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CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Nov 29, 2012

The coming influx of an idol workforce

Much has been made in the media over the problem of Japan's aging population and shrinking workforce. But there is another demographic time bomb, at the heart of Japan's most militantly youthful sector of society, just waiting to explode.
Japan Times
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Nov 28, 2012

Kyushu Basho: Harumafuji less than impressive as Baruto demoted

In the days leading up to the Nov. 11-25 Kyushu Basho in Fukuoka, much of the talk in sumo circles centered on the ozeki trio of Baruto, Kotoshogiku and the forever injured Kotooshu being able to maintain their rank come the January tournament back in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY
Nov 28, 2012

Failures in market economies

The eurozone has not yet collapsed and all countries not in the zone must hope that it will survive. If it did fall apart and new currencies were established, there would be serious threats not only to international trade but also to economic growth and prosperity. Competitive devaluations would exacerbate...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2012

Making the most of Russia's European prospects

In 1966, French President Charles de Gaulle's vision of a Europe "that stretched from the Atlantic to the Urals" was provocative. Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin has advanced an even more ambitious goal: "a common market stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific."
BUSINESS / NOTEBOOK
Nov 28, 2012

Donate to global charity fund; new hair care products

Charities
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Nov 27, 2012

Give bright young mothers a chance to contribute to society, flourish

Re: "Labor law protects expectant and new mothers — to a point" by Hifumi Okunuki (Labor Pains, Oct. 16):
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2012

You may need less sleep than you think, or not

If holiday shopping leaves you exhausted, a long weekend should offer an opportunity for some serious shut-eye. We spend between a quarter and a third of our lives asleep, but that doesn't make us experts on how much is too much, how little is too little, or how many hours of rest the kids need to be...
EDITORIALS
Nov 25, 2012

Throwaway workers

Recently Japanese workers have been quitting their jobs in larger numbers. At the end of October, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare issued statistics on the percentage of new employees who resigned within three years of being hired. The average for all industries was 28.8 percent.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / JAPAN-U.S. SEMINAR
Nov 24, 2012

U.S. ties depend on Tokyo's initiative, leadership

Japan-U.S. relations during the second four-year term of U.S. President Barack Obama will depend much on the stability of political leadership in Tokyo, a leading American expert on Japan said during a recent seminar in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2012

World Economic Forum task force to tackle Japan's financial gender gap

The World Economic Forum has announced the launch of a task force to close Japan's economic gender gaps by 10 percent by 2015.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 24, 2012

Ultimate taboo for military spouses: infidelity

Military spouses talk about almost everything. In running groups, prayer groups, writing groups, many spouses say they lean on one another heavily while their partners are overseas on yet another deployment in this decade of war.
Reader Mail
Nov 22, 2012

Prosperous times still possible

Regarding Christina Tsuchida's Nov. 8 letter, "Retreating from the car boom": I have an opinion about Japan's future that a lot of domestic and foreign media do not share. I believe that Japan still has an economic margin to stave off worse times ahead while it tries to find a way to improve society....
EDITORIALS
Nov 22, 2012

Pension fund phase-out on the way

The health and welfare ministry has come up with a plan to phase out the type of corporate pension fund known as kosei nenkin kikin over a period of 10 years. The proposal follows AIJ Investment Advisor Co.'s reported loss earlier this year of most of the ¥145.8 billion in pension assets under its management...
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2012

Abe call for unlimited BOJ easing rattles bond market

The bond market is growing more concerned that a new administration led by opposition leader Shintaro Abe calling for unlimited easing will stoke inflation and weaken the nation's finances.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2012

Visa overstayers rally in Tokyo for residency permits

A group of foreign residents who have overstayed their visas rallied in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district Sunday to call on the government to grant them special residency permits to remain in Japan and avoid disrupting the lives of their long-settled family members.
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2012

Meeting Chinese aspirations

The Chinese Communist Party on Thursday selected China's new leadership headed by Mr. Xi Jinping. He will lead not only the party as general secretary of the party's Central Committee but also the military as chairman of the party's Central Military Commission. He is expected to be elected China's president,...
Reader Mail
Nov 15, 2012

Amusing radiation comparison

Regarding the Nov. 9 front-page Kyodo article "Exposure to low-level radiation can cause leukemia, U.S.-Ukraine study of Chernobyl cleanup workers finds": I was amused when I read this article, especially this statement: "Of those surveyed, 87 percent had been exposed to cumulative radiation doses of...
EDITORIALS
Nov 15, 2012

Improving university education

Education Minister Makiko Tanaka, who ignored the proper procedure, bears heavy responsibility for the recent confusion over the approval of the opening of three new universities. But apart from her problematic behavior, she has raised some valid points. It is high time that the education ministry made...

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years