NPB players who have fulfilled the requirements for international free agency (meaning they are free to negotiate with any team, domestic or abroad) and may attempt to follow in the successful footsteps of Yu Darvish and Norichika Aoki and make a move to the major leagues...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 11, 2012

Troubled waters, bad bridge

A South Korean journalist in Seoul warns that Japan should not make light of the recent series of tough actions taken by Seoul against Tokyo because they represent the beginning of a sharp turn in South Korea's policy toward Japan.
COMMENTARY
Sep 11, 2012

Let posterity see how the Iraq war was created

When the Iraq War Inquiry Group (of which I am a member) issued a public call for an inquiry into the decision-making that lay behind Australia's participation in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, members of the then-Howard government dismissed it in effect as yesterday's news.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 11, 2012

Three steps to judging whether a disciplinary measure is legal

An English teacher writes: "Recently, my company placed me on a three-month suspension from work, until five days before my fixed-period employment contract expires. As I am still employed, I cannot claim unemployment benefits, and this lengthy period makes it almost financially prohibitive to remain...
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2012

Orix setting its sights on local banks, asset managers in South America

Financing company Orix Corp. opened a Brazil unit this month to seek acquisitions in South America.
BUSINESS
Sep 6, 2012

BOJ's Miyao issues dire warning

The odds of an extended world economic slowdown have increased and the Bank of Japan needs to remain ready to take decisive action if necessary, Policy Board member Ryuzo Miyao said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2012

U.S. candidates can't ignore war in Afghanistan

As Republicans gathered in Tampa on Aug. 27, a 25-year-old Army sergeant serving his third tour in Afghanistan, Christopher J. Birdwell of Windsor, Colorado, was killed in action.
EDITORIALS
Sep 4, 2012

Mr. Mitt Romney, a man of faith

It is now official: Mr. Willard Mitt Romney is the Republican Party nominee to contest the presidency of the United States in 2012. Mr. Romney acquired the requisite number of delegates in the Republican primary race months ago but it took the party convention to make it official. Now, Mr. Romney and...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 4, 2012

With Berlitz beaten but not bowed, union fights on

Before instructors became embroiled in a fierce legal battle with Berlitz Japan, there was a time when the English language school chain's robust image made it a top choice among foreign job-seekers.
COMMENTARY
Sep 3, 2012

China thrives in soft corner with two-track U.S. strategy

The U.S. strategy long has been geared against the rise of any hegemonic power in Asia and for a stable balance of power.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 3, 2012

Imagine a better Olympics for Japan

"Sekai wa itsuka hitotsu ni naru" (「世界はいつかひとつになる」) — that's what "And the world will be as one," from John Lennon's "Imagine," sounds like in Japanese, at least according to the Asahi Shimbun. The matter arises in connection with the dai sanjukkai orinpikku kyogitaikai (第三十回オリンピック競技大会,...
Japan Times
Sep 3, 2012

Explore new horizons in borderless world

The findings of a survey conducted recently by a leading Japanese business daily have come as a great shock for Japanese university officials and others concerned. The survey asked senior personnel managers at major Japanese corporations to name any Japanese universities that they believe are worthy...
Reader Mail
Sep 2, 2012

Best venue for settling dispute

The Japan-China territorial row over the Senkaku (called Diaoyu in China) Islands looks like a brawl of a nationalistic group from one country against a nationalistic group from another country. But the number of people who have taken to the streets in Chinese cities shows that there are far more nationalistic...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Sep 2, 2012

Goldenglow may be a treat for the Cherokees, but it's a pest for Old Nic!

Summertime here in northern Nagano is very pleasant, quite unlike the muggy ovens of the big cities. This year, after living here for 32 years, I was persuaded to install a fan. We certainly don't have a cooler. At night, or while working in my study, I leave the windows open to let in the sounds of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 31, 2012

Tokyo Jazz Festival grabs Ornette Coleman for headlining spot

Note: A week after the publication of this article, Tokyo Jazz Festival organizers announced Ornette Coleman will not come to Japan due to poor health.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 30, 2012

The Tokyo Foundation hosts concert by young victims of Tohoku quake at Suntory Hall

When the final chord of the fiery Spanish-flavored "El Camino Real" by U.S. composer Alfred Reed echoed throughout Suntory Hall, it was a great moment for 16-year-old Mayuko Kawai.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2012

End of currency swap deal to test bilateral ties

The exchange of jabs between Japan and South Korea over the territorial dispute in the Sea of Japan will reach a key turning point in October when a temporary bilateral currency swap arrangement comes to an end.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2012

Japanese Defense Ministry agrees Osprey crash in Morocco was caused by human error

The Defense Ministry on Tuesday concluded that pilot error caused the fatal crash of an MV-22 Osprey in Morocco in April, an accident that set off a strong outcry against the deployment of the airplane-helicopter hybrid in Japan.
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Aug 28, 2012

Houlton feels good about '12 Giants

D.J. Houlton is dealing with a case of deja vu.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes